Get Curious

Choose a topic that interests you, something you'd like to know more about. For a college level research paper (different from a persuasive paper), the following criteria may assist you in developing a research question:

• It should be worded in the form of a question (including a question mark). Although the question will never actually appear in your paper, your paper will be the answer to the question.
• The question should be appropriately narrow for a college level research paper. An entire book on a topic means it is too broad. Look at chapters within a book on your topic. Chapters tend to look at a narrower aspect within the topic and may provide you with ideas for narrowing your topic.
• The question should be clearly worded and grammatically correct.
• The question should be open-ended and express no bias. The expectation is that you are researching the topic without bias and your conclusion will be based on the research that you find.
• The question should be academically challenging, allows you to take a stance, make a judgment based on analysis of research, and allows you to bring insight to the question.
• The question should be grounded and be based on evidence rather than beliefs.

Coming up with a solid research question can be challenging but it will save you time, keep you on topic and lead to a stronger final paper.