2. Formulating well-focused
research questions (RQ)
Step 1 - Choose your topic area you would like to focus on
based on interest, passion or pure curiosity of the group.
Step 2 - Select three possible areas of study that your
team would like to explore further using your mind map.
• Then describe your topic of interest in one sentence:
• I want to learn about _____________.
Examples
• I want to learn about poverty in Hong Kong.
• I want to learn about recycling practices in our school
• I want to learn about food quality in our school canteen
3. Formulating well-focused
research questions (RQ)
Step 3 - Try to describe your research by developing a sentence
that specifies something about your topic.
• I am studying _____because I want to find out (who,
what, when, where, whether, why or how) ______.
Examples:
• I am studying poverty in Hong Kong because I want to find out why
so many people live below the poverty line in such a developed
county.
• I am studying recycling practices in our school because I want to
find out how we can get students to recycle more.
• I am studying the food quality of our school canteen because I
want to find out whether the ingredients they use are sustainable.
4. Formulating well-focused
research questions (RQ)
Step 4 - Convert your direct statements into direct questions:
For this let us use three question starters:
• To what extent…(the most popular across beginner researchers)
• How (successful/crucial/reliable/significant/far)...
• Why…
Example
I am studying recycling practices in our school because I want to find out
how we can get students reduce the amount of waste ending up in
landfill.
To what extent are recycling practices used in a school environment in
order that students effectively reduce the amount of waste going to landfill?
5. Formulating well-focused
research questions (RQ)
Step 5 - Evaluate your question.
Now, ask yourself:
1. “Can I argue a position here?”, “Are there enough issues to
explore?” This is called self-assessment and reflection.
2. “Is there a range of perspectives on this topic?”
3. “Does the Research Question allow for analysis, evaluation
and the development of a reasoned argument?”
6. Formulating well-focused
research questions (RQ)
Step 6 – This is quality assurance stage. Restate your
question using a different command term.
Asking your research question in a different way might help
you view your topic differently.
• How does analysing… or
(successful/crucial/reliable/significant/far)
• To what extent…
• Why …
7. Formulating well-focused
research questions (RQ)
Step 7 - Review with your teachers.
• Is your teacher able to understand the nature of your
research question and research?
• Is it clear to your teacher how and why your topic is
relevant to you?
• Is it clear to your teacher how your research question
relates to one of the 8 Global Perspectives team project
topic areas?
8. Formulating well-focused research
questions (RQ)
Step 8 – The research begins
To what extent are recycling practices used in a school
environment in order that students effectively reduce the
amount of waste going to landfill?
Question starter. In this
case it seeks to find out
a degree of
measurement and it will
need to be discussed in
during your project write
up
First big topic. You
need find out about it
and provide different
ideas and perspectives
on
Second big topic. You need to
read and find out about it and
provide data and statistics to
support your argument
Linking verb that connects
big ideas or topics. This is
key as you will need to
discuss it within paragraphs
to provide a response
What will
happen
when HK
landfills
are full?
How do we
persuade
students to
recycle?
Why should we
be recycling in
schools?
To identify areas of research within
your question add ‘who, what, when,
where, whether, why or how’-
questions to speech bubbles around
your question.
