What makes a good research question?

Author: Iloka Benneth Chiemelie
Published: 26th April 2017

When it comes to defining the relevance or research questions, there are a number of things that must be considered.

Originality and clarity – in accordance with the first respondent, this is the first consideration when it comes to defining the relevance of a research. That is to say, the research question must not be what has been asked before, instead it should be an original question that is easy for the respondents to understand and address.

Focused and relevant – in accordance with the second respondent, a good research question must also be focused to the research topic and relevant in the sense that it should be based purely on what the research is all about. The importance of this is that it will make it easy for the hypothesis to be tested and overall purpose of the research easily attainable.

Easy to manage – in accordance with the third respondent, when it comes to establishing findings from the research process, the main focus is on how the research questions can easily be managed. That is to say, can they be easily computed into the analytical system? This is another important element that good research puts into consideration.