MRC LESSON 5

provides an overview of the issue discussed in the paper, as well as its background and who it affects. It may also describe your objectives in performing your research.

In other words, the question should clearly state what the writer needs to do

The question should have an appropriate scope. If the question is too broad it will not be possible to answer it thoroughly within the word limit. If it is too narrow you will not have enough to write about and you will struggle to develop a strong argument (see the activity below for examples).

For example, the question should require more than a simple yes or no answer.

You must be able to answer the question thoroughly within the given timeframe and word limit

You must have access to a suitable amount of quality research materials, such as academic books and refereed journal articles.

In other words, your research question should allow you to produce an analysis of an issue or problem rather than a simple description of it.

the subject to be investigated, and the included variables.

the general aims and objectives (purpose) of the research.

details how in-depth your study is to explore the research questions and the parameters in which it will operate in relation to the population and timeframe

the factors and variables not to be included in the investigation. In other words, they are the boundaries the researcher sets in terms of study duration, population size and type of participants, etc.

the location or setting of the study, i.e. where the data will be gathered and to which entity the data will belong.

the timeframe within which the data is to be collected.

the subject matter of the study and the population from which they will be selected. This population needs to be large enough to be able to make generalizations.

how the research is to be conducted, including a description of the research design.