The document provides guidance on developing research questions. It includes steps for brainstorming what is already known about a topic and what remains unknown, identifying the 10 best statements or questions, changing statements to questions, making questions more open-ended, using question stems to improve questions, and evaluating the final research question. The overall process helps generate open-ended research questions about a topic that require investigation and analysis to answer.

1. RESEARCH QUESTION
GENERATION
Focus – What is the topic?
Describe your topic here

2. Thing we Know and Want to Know
Brainstormunderthetwocolumnsasmuchasyoucanaboutthetopicalreadyandideasaboutwhatyoucouldorwanttofindoutaboutit. You
canusethistooltohelpwithyourquestiongeneration.
DON’TJUDGEANYTHINGAT THISSTAGE!!
• Think we know • Want to know

3. 10 of the
Best!
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8
• 9
• 10
1. Copy the best 10
statements/
questions from
the last exercise.
2. Change any
statements to
questions at this
point.
3. Identify any
closed question
by highlighting
them.

4. Closed to Open
Forgenuineeffectiveenquiryitisbettertohaveaseriesofopenquestions. Thesearequestionsthatcannotbeanswered
simplybutinstead,needresearchandanalysistobeaddressed. Ifanyofthequestionsinyourlistareclosed,thennowis
thetimetotryandmakethemopen.
Closed
e.g. “How can climate change be stopped?”
This is a relatively closed question because
the answer is simply to stop putting CO2 into
the atmosphere.
Open
An improved version of this question might
be…”To what extent can the effects of climate
change be off set?”. This question requires
investigation and analysis of the conflicting
information that will be out there.
Closed
Write any closed questions here
Open
Write the open versions of your questions here

5. Review
and
Improve
Your improved questions here
Question stems are a good
way of helping to improve your
questions. The stems below
are useful in constructing good
research questions. Use these
to modify your questions and
see if you can improve them.
To what extent…?
How far…?
Whose
responsibility is
it…?
Should…?
Do the benefits of…
outweigh the
disadvantages?
What is more
important…?

6. WordsNumbers
Actions
Nature
Your questions here
Your questions here
Your questions here Your questions here
Your questions here
Your questions hereYour questions here
Your questions here

7. Evaluate Your Final Question
Thistoolmighthelpyoutakeafinalcriticallookatyourquestion. Howdoesitscoreonthescales? A“good”questionwill
scorehighlyinallareas.