Before you dive into the first step of the research process, think for a moment about your research plan. Your instructor may have given you a worksheet to guide your pre-search process. If not, that's ok. Just take a few moments to think about the following:
- What is the issue you are interested in?
- What about this issue do you find interesting?
- Does your issue have sub-topics that you need to know more about?
- Use these prompts to help you start thinking about your research question. Feel free to change the question to the future or past tense if that is more appropriate for your topic.
How does . . .
What procedures or actions . . .
What problems . . .
What happens when . . .
What is the role of . . . in . . .
What is the difference between . . .
What causes . . .
What are the effects or results of . . .
How or why did . . . decide to . . .
Who or what influenced . . . to . . .
What is the relationship between . . . and . . .
What are the competing sides . . .
How does. . . change . . .
Now, use the "Developing a Research Question" infographic to ask some important questions about your issue.