Evaluating Your Research Question

We discuss the following topic on this page:

• Evaluating Your Research Question
  

We also provide the following activities:

• Evaluating Your Research Question [Refresher]
• Exercises

How do you know when you have posed a good research question? Below we discuss several criteria for evaluating your research question. Keep reworking your research question until it meets all the criteria.

Evaluating Your Research Question^[1]

The research question is your ticket to joining the scholarly conversation. It should help the reader to consider something that is either not well understood or that is currently misunderstood within the current scholarly conversation. Note that your research question can be about either a work (or works) of literature or about the scholarly conversation related to a work of literature.

Key Concepts

• Does your question have a clear purpose?
• Is your question clear, complex, and focused?
• Is your answer arguable?

Once you have developed a workable research question, the next step is to ensure that it’s clear, complex, focused, and that the answer is arguable. This brings us back to the conversation analogy: Will others in your field – your audience – want to discuss your question? Will your findings add anything meaningful to the discourse and keep the conversation going?

Let’s watch Jada discuss how she evaluated the question she discussed in the last section:

Literature Research Strategies – Part 5 [3 min 19 sec]

A key strategy is to avoid questions with easy ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers such as “Did ‘Sonny’s Blues’ contain autobiographical elements?” Probably yes. A more interesting question might be to ask how or why Baldwin worked autobiographical elements into “Sonny’s Blues.” Questions that can be answered with a simple yes or no generally end the discussion, and the goal of your research should be to continue the discussion by making an arguable claim. At the time Jada wrote her paper, her research question centered around why James Baldwin and “Sonny’s Blues” are still relevant today. However, now that we’ve been through the refining and evaluation process, we see that she could further narrow her question to focus on topics such as as urbanization, race, and addiction. For instance, how did urbanization after World War II affect the lives of black people? Did changes in urban life lead to more addiction among black people? What does Baldwin’s story teach us about these issues and what can we learn from them about urbanization, race, and addiction today?

As we discussed in the Scholarship as Conversation section, the problems addressed by Baldwin are largely unresolved; such unresolved problems continue to engage researchers from many fields. Jada could expand on what she started here by adding her personal perspective to her research in literature and sociology. Further work can be done by posing questions about the scholarly literature on Baldwin. For instance, Emmanual S. Nelson writes about the search for self-identity in Baldwin’s writing.^[3] Nelson writes, “Baldwin suggests that one can achieve a genuine and liberating sense of self only through complete acceptance of one’s self, through loving commitment to another, and through identification with one’s community.” When that community is despised by the majority, then identifying with that community can produce “anguish” and “despair.” We might ask what happens when people resist identifying with their community. Do they engage in more self-destructing behaviors? To ask such questions is to follow up on the scholarly conversation put forth by Nelson. When we ask a question such as this, we address both Baldwin and Nelson in our research.

Move beyond your first question by asking a second question, a third question, and so on. The answer to your first question will have further implications; if X (is true), then Y (is implied). Your second question might be to ask about these implications. For instance, your first question might be about categories, such as categories of music in Baldwin’s story. Your second question can be about the function, history, and relationships of music in these categories. Your third question might be about Baldwin’s personal experience with these categories of music. Your fourth might be about the role these categories of music play in his story. Your fifth might be about the legacy of these music categories within black culture today. We can read about the uneasy relationship between black gospel music and more secular forms such as blues and jazz. How does this uneasiness play out in Baldwin’s life? In the story? In black culture today?

If you are still unsure if your question is refined enough, Wendy Belcher, author of Writing Your Journal Article in 12 Weeks, suggests talking through your research question with a friend or advisor. She also suggests writing an abstract and sending it to a friend or advisor for review. Even when an abstract is not required for your assignment, consider writing one and soliciting feedback as Belcher suggests. Feedback can be invaluable since at this point you are looking for your moment to jump into the conversation.

In the “Back Matter” of this book, you will find a page titled “Rubrics.” In that page, we provide a rubric for the research question.

Take this quiz to check your comprehension of this section.
If you are using an offline version of this text, access the quiz for this section via the QR code.

Exercises

1. What is your research question? Does it entail secondary (and tertiary) questions?
2. Does it meet all the criteria for a good research question listed on the page?
   • Does your question relate to the scholarly discussion? Does it point to gaps or problems in the discussion that need to be better understood?
   • Does your question name a “thing” (usually a literary text or texts) that your question is about?
   • Is your question clear, complex, and focused?
   • Is your answer arguable?
   • Are you filling a gap or solving a problem? (Either is fine – just know which direction your research is going)
   • Is your question leading or loaded? (If so, ask a question that doesn’t assume the answer)
   • Does your question cover too much subject matter? (If so, narrow your question)
   • Is the scope of your project realistic and researchable within the given timeframe? (If not, keep refining your question)
   • Do you have the tools &/or technology needed to accomplish your task? (If not, keep refining your question)
   • Do you have access to the information and resources you will need? (If not, keep refining your question)
3. Using the criteria in this page, try to assess one or more of these research questions:
   • “Will ‘Sonny’s Blues’ will help us solve the problem of racism today?”
   • “Why should we teach ‘Sonny’s Blues’ in the classroom?”
   • “Does ‘Sonny’s Blues’ encourage people to appreciate Black culture?”
   • “How did ‘Sonny’s Blues’ change the conversation about race and addiction?”
4. If you have read “Sonny’s Blues,” posit a research question that might work better than those above.
5. If there are any elements of your assignment that need clarification, please list them.
6. What was the most important lesson you learned from this page? What point was confusing or difficult to understand?

Creating a Research Question Rubric