1. Moving from Presearch to
Research Question
Presented by Ann Westrick
Funded by a grant from the Jerome Library
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green, Ohio, USA

2. OK—so you’ve done your Presearch.
So far:
• You understand the issues involved with your overall
topic
• You have an overview of theories related to your topic
• You understand the multiple sides of the issue which
you’ve drawn from your topic

3. But you still need to craft a research
question so you can:
• see possible answers to your research
question
• decide what issues/information you need to
continue researching.

4. What is a research question?
A research question is a short, specific, debatable
question around which you can center your
research.
A good research question helps keep your
research focused.
The proposed answer to your question is your
thesis.

5. Energy Drinks
Topic = Energy drinks
Through presearch, I’ve found that there is an issue
I might possibly explore. It centers around some
manufacturers changing the way they label their
energy drinks. Some say this is being done for the
companies’ benefit; others say it is for the benefit
of the consumer.
Issue = The debate about the labeling of energy
drinks.

6. Start asking questions
Taking into consideration all you’ve learned
through your presearch, ask yourself open-
ended “how” and “why” and “should”
questions about your general topic.

7. General formats for questions
• Why is this a problem?
• What are the causes of this problem?
• How can this problem be solved?
• Should we do this or that or the other thing?

8. Energy Drink questions
• Should energy drinks be considered effective?
• Should energy drinks be considered safe?
• Should energy drinks be labeled as beverages
or dietary supplements?
• How does labeling affect FDA reporting?
• Why does labeling affect the way the drinks
are perceived?
• Why does labeling affect sales?

9. Evaluate your question
• A good research question involves a real issue that
people genuinely care about.
• Research questions should only deal with one issue.
• In a good question the answer is not obvious.
• A real research question intends to go beyond just
reporting on something—it tries to add to the
conversation about that topic.

10. Too Broad? Too Narrow? Too Vague?
• Broad questions lead to superficial research.
• Narrow questions unnecessarily limit the scope and
range of your research.
• Vague questions show that you’re not really clear
about what you’re addressing.
• The best research question is broad enough to be
interesting and significant, but specific enough to meet
the limits of your assignment.

11. Starting over?
You may find yourself revising your research
question as you conduct your research
THAT’S FINE
Researching and writing and thinking are
recursive processes which involve lots of
backtracking and starting over.

12. Real Research
• Involves more than compiling data and
reporting on it
• Need to avoid “here’s everything I learned
about __________________” and instead
focus on answering a specific question with a
clear, debatable argument.
• Adds knowledge to the topic you’ve chosen.

13. Real Research
• Need to look deeper than reporting on what
happened. Real research is concerned with
why or how something happened.
• How can a problem be solved?
• Should something have been done
differently?

14. Thesis = Answer to Research Question
• In a good question the answer is not obvious.
• When you discover the answer to your
research question, you have found the thesis
to your essay.