Research Questions - Graduate Writing Center

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Research Questions


How is a research question like a red wheelbarrow? Simply put, it’s that so much depends upon it. Every part of a research project, in fact.

A research question is exactly what it sounds like: a question, typically just one sentence, that captures the essence of what you’re trying to figure out in your research. Think of it as a smart tweet with a question mark at the end.

Your research question is the engine of your project. It drives everything you do, from the sources you search out to the methodology you employ. Ultimately, your findings will directly answer, or at least tell us something new about, your research question; the rest of your document explains how you arrived at this answer.

Put another way, your research question is the boss of your research paper or thesis. Everything you write has to report to the research question, so to speak. Everything has to be explicitly relevant to it. Everything has to do what it needs done.

Research Questions: A Video Introduction

Our four-part "Creating Research Questions" video series concisely walks you through the process of developing a viable and trenchant RQ, from formulating to refining.

Research Questions Checklist

Here are some useful things to ask yourself as you refine your research question:

  • Is the scope of this question appropriate to the assignment or research task? Can I produce a sufficiently robust analysis within my time and page limits? If not, how might I narrow or broaden the variables?
     
  • Why is it important to answer this question? Why does it matter that we don’t know the answer? What useful knowledge might we gain?
     
  • What kind of evidence would I need to convincingly answer this question? Is that evidence available to me?

For More Information...

As subject-matter experts, your professors and advisor(s) are the go-to resource for guidance on research questions. They’re generally not going to formulate one for you, though; for an in-depth look at generating research questions, attend our "Constructing Research Questions" workshop. Workshops are offered in the first four weeks of each quarter; you can sign up during workshop season through WCOnline.

Then dig into our other links for more dirt on research questions!

Research Questions Links

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Writing Topics A–Z


This index makes findings topics easy and links to the most relevant page for each item. Please email us at writingcenter@nps.edu if we're missing something!

A-Z content menu

A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

A

abbreviations

abstracts

academic writing

acronyms

active voice

adjectives, compound

advisor, selecting and working with

AI

apostrophes

appointment with GWC coaches, how to schedule

argument

article usage

artificial intelligence

assignments, understanding them

audience

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B

body paragraphs

booking an appointment with a GWC coach

brackets, square

brainstorming

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C

capitalization

citations

charts

ChatGPT

citation software

citation styles

clauses

clarity

clustering

coaching, about

coaching, how to schedule

colons

comma splices

commas, FANBOYS

commas, introductory

commas, list

commas, nonessential / nonrestrictive information

commas, Oxford

commas, serial

common knowledge

commonly confused words

compare-and-contrast papers

compound adjectives / modifiers

concision

conclusions

conference presentations

conjunctive adverbs

coordinating conjunctions

copyright and fair use

critical thinking

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D

dangling modifiers

dashes

dependent clauses

dependent marker words

display equations

distance learning

double submission of coursework

drafting

Dudley Knox Library

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E

editing your own work

editing: outside editors

em dash

en dash

equations

exclamation points

executive summary

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F

FANBOYS

FAQs

figures

first person, use of in academic writing

footnotes

fragments

free-writing

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G

generative artificial intelligence (AI)

gerunds

grammar

graphics

graphs

group writing

GWC appointment, how to schedule

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H

homophones

Honor Code, NPS

human subjects research

hyphens

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I

ibid.

incomplete sentences

independent clauses

Institutional Review Board

interviews, conducting

introductions

IRB

iThenticate

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J

Joining the Academic Conversation

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L

LaTeX

library liaisons

lists, syntax of

literature reviews

logic and analysis

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M

M dash

making a GWC appointment

mathematics

memos

methodology

modifiers, compound

modifiers, misplaced

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N

N dash

nominalizations

note-taking

noun clusters

numbers

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O

organization

outlining

Oxford comma

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P

paragraph development

parallelism

paraphrasing

parentheses

parts of speech

passive voice

periods

persuasion

phrases vs. clauses

plagiarism, how to avoid

plagiarism-detection software

plain language

polishing

prepositional phrases

prepositions

pronouns, clarity with

pronouns, grammar of

proofreading

publishing

punctuation

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Q

questionnaires, administering

questions

quotation marks

quoting

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R

Reading with Intent I

Reading with Intent II

redundancies

reference software

reflection papers

research

research guides, discipline-specific

research questions

restrictive vs. nonrestrictive information

reusing papers

reverse outlining

revision

roadmaps

run-on sentences

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S

scheduling a GWC appointment

self-citing

semicolons

sentence fragments

serial comma

signal phrases

significance

so what?

source blending

sources, engaging with / critiquing

sources, evaluating the reliability of

sources, citing

spelling

standard essay structure

STEM / technical writing

Strategic Reading I

Strategic Reading II

style

subject–verb agreement

subjects, grammatical

subordinating conjunctions

summarizing

surveys, administering

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T

tables

teams, writing in

technical writing

tense

that vs. which

thesis advisor, selecting and working with

thesis process overview

Thesis Processing Office (TPO)

thesis proposals: common elements

thesis statements

thesis writing

this, that, these, those

tone, professional

topic sentences

transitions

types of papers

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U

United States or U.S.?

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V

verbs and verb tense

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W

which vs. that

why write?

writer’s block

writing in groups / teams

writing process

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Z

Zotero

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