what is a bad research question

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Characteristics of Good and Bad Research Questions

The figure below gives some examples of good and "not-so-good" research questions.

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Examples of Good and Bad Research Questions

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So, you've got a research grant in your sights or you've been admitted to your school of choice, and you now have to write up a proposal for the work you want to perform. You know your topic, have done some reading, and you've got a nice quiet place where nobody will bother you while you try to decide where you'll go from here. The question looms:     

What Is a Research Question?

Your research question will be your focus, the sentence you refer to when you need to remember why you're researching. It will encapsulate what drives you and be something your field needs an answer for but doesn't have yet. 

Whether it seeks to describe a phenomenon, compare things, or show how one variable influences another, a research question always does the same thing: it guides research that will be judged based on how well it addresses the question.

So, what makes a research question good or bad? This article will provide examples of good and bad research questions and use them to illustrate both of their common characteristics so that you can evaluate your research question and improve it to suit your needs.

How to Choose a Research Question

At the start of your research paper, you might be wondering, "What is a good research question?"

A good research question focuses on one researchable problem relevant to your subject area.

To write a research paper , first make sure you have a strong, relevant topic. Then, conduct some preliminary research around that topic. It's important to complete these two initial steps because your research question will be formulated based on this research.

With this in mind, let's review the steps that help us write good research questions.

1. Select a Relevant Topic

When selecting a topic to form a good research question, it helps to start broad. What topics interest you most? It helps when you care about the topic you're researching!

Have you seen a movie recently that you enjoyed? How about a news story? If you can't think of anything, research different topics on Google to see which ones intrigue you the most and can apply to your assignment.

Also, before settling on a research topic, make sure it's relevant to your subject area or to society as a whole. This is an important aspect of developing your research question, because, in general, your research should add value to existing knowledge .

2. Thoroughly Research the Topic

Now that you've chosen a broad but relevant topic for your paper, research it thoroughly to see which avenues you might want to explore further.

For example, let's say you decide on the broad topic of search engines. During this research phase, try skimming through sources that are unbiased, current, and relevant, such as academic journals or sources in your university library.

Check out: 21 Legit Research Databases for Free Articles in 2022

Pay close attention to the subtopics that come up during research, such as the following: Which search engines are the most commonly used? Why do some search engines dominate specific regions? How do they really work or affect the research of scientists and scholars?

Be on the lookout for any gaps or limitations in the research. Identifying the groups or demographics that are most affected by your topic is also helpful, in case that's relevant to your work.

3. Narrow Your Topic to a Single Point

Now that you've spent some time researching your broad topic, it's time to narrow it down to one specific subject. A topic like search engines is much too broad to develop a research paper around. What specifically about search engines could you explore?

When refining your topic, be careful not to be either too narrow or too broad. You can ask yourself the following questions during this phase:

Can I cover this topic within the scope of my paper, or would it require longer, heavier research? (In this case, you'd need to be more specific.)

Conversely, is there not enough research about my topic to write a paper? (In this case, you'd need to be broader.)

Keep these things in mind as you narrow down your topic. You can always expand your topic later if you have the time and research materials.

4. Identify a Problem Related to Your Topic

When narrowing down your topic, it helps to identify a single issue or problem on which to base your research. Ask open-ended questions, such as why is this topic important to you or others? Essentially, have you identified the answer to "so what"?

For example, after asking these questions about our search engine topic, we might focus only on the issue of how search engines affect research in a specific field. Or, more specifically, how search engine algorithms manipulate search results and prevent us from finding the critical research we need.

Asking these "so what" questions will help us brainstorm examples of research questions we can ask in our field of study.

5. Turn Your Problem into a Question

Now that you have your main issue or problem, it's time to write your research question. Do this by reviewing your topic's big problem and formulating a question that your research will answer.

For example, ask, "so what?" about your search engine topic. You might realize that the bigger issue is that you, as a researcher, aren't getting the relevant information you need from search engines.

How can we use this information to develop a research question? We might phrase the research question as follows:

"What effect does the Google search engine algorithm have on online research conducted in the field of neuroscience?"

Note how specific we were with the type of search engine, the field of study, and the research method. It's also important to remember that your research question should not have an easy yes or no answer. It should be a question with a complex answer that can be discovered through research and analysis.

Perfect Your Paper

Hire an expert academic editor , or get a free sample, how to find good research topics for your research.

It can be fun to browse a myriad of research topics for your paper, but there are a few important things to keep in mind.

First, make sure you've understood your assignment. You don't want to pick a topic that's not relevant to the assignment goal. Your instructor can offer good topic suggestions as well, so if you get stuck, ask them!

Next, try to search for a broad topic that interests you. Starting broad gives you more options to work with. Some research topic examples include infectious diseases, European history, and smartphones .

Then, after some research, narrow your topic to something specific by extracting a single element from that subject. This could be a current issue on that topic, a major question circulating around that topic, or a specific region or group of people affected by that topic.

It's important that your research topic is focused. Focus lets you clearly demonstrate your understanding of the topic with enough details and examples to fit the scope of your project.

For example, if Jane Austen is your research topic, that might be too broad for a five-page paper! However, you could narrow it down to a single book by Austen or a specific perspective.

To keep your research topic focused, try creating a mind map. This is where you put your broad topic in a circle and create a few circles around it with similar ideas that you uncovered during your research. 

Mind maps can help you visualize the connections between topics and subtopics. This could help you simplify the process of eliminating broad or uninteresting topics or help you identify new relationships between topics that you didn't previously notice. 

Keeping your research topic focused will help you when it comes to writing your research question!

2. Researchable

A researchable question should have enough available sources to fill the scope of your project without being overwhelming. If you find that the research is never-ending, you're going to be very disappointed at the end of your paper—because you won't be able to fit everything in! If you are in this fix, your research question is still too broad.

Search for your research topic's keywords in trusted sources such as journals, research databases , or dissertations in your university library. Then, assess whether the research you're finding is feasible and realistic to use.

If there's too much material out there, narrow down your topic by industry, region, or demographic. Conversely, if you don't find enough research on your topic, you'll need to go broader. Try choosing two works by two different authors instead of one, or try choosing three poems by a single author instead of one.

3. Reasonable

Make sure that the topic for your research question is a reasonable one to pursue. This means it's something that can be completed within your timeframe and offers a new perspective on the research.

Research topics often end up being summaries of a topic, but that's not the goal. You're looking for a way to add something relevant and new to the topic you're exploring. To do so, here are two ways to uncover strong, reasonable research topics as you conduct your preliminary research:

Check the ends of journal articles for sections with questions for further discussion. These make great research topics because they haven't been explored!

Check the sources of articles in your research. What points are they bringing up? Is there anything new worth exploring? Sometimes, you can use sources to expand your research and more effectively narrow your topic.

4. Specific

For your research topic to stand on its own, it should be specific. This means that it shouldn't be easily mistaken for another topic that's already been written about.

If you are writing about a topic that has been written about, such as consumer trust, it should be distinct from everything that's been written about consumer trust so far.

There is already a lot of research done on consumer trust in specific products or services in the US. Your research topic could focus on consumer trust in products and services in a different region, such as a developing country.

If your research feels similar to existing articles, make sure to drive home the differences.

Whether it's developed for a thesis or another assignment, a good research topic question should be complex enough to let you expand on it within the scope of your paper.

For example, let's say you took our advice on researching a topic you were interested in, and that topic was a new Bridezilla reality show. But when you began to research it, you couldn't find enough information on it, or worse, you couldn't find anything scholarly.

In short, Bridezilla reality shows aren't complex enough to build your paper on. Instead of broadening the topic to all reality TV shows, which might be too overwhelming, you might consider choosing a topic about wedding reality TV shows specifically.

This would open you up to more research that could be complex enough to write a paper on without being too overwhelming or narrow.

6. Relevant

Because research papers aim to contribute to existing research that's already been explored, the relevance of your topic within your subject area can't be understated.

Your research topic should be relevant enough to advance understanding in a specific area of study and build on what's already been researched. It shouldn't duplicate research or try to add to it in an irrelevant way.

For example, you wouldn't choose a research topic like malaria transmission in Northern Siberia if the mosquito that transmits malaria lives in Africa. This research topic simply isn't relevant to the typical location where malaria is transmitted, and the research could be considered a waste of resources.

Do Research Questions Differ between the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Hard Sciences?

The art and science of asking questions is the source of all knowledge. 

–Thomas Berger

First, a bit of clarification: While there are constants among research questions, no matter what you're writing about, you will use different standards for the humanities and social sciences than for hard sciences, such as chemistry. The former depends on subjectivity and the perspective of the researcher, while the latter requires answers that must be empirically tested and replicable.

For instance, if you research Charles Dickens' writing influences, you will have to explain your stance and observations to the reader before supporting them with evidence. If you research improvements in superconductivity in room-temperature material, the reader will not only need to understand and believe you but also duplicate your work to confirm that you are correct.

Do Research Questions Differ between the Different Types of Research?

Research questions help you clarify the path your research will take. They are answered in your research paper and usually stated in the introduction.

There are two main types of research—qualitative and quantitative. 

If you're conducting quantitative research, it means you're collecting numerical, quantifiable data that can be measured, such as statistical information.

Qualitative research aims to understand experiences or phenomena, so you're collecting and analyzing non-numerical data, such as case studies or surveys.

The structure and content of your research question will change depending on the type of research you're doing. However, the definition and goal of a research question remains the same: a specific, relevant, and focused inquiry that your research answers.

Below, we'll explore research question examples for different types of research.

Comparative Research

Comparative research questions are designed to determine whether two or more groups differ based on a dependent variable. These questions allow researchers to uncover similarities and differences between the groups tested.

Because they compare two groups with a dependent variable, comparative research questions usually start with "What is the difference in…"

A strong comparative research question example might be the following:

"What is the difference in the daily caloric intake of American men and women?" ( Source .)

In the above example, the dependent variable is daily caloric intake and the two groups are American men and women.

A poor comparative research example might not aim to explore the differences between two groups or it could be too easily answered, as in the following example:

"Does daily caloric intake affect American men and women?"

Always ensure that your comparative research question is focused on a comparison between two groups based on a dependent variable.

Descriptive Research

Descriptive research questions help you gather data about measurable variables. Typically, researchers asking descriptive research questions aim to explain how, why, or what.

These research questions tend to start with the following:

What percentage?

How likely?

What proportion?

For example, a good descriptive research question might be as follows:

"What percentage of college students have felt depressed in the last year?" ( Source .)

A poor descriptive research question wouldn't be as precise. This might be something similar to the following:

"What percentage of teenagers felt sad in the last year?"

The above question is too vague, and the data would be overwhelming, given the number of teenagers in the world. Keep in mind that specificity is key when it comes to research questions!

Correlational Research

Correlational research measures the statistical relationship between two variables, with no influence from any other variable. The idea is to observe the way these variables interact with one another. If one changes, how is the other affected?

When it comes to writing a correlational research question, remember that it's all about relationships. Your research would encompass the relational effects of one variable on the other.

For example, having an education (variable one) might positively or negatively correlate with the rate of crime (variable two) in a specific city. An example research question for this might be written as follows:

"Is there a significant negative correlation between education level and crime rate in Los Angeles?"

A bad correlational research question might not use relationships at all. In fact, correlational research questions are often confused with causal research questions, which imply cause and effect. For example:

"How does the education level in Los Angeles influence the crime rate?"

The above question wouldn't be a good correlational research question because the relationship between Los Angeles and the crime rate is already inherent in the question—we are already assuming the education level in Los Angeles affects the crime rate in some way.

Be sure to use the right format if you're writing a correlational research question.

How to Avoid a Bad Question

Ask the right questions, and the answers will always reveal themselves. 

–Oprah Winfrey

If finding the right research question was easy, doing research would be much simpler. However, research does not provide useful information if the questions have easy answers (because the questions are too simple, narrow, or general) or answers that cannot be reached at all (because the questions have no possible answer, are too costly to answer, or are too broad in scope).

For a research question to meet scientific standards, its answer cannot consist solely of opinion (even if the opinion is popular or logically reasoned) and cannot simply be a description of known information.

However, an analysis of what currently exists can be valuable, provided that there is enough information to produce a useful analysis. If a scientific research question offers results that cannot be tested, measured, or duplicated, it is ineffective.

Bad Research Question Examples

Here are examples of bad research questions with brief explanations of what makes them ineffective for the purpose of research.

"What's red and bad for your teeth?"

This question has an easy, definitive answer (a brick), is too vague (What shade of red? How bad?), and isn't productive.

"Do violent video games cause players to act violently?"

This question also requires a definitive answer (yes or no), does not invite critical analysis, and allows opinion to influence or provide the answer.

"How many people were playing balalaikas while living in Moscow on July 8, 2019?"

This question cannot be answered without expending excessive amounts of time, money, and resources. It is also far too specific. Finally, it doesn't seek new insight or information, only a number that has no conceivable purpose.

How to Write a Research Question

The quality of a question is not judged by its complexity but by the complexity of thinking it provokes. 

–Joseph O'Connor

What makes a good research question? A good research question topic is clear and focused. If the reader has to waste time wondering what you mean, you haven't phrased it effectively.

It also needs to be interesting and relevant, encouraging the reader to come along with you as you explain how you reached an answer. 

Finally, once you explain your answer, there should be room for astute or interested readers to use your question as a basis to conduct their own research. If there is nothing for you to say in your conclusion beyond "that's the truth," then you're setting up your research to be challenged.

Good Research Question Examples

Here are some examples of good research questions. Take a look at the reasoning behind their effectiveness.

"What are the long-term effects of using activated charcoal in place of generic toothpaste for routine dental care?"

This question is specific enough to prevent digressions, invites measurable results, and concerns information that is both useful and interesting. Testing could be conducted in a reasonable time frame, without excessive cost, and would allow other researchers to follow up, regardless of the outcome.

"Why do North American parents feel that violent video game content has a negative influence on their children?"

While this does carry an assumption, backing up that assumption with observable proof will allow for analysis of the question, provide insight on a significant subject, and give readers something to build on in future research. 

It also discusses a topic that is recognizably relevant. (In 2022, at least. If you are reading this article in the future, there might already be an answer to this question that requires further analysis or testing!)

"To what extent has Alexey Arkhipovsky's 2013 album, Insomnia , influenced gender identification in Russian culture?"

While it's tightly focused, this question also presents an assumption (that the music influenced gender identification) and seeks to prove or disprove it. This allows for the possibilities that the music had no influence at all or had a demonstrable impact.

Answering the question will involve explaining the context and using many sources so that the reader can follow the logic and be convinced of the author's findings. The results (be they positive or negative) will also open the door to countless other studies.

How to Turn a Bad Research Question into a Good One

If something is wrong, fix it if you can. But train yourself not to worry. Worry never fixes anything.

–Ernest Hemingway

How do you turn something that won't help your research into something that will? Start by taking a step back and asking what you are expected to produce. While there are any number of fascinating subjects out there, a grant paying you to examine income disparity in Japan is not going to warrant an in-depth discussion of South American farming pollution. 

Use these expectations to frame your initial topic and the subject that your research should be about, and then conduct preliminary research into that subject. If you spot a knowledge gap while researching, make a note of it, and add it to your list of possible questions.

If you already have a question that is relevant to your topic but has flaws, identify the issues and see if they can be addressed. In addition, if your question is too broad, try to narrow it down enough to make your research feasible.

Especially in the sciences, if your research question will not produce results that can be replicated, determine how you can change it so a reader can look at what you've done and go about repeating your actions so they can see that you are right.

Moreover, if you would need 20 years to produce results, consider whether there is a way to tighten things up to produce more immediate results. This could justify future research that will eventually reach that lofty goal.

If all else fails, you can use the flawed question as a subtopic and try to find a better question that fits your goals and expectations.

Parting Advice

When you have your early work edited, don't be surprised if you are told that your research question requires revision. Quite often, results or the lack thereof can force a researcher to shift their focus and examine a less significant topic—or a different facet of a known issue—because testing did not produce the expected result. 

If that happens, take heart. You now have the tools to assess your question, find its flaws, and repair them so that you can complete your research with confidence and publish something you know your audience will read with fascination.

Of course, if you receive affirmation that your research question is strong or are polishing your work before submitting it to a publisher, you might just need a final proofread to ensure that your confidence is well placed. Then, you can start pursuing something new that the world does not yet know (but will know) once you have your research question down.

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• Writing Strong Research Questions | Criteria & Examples

Writing Strong Research Questions | Criteria & Examples

Published on October 26, 2022 by Shona McCombes . Revised on November 21, 2023.

A research question pinpoints exactly what you want to find out in your work. A good research question is essential to guide your research paper , dissertation , or thesis .

All research questions should be:

• Focused on a single problem or issue
• Researchable using primary and/or secondary sources
• Feasible to answer within the timeframe and practical constraints
• Specific enough to answer thoroughly
• Complex enough to develop the answer over the space of a paper or thesis
• Relevant to your field of study and/or society more broadly

Table of contents

How to write a research question, what makes a strong research question, using sub-questions to strengthen your main research question, research questions quiz, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about research questions.

You can follow these steps to develop a strong research question:

• Choose your topic
• Do some preliminary reading about the current state of the field
• Narrow your focus to a specific niche
• Identify the research problem that you will address

The way you frame your question depends on what your research aims to achieve. The table below shows some examples of how you might formulate questions for different purposes.

Using your research problem to develop your research question

Note that while most research questions can be answered with various types of research , the way you frame your question should help determine your choices.

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

Research questions anchor your whole project, so it’s important to spend some time refining them. The criteria below can help you evaluate the strength of your research question.

Focused and researchable

Feasible and specific

Complex and arguable

Relevant and original

Chances are that your main research question likely can’t be answered all at once. That’s why sub-questions are important: they allow you to answer your main question in a step-by-step manner.

Good sub-questions should be:

• Less complex than the main question
• Focused only on 1 type of research
• Presented in a logical order

Here are a few examples of descriptive and framing questions:

• Descriptive: According to current government arguments, how should a European bank tax be implemented?
• Descriptive: Which countries have a bank tax/levy on financial transactions?
• Framing: How should a bank tax/levy on financial transactions look at a European level?

Keep in mind that sub-questions are by no means mandatory. They should only be asked if you need the findings to answer your main question. If your main question is simple enough to stand on its own, it’s okay to skip the sub-question part. As a rule of thumb, the more complex your subject, the more sub-questions you’ll need.

Try to limit yourself to 4 or 5 sub-questions, maximum. If you feel you need more than this, it may be indication that your main research question is not sufficiently specific. In this case, it’s is better to revisit your problem statement and try to tighten your main question up.

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If you want to know more about the research process , methodology , research bias , or statistics , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

Methodology

• Sampling methods
• Simple random sampling
• Stratified sampling
• Cluster sampling
• Likert scales
• Reproducibility

 Statistics

• Null hypothesis
• Statistical power
• Probability distribution
• Effect size
• Poisson distribution

Research bias

• Optimism bias
• Cognitive bias
• Implicit bias
• Hawthorne effect
• Anchoring bias
• Explicit bias

The way you present your research problem in your introduction varies depending on the nature of your research paper . A research paper that presents a sustained argument will usually encapsulate this argument in a thesis statement .

A research paper designed to present the results of empirical research tends to present a research question that it seeks to answer. It may also include a hypothesis —a prediction that will be confirmed or disproved by your research.

As you cannot possibly read every source related to your topic, it’s important to evaluate sources to assess their relevance. Use preliminary evaluation to determine whether a source is worth examining in more depth.

This involves:

• Reading abstracts , prefaces, introductions , and conclusions
• Looking at the table of contents to determine the scope of the work
• Consulting the index for key terms or the names of important scholars

A research hypothesis is your proposed answer to your research question. The research hypothesis usually includes an explanation (“ x affects y because …”).

A statistical hypothesis, on the other hand, is a mathematical statement about a population parameter. Statistical hypotheses always come in pairs: the null and alternative hypotheses . In a well-designed study , the statistical hypotheses correspond logically to the research hypothesis.

Formulating a main research question can be a difficult task. Overall, your question should contribute to solving the problem that you have defined in your problem statement .

However, it should also fulfill criteria in three main areas:

• Researchability
• Feasibility and specificity
• Relevance and originality

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Research Help

• Library Research Guide
• What Is a Thesis Statement?
• Topic Development
• Improve Your Research Question
• Good and Bad Research Questions
• Sources for Background Reading
• What about Wikipedia?
• Related Terms and Synonyms
• Subject Terms
• Boolean Searching
• Additional Searching Techniques
• Definition of "Scholarly"
• Library Catalog
• Open Access Resources
• Google Scholar
• Interlibrary Searching
• Evaluation of Sources
• The SIFT Method This link opens in a new window
• Academic Writing
• Citing Sources
• Citation Formats
• Plagiarism This link opens in a new window

Characteristics of Good and Bad Research Questions

The figure below gives some examples of good and "not-so-good" research questions.

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Research Question Examples 🧑🏻‍🏫

25+ Practical Examples & Ideas To Help You Get Started 

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) | October 2023

A well-crafted research question (or set of questions) sets the stage for a robust study and meaningful insights.  But, if you’re new to research, it’s not always clear what exactly constitutes a good research question. In this post, we’ll provide you with clear examples of quality research questions across various disciplines, so that you can approach your research project with confidence!

Research Question Examples

• Psychology research questions
• Business research questions
• Education research questions
• Healthcare research questions
• Computer science research questions

Examples: Psychology

Let’s start by looking at some examples of research questions that you might encounter within the discipline of psychology.

How does sleep quality affect academic performance in university students?

This question is specific to a population (university students) and looks at a direct relationship between sleep and academic performance, both of which are quantifiable and measurable variables.

What factors contribute to the onset of anxiety disorders in adolescents?

The question narrows down the age group and focuses on identifying multiple contributing factors. There are various ways in which it could be approached from a methodological standpoint, including both qualitatively and quantitatively.

Do mindfulness techniques improve emotional well-being?

This is a focused research question aiming to evaluate the effectiveness of a specific intervention.

How does early childhood trauma impact adult relationships?

This research question targets a clear cause-and-effect relationship over a long timescale, making it focused but comprehensive.

Is there a correlation between screen time and depression in teenagers?

This research question focuses on an in-demand current issue and a specific demographic, allowing for a focused investigation. The key variables are clearly stated within the question and can be measured and analysed (i.e., high feasibility).

Examples: Business/Management

Next, let’s look at some examples of well-articulated research questions within the business and management realm.

How do leadership styles impact employee retention?

This is an example of a strong research question because it directly looks at the effect of one variable (leadership styles) on another (employee retention), allowing from a strongly aligned methodological approach.

What role does corporate social responsibility play in consumer choice?

Current and precise, this research question can reveal how social concerns are influencing buying behaviour by way of a qualitative exploration.

Does remote work increase or decrease productivity in tech companies?

Focused on a particular industry and a hot topic, this research question could yield timely, actionable insights that would have high practical value in the real world.

How do economic downturns affect small businesses in the homebuilding industry?

Vital for policy-making, this highly specific research question aims to uncover the challenges faced by small businesses within a certain industry.

Which employee benefits have the greatest impact on job satisfaction?

By being straightforward and specific, answering this research question could provide tangible insights to employers.

Examples: Education

Next, let’s look at some potential research questions within the education, training and development domain.

How does class size affect students’ academic performance in primary schools?

This example research question targets two clearly defined variables, which can be measured and analysed relatively easily.

Do online courses result in better retention of material than traditional courses?

Timely, specific and focused, answering this research question can help inform educational policy and personal choices about learning formats.

What impact do US public school lunches have on student health?

Targeting a specific, well-defined context, the research could lead to direct changes in public health policies.

To what degree does parental involvement improve academic outcomes in secondary education in the Midwest?

This research question focuses on a specific context (secondary education in the Midwest) and has clearly defined constructs.

What are the negative effects of standardised tests on student learning within Oklahoma primary schools?

This research question has a clear focus (negative outcomes) and is narrowed into a very specific context.

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Examples: Healthcare

Shifting to a different field, let’s look at some examples of research questions within the healthcare space.

What are the most effective treatments for chronic back pain amongst UK senior males?

Specific and solution-oriented, this research question focuses on clear variables and a well-defined context (senior males within the UK).

How do different healthcare policies affect patient satisfaction in public hospitals in South Africa?

This question is has clearly defined variables and is narrowly focused in terms of context.

Which factors contribute to obesity rates in urban areas within California?

This question is focused yet broad, aiming to reveal several contributing factors for targeted interventions.

Does telemedicine provide the same perceived quality of care as in-person visits for diabetes patients?

Ideal for a qualitative study, this research question explores a single construct (perceived quality of care) within a well-defined sample (diabetes patients).

Which lifestyle factors have the greatest affect on the risk of heart disease?

This research question aims to uncover modifiable factors, offering preventive health recommendations.

Examples: Computer Science

Last but certainly not least, let’s look at a few examples of research questions within the computer science world.

What are the perceived risks of cloud-based storage systems?

Highly relevant in our digital age, this research question would align well with a qualitative interview approach to better understand what users feel the key risks of cloud storage are.

Which factors affect the energy efficiency of data centres in Ohio?

With a clear focus, this research question lays a firm foundation for a quantitative study.

How do TikTok algorithms impact user behaviour amongst new graduates?

While this research question is more open-ended, it could form the basis for a qualitative investigation.

What are the perceived risk and benefits of open-source software software within the web design industry?

Practical and straightforward, the results could guide both developers and end-users in their choices.

Remember, these are just examples…

In this post, we’ve tried to provide a wide range of research question examples to help you get a feel for what research questions look like in practice. That said, it’s important to remember that these are just examples and don’t necessarily equate to good research topics . If you’re still trying to find a topic, check out our topic megalist for inspiration.

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bad research questions

Writing a research question is hard. And it takes time. Often much more time that you might think.

The research question is really important as it underpins your research design. And your  design allows you to find an answer or answers to the question (s) you have posed. And that of course is what matters. You’ve been enrolled on a PhD and/or funded to find the answer(s).

There are different views on what makes a good research question. Alas, there is no universal view about how a question is best worded and how many questions there should be. I’m of the not-too-many-and-keep-it-simple school of thought so you need to read this post with that in mind. But I do have a pretty good idea of what examiners and what research funders look for in a research question – and what they don’t want to see.

It’s often as helpful to find out what not to do in research as what you should do. It never hurts to know what really, really doesn’t work for your examiner or assessor or reviewer. So, here’s four things to do if you want to produce a Very Bad Research Question, one that will raise doubt in, and questions from, your very particular and fussy reader.

• a bad research question anticipates a simple answer, a yes or no

If you were going do an experiment you very may well word a hypothesis as a yes/no because it’s something you’re testing out. But a research question is different. A research question that can be answered with a yes or no can be very problematic because it focuses on only one option.

Let ‘s take an example.

Does writing advice have any effect?

Well that’s clearly a one word answer – it does or it doesn’t – although of course you would also need to show how you reached the positive/negative outcome. But is that enough? Maybe some writing advice has an influence on some people some of the time. And don’t you need to know why you’ve got a yes/no? So perhaps you could say:

 Does writing advice have any effect? If so what?

But there’s still a problem. If your answer to the first question is no, then you’re a bit stuck. So how about:

What effects does writing advice have?

But hang on, what are we actually looking for?

• a bad research question uses loaded and /or vague and/or contentious terms

Sad and bad research questions often use loaded terms that then require a truckload of justification and explanation when maybe less tricky terminology might do.

To go back to the example. In the question What effects does writing advice have ? There are two terms that are tricky:

Writing advice – What is meant by writing advice? Is it all the same?

We could get more specific here and say What effects does online writing advice have? The question is more defined than before, suggesting that it’s possible to put some boundaries around the research without too much difficulty. In this version you’re only looking at what’s online. However, the question still assumes that all writing advice is the same.

But there’s a second problem – what is meant by the term effects ? Does this mean something like the writing advice has to be effective? On what basis would you judge something to be effective? And if it simply means what happens, then… Oh dear. To whom, how often, and what…

So there’s a further problem…

• a bad research question is fuzzy and unfocused

An unfocused question fails to delineate what, who, when, or how, or a combination of these.

So back to the example What effects does online writing advice have?

Just who do we think ought to be experiencing the effects if we know what they are? Do we actually mean what the readers take from writing advice? How they use it? What they think of it? How they access it? Do we have any particular readers in mind? And do we have any particular writing advice in mind?

Well here’s another go which goes some way to addressing this set of problems. How do beginning doctoral researchers find, understand and use online writing advice?

A group is defined. The vague term effects is unpacked. The question doesn’t anticipate an answer. The question now draws on a conceptual framing – the ways in which writers have agency and interpret and decide what to do – in this case advice, just as they do with any text.

And it’s researchable. Its not hard to imagine the kind of research design that might accompany such a question.

The question is open enough to anticipate no use of online writing advice, as well as different kinds of use. It has anticipated participants and can justify that focus through the literatures – yes there are a lot of literatures out there to suggest that doctoral researchers struggle with academic writing.

But the question still has flaws. It doesn’t talk about people other than doctoral researchers like early career researchers, or supervisors. Should it? Or would that be a different research project?

Maybe we want to add a supplementary question which will help determine what kinds of writing advice is used and when.

But we could make the question much, much more specific.

• a bad research question ties things down to the nth degree

It’s tempting in the process of getting things in focus to get very specific. The danger here is that you just rule out too many possibilities that might be interesting.

If we said How do first year doctoral researchers in Humanities in one English university find, understand and use online writing advice about their thesis?  then perhaps this cuts out too many options.

We’d have to think carefully about the advantages/disadvantages of specifying a discipline, a year and a university. And we’d also have to consider how this research question is located in the literatures about doctoral online thesis writing advice. What does this narrow study add to what is already out there? What is the contribution that such a tightly focused study might offer? Is this enough? Is this a significant contribution? Is it sufficiently ambitious? Is this actually a question worth asking?

Tricky. It’ll take a while and many goes to get the question just so. Not too vague. Not too narrow. Just right.

The jury is probably out about how much detail you need for a research question. But there is less debate among examiners, reviewers and assessors about the problems with lack of focus, vagueness, ambiguity, and closed questions. These are all guaranteed to cause trouble for research design and for the final results that you can offer.

Let me repeat, it’s important to get a research question that is workable – and defensible. A thorough research process and a well written thesis cannot compensate for a bad research question – and the subsequent bad design.

Of course, there’s much more to say about research questions and a lot of books address them. But the four problems listed above give you a bit of a start in thinking not only how you might formulate, but also interrogate your own research question, to see if it is fit for purpose.

And further reading – a book that I like a lot and recommend, is Alvesson, M., & Sandberg, J. (2013). Constructing research questions: Doing interesting research . Thousand Oaks: SAGE.

Image credit: Ken Teegardin. Flickr Commons.

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About pat thomson

5 responses to bad research questions.

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This post has been open in my browser since you wrote it. I have kept coming back to it and re-reading it because I wrote some really bad RQs for my first proposal. I am writing my second, because my committee is awesome and didn’t let me go through with the poor Q’s I had at first.

Thank you for your insight and words of wisdom here Pat. I really appreciate it.

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wow am just in awe… am writing a bachelors research paper but do not know if am doing a good job. No help from lectures as there are all swapped with workload. FAILED twice already:(

Can you please help me define my research question and objectives?

Aim (what) The aim of this research paper is to create a social media strategy for AANZET paper round.

Objective (how) In order to achieve this aim the researcher will: a. Explore the term social media and how to use it for organization by b. Analyzing data through literature review, best practices and – c. Looking into related theories on social media marketing next d. Audit AANZET social channels. e. Analyze how competitors are using social media to engage target audience f. Create content plan for AANZET

Problem statement In order to determine the starting point of the research, a problem was formulated. This Problem statement gives direction to the research and describes the advice requirement of Aanzet by answering this question a more clear advise will be drafted on what Aanzet next communication plan is . Aanzet marketing challenge lies in aligning offline communications with online activities , the Paper round would like to see continiuty on its media platfoms. More readers research will provide insight on how the target audiece perceives Aanzet and what the paperround needs to improve.

Policy question How can Aanzet ensure continuity throughout its off- online activities by engaging with its audience?

Research question What social media strategy should AANZET use to gain more interaction with the target audience?

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Masters in Environmental Science

• Examples of Good and Bad Research Questions

Every research writing requires research questions. Your research questions are what guide you to keep researching. Note that the questions have to be tailored to your topic. In the beginning, you’ll require a problem statement about the topic; it’s the topic’s loophole.

Once you have the problem statement, develop research questions to help you write on the topic. Your research question is what drives your research and something within the field that must be provided.

So, when drafting research questions, ensure it guides your research. Because choosing the wrong research questions ruins the outcome of your work. This article covers everything about good and bad research topics.

How to choose research questions

Before choosing research questions, make sure you have a solid topic. There has to be a loophole in your area of research, which is what your research question helps you find solutions to. Here are steps to choosing a good research question:

• Choose a relevant topic

Your choice of topic has to be on point. When choosing a topic, ask yourself, what topic interests you? Which areas in this topic require more research? Also, make sure that the context you’ve chosen to base your topic on is of interest to people.

• Research the topic

During the research process, you begin to learn more about your topic. The more you learn, the more you realize angles that need to be addressed. Through research, you find a research problem.

• Narrow your topic down

After researching your topic, you’ve already started seeing a possible angle your research will take. Narrow your topic down to focus on a particular area.

• Identify the problem

Now that you’ve narrowed your topic down, you focus attention on an area and fish out issues within this research area. This is usually when the research problem comes up.

• Turn the problem into question

After finding your research problem, to dissect the problem, you’ll need to break it down into questions. For example, your research should be the “so what? now what?” question.

Characteristics of a good research question

Research questions can either be good or bad. A bad research question ruins the outcome of your research. So, you must be careful of your questions. Here are some of the features of a good research question:

• A good research question is focused and straight to the point
• A good research question targets and provides a solid answer to the problem
• Good research questions provide more depth into a topic
• Good research sets the context of the research
• It is grounded in current theoretical and empirical knowledge.

Research topic vs research question

Research topics are different from research questions. A research topic is a general area your research focuses on. It’s the context upon which you’ve based your research interest. On the other hand, research questions are formulated to solve the research problem.

Good research questions examples

Here are good sample research questions to consider:

• How can government regulations help to provide free healthcare services for low-income earners?
• What factors cause the increase in death rate during the first wave of Covid?
• What strategies can be implemented to prevent drug abuse amongst teenagers
• What effect does drug abuse have on underage young girls?
• What measures can the government implement to mitigate sex trafficking in district x?

Examples of bad research questions

While there are good research questions, there are also bad ones. Bad research questions affect the outcome and quality of your research. Below are some bad research questions:

• Why do low-income earners lack healthcare?
• How did Covid kill many people?
• Is drug abuse bad for teenagers?
• Does drug abuse affect girls?
• Is it possible to stop trafficking?

Why are these questions bad? They are bad because they are ineffective. What is ineffective about this research question? The questions are generalized; they are not specific and cannot be used to address any problem. The essence of a good research topic is that it points the arrow toward a core problem that needs to be addressed.

Bad research questions weaken the outcome of your research. Since the purpose of research is to draw attention to an area. The question has to be compelling enough to attract the attention of readers.

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Copyright Masters in Environmental Science, 2013

Research Question Examples: Good and Bad Examples for Your Next Study

A well-crafted research question can guide your research and help you to stay focused on your topic. However, developing a good research question can be challenging. In this article, we will provide you with examples of good and bad research questions to help you prepare for your research project.

By examining good and bad research question examples, you can learn how to develop your own research question that is clear, specific, and relevant to your field of study. A well-crafted research question can help you stay focused on your topic, guide your research, and ultimately lead to a successful research project.

Research Question Examples

Research Questions

In any research project, the research question is the foundation upon which the entire study is built. A well-designed research question is essential to conducting a successful study. It guides the researcher in defining the scope of the study, selecting the appropriate research methods, and analyzing the data.

What Is a Research Question?

A research question is a clear, concise, and specific question that a researcher asks in order to guide their study. It is the central question that the researcher seeks to answer through their research. A good research question is one that is focused, relevant, and answerable.

Why Are Research Questions Important?

Research questions are important because they help to define the scope of the study and guide the research process. They help to ensure that the study is focused and relevant and that the research methods are appropriate for answering the research question. In addition, good research questions help to ensure that the study is feasible, ethical, and can be completed within a reasonable timeframe.

Characteristics of Good Research Questions

When it comes to developing research questions, there are several characteristics that distinguish good questions from bad ones. Good research questions are essential for guiding your research, and they should be focused, clear, and feasible. Here are some key characteristics of good research questions:

A good research question should be focused on a single problem or issue rather than being too broad or vague. A focused research question helps you to narrow down your research and prevents you from getting lost in irrelevant information. It also helps you to identify the key variables that you need to measure or manipulate in your study.

A good research question should be clear and easy to understand. It should avoid using jargon or technical terms that are not familiar to your audience. A clear research question helps you to communicate your research goals and objectives to your readers and stakeholders.

A good research question should be feasible in terms of time, scope, resources, expertise, and funding. It should be realistic and achievable within the constraints of your research project. A feasible research question helps you to avoid wasting time and resources on unrealistic or impractical research goals.

Interesting

A good research question should be interesting to you as a researcher and to your audience. It should be relevant to current issues or debates in your field and have the potential to contribute to knowledge or practice. An interesting research question helps you to stay motivated and engaged in your research and to attract the attention of your readers and stakeholders.

A good research question should be testable or answerable through empirical research. It should be amenable to the formulation of clear hypotheses and the collection of relevant data. A testable research question helps you to evaluate the validity and reliability of your research findings and to draw meaningful conclusions from them.

Good Research Question Examples

Social sciences.

In the social sciences, research questions often revolve around human behavior and social interactions. Here are a few examples of good research questions:

• How does social media usage affect mental health in adolescents ?
• What factors contribute to workplace satisfaction among employees?
• How does parental involvement affect academic achievement in elementary school children?

Natural Sciences

Natural science research often focuses on the physical world and natural phenomena. Here are a few examples of good research questions in the natural sciences:

• What is the effect of temperature on the rate of photosynthesis in plants?
• How does increasing ocean acidity affect marine life?
• What factors contribute to the formation of tornadoes?

Research in the humanities often centers on culture, language, and history. Here are a few examples of good research questions in the humanities:

• How has the portrayal of women in literature changed over time?
• What is the impact of bilingualism on cognitive development?
• How has the perception of mental illness changed throughout history?

Characteristics of Bad Research Questions

When writing a research question, it is important to ensure that it is well-constructed and meaningful. A bad research question can lead to a poorly designed study or result in irrelevant findings. Here are some characteristics of bad research questions that you should avoid:

Vague or Ambiguous

A research question that is vague or ambiguous can lead to confusion and misinterpretation. It is important to ensure that your research question is clear and specific. Avoid using broad terms that are open to interpretation, such as “better,” “more,” or “improve.” Instead, use precise language that defines the scope of your study.

Too Broad or Too Narrow

A research question that is too broad or too narrow can lead to problems with data collection and analysis. A broad research question may be too general to answer effectively, while a narrow research question may limit the scope of your study. It is important to strike a balance between the two and ensure that your research question is appropriately focused.

Not Testable or Measurable

A research question that is not testable or measurable can lead to problems with data analysis and interpretation. It is important to ensure that your research question can be answered using empirical evidence. Avoid using questions that are based on opinion or speculation, as these cannot be tested or measured effectively.

Not Relevant or Significant

A research question that is not relevant or significant can lead to a study that has little impact or practical application. It is important to ensure that your research question is grounded in existing literature and addresses a gap in knowledge or practice. Avoid using questions that are trivial or have already been answered, as these will not contribute to the advancement of your field.

Bad Research Question Examples

Vague questions.

Vague questions are those that are not clear or specific enough. They lack clarity and precision, making it difficult to answer them. Here are some examples of vague questions:

• What is the impact of technology on society?
• How does the media affect people’s opinions?
• What are the effects of climate change?

These questions are too broad and do not provide a specific focus for research. They are difficult to answer because they lack clarity and precision.

Too Broad Questions

Too broad questions are those that are too general and cover too much ground. They are difficult to answer because they are too broad and do not provide a specific focus for research. Here are some examples of too broad questions:

• What are the causes of poverty?
• How does education affect people’s lives?
• What is the role of government in society?

These questions are too broad and cover too much ground. They are difficult to answer because they lack specificity and focus.

Unanswerable Questions

Unanswerable questions are those that cannot be answered through research. They are often philosophical or theoretical in nature and cannot be tested or measured. Here are some examples of unanswerable questions:

• What is the meaning of life?
• Is there a God?
• What is the nature of reality?

These questions are unanswerable through research because they are philosophical or theoretical in nature. They cannot be tested or measured, making them unsuitable for research.

How to Improve Bad Research Questions

If you have identified that your research question is not strong enough, you can take steps to improve it. Here are some tips to help you improve your bad research questions:

• Make it specific : A good research question should be specific enough to guide your research. If your question is too broad, it may be difficult to answer. For example, if your research question is “What is the impact of technology on society?” it is too broad. Instead, try to narrow it down to something more specific, such as “How has social media affected the way people communicate?”
• Make it clear : Your research question should be clear and easy to understand. Avoid using technical jargon or complex language that may confuse your readers. Use simple and concise language to communicate your ideas effectively.
• Make it relevant : Your research question should be relevant to your field of study and the current state of research. Make sure that your question is not outdated and that it addresses a current problem or issue in your field.
• Make it answerable : Your research question should be answerable through research. Make sure that there is enough information available to answer your question. If your question is too broad or too narrow, it may be difficult to find enough information to answer it.
• Make it interesting : Your research question should be interesting and engaging to your readers. Try to choose a topic that is relevant and interesting to your audience. This will help to keep them engaged throughout your research.

Tips for Developing Effective Research Questions

Developing effective research questions is crucial for the success of your research project. Here are some tips to help you develop research questions that are focused, achievable, and answerable:

• Start with a broad topic: Begin by identifying a broad topic of interest. This could be a general area of study or a specific problem or issue that you want to investigate.
• Conduct a literature review: Conducting a literature review will help you identify what research has already been done in your area of interest. This will help you identify gaps in the existing knowledge and formulate research questions that are novel and innovative.
• Narrow down your focus: Once you have conducted a literature review, you can narrow down your focus to a specific research question. Your research question should be specific enough to guide your research, but broad enough to allow for exploration and discovery.
• Make sure your research question is answerable: Your research question should be answerable through empirical research. Make sure that you have access to the necessary data and resources to answer your research question.
• Use clear and concise language: Your research question should be written in clear and concise language that is easy to understand. Avoid using technical jargon or complex language that may confuse your readers.
• Consider the scope of your research question: Make sure that your research question is feasible within the scope of your research project. If your research question is too broad or ambitious, you may not be able to answer it within the time and resources available to you.
• Test your research question: Before finalizing your research question, test it on a sample of your target audience. This will help you identify any potential issues or problems with your research question and refine it further.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the characteristics of a good research question?

A good research question should be focused, specific, researchable, and relevant. It should be clear and concise, and it should be able to be answered with available data and resources. Additionally, a good research question should be open-ended and leave room for exploration and discovery.

What are some common mistakes to avoid when formulating a research question?

Some common mistakes to avoid when formulating a research question include asking questions that are too broad or too narrow, asking questions that are too complex or convoluted, and asking questions that are not relevant or feasible. It is also important to avoid asking leading questions that may bias the research or the results.

What are some examples of research questions in social sciences?

Some examples of research questions in social sciences include: “What is the impact of social media on adolescent mental health?”, “How does socioeconomic status affect academic achievement?”, and “What are the factors that contribute to political polarization in the United States?”

What are the different types of research questions and how do they differ?

There are three main types of research questions: descriptive, exploratory, and explanatory. Descriptive research questions seek to describe a phenomenon or situation, while exploratory research questions seek to explore new areas of inquiry. Explanatory research questions seek to explain the relationship between variables.

How do you evaluate whether a research question is feasible and relevant?

To evaluate whether a research question is feasible and relevant, consider whether it can be answered with available data and resources, whether it is within the scope of the research project, and whether it is relevant to the research topic or problem being investigated.

What are some tips for refining a research question and making it more specific?

To refine a research question and make it more specific, consider narrowing the focus of the question, clarifying the language used in the question, and ensuring that the question is researchable and can be answered with available data and resources. It may also be helpful to seek feedback from peers or advisors to ensure that the question is clear and concise.

Last Updated on September 5, 2023

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• Examples of good research questions

Last updated

Reviewed by

Tanya Williams

However, developing a good research question is often challenging. But, doing appropriate data analysis or drawing meaningful conclusions from your investigation with a well-defined question make it easier.

So, to get you on the right track, let’s start by defining a research question, what types of research questions are common, and the steps to drafting an excellent research question.

Make research less tedious

Dovetail streamlines research to help you uncover and share actionable insights

• What is a research question?

The definition of a research question might seem fairly obvious.

 At its simplest, a research question is a question you research to find the answer.

Researchers typically start with a problem or an issue and seek to understand why it has occurred, how it can be solved, or other aspects of its nature.

As you'll see, researchers typically start with a broad question that becomes narrower and more specific as the research stages are completed.

In some cases, a study may tackle more than one research question.

• Research question types

Research questions are typically divided into three broad categories: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-method.

These categories reflect the research type necessary to answer the research question.

Qualitative research

When you conduct qualitative research, you're broadly exploring a subject to analyze its inherent qualities.

There are many types of qualitative research questions, which include:

Descriptive: describing and illuminating little-known or overlooked aspects of a subject

Emancipatory: uncovering data that can serve to emancipate a particular group of people, such as disadvantaged or marginalized communities

Evaluative:  assessing how well a particular research approach or method works

Explanatory: answering “how” or “why” a given phenomenon occurs 

Exploratory:  identifying reasons behind certain behaviors and exploring motivations (also known as generative research because it can generate solutions to problems)

Ideological: researching ideologies or beliefs, such as political affiliation

Interpretive: understanding group perceptions, decision-making, and behavior in a natural setting

Predictive: forecasting a likely outcome or scenario by examining past events 

While it's helpful to understand the differences between these qualitative research question types, writing a good question doesn't start with determining the precise type of research question you'll be asking.

It starts with determining what answers you're seeking.

Quantitative research

Unlike broad, flexible qualitative research questions, quantitative research questions are precise. They also directly link the research question and the proposed methodology.

So, in a quantitative research question, you'll usually find

The study method 

An independent variable (or variables)

A dependent variable

The study population 

Quantitative research questions can also fall into multiple categories, including:

Comparative research questions compare two or more groups according to specific criteria and analyze their similarities and differences.

Descriptive questions measure a population's response to one or more variables.

Relationship (or relationship-based) questions examine how two or more variables interact.

Mixed-methods research

As its name suggests, mixed-methods research questions involve qualitative and quantitative components.

These questions are ideal when the answers require an evaluation of a specific aspect of a phenomenon that you can quantify and a broader understanding of aspects that can't.

• How to write a research question

Writing a good research question can be challenging, even if you're passionate about the subject matter.

A good research question aims to solve a problem that still needs to be answered and can be solved empirically. 

The approach might involve quantitative or qualitative methodology, or a mixture of both. To write a well-developed research question, follow the four steps below:

1. Select a general topic

Start with a broad topic. You may already have one in mind or get one assigned to you. If you don't, think about one you're curious about. 

You can also use common brainstorming techniques , draw on discussions you've had with family and friends, take topics from the news, or use other similar sources of inspiration.

Also, consider a subject that has yet to be studied or addressed. If you're looking to tackle a topic that has already been thoroughly studied, you'll want to examine it from a new angle.

Still, the closer your question, approach, and outcomes are to existing literature, the less value your work will offer. It will also be less publishing-worthy (if that’s your goal).

2. Conduct preliminary research

Next, you'll want to conduct some initial research about your topic. You'll read coverage about your topic in academic journals, the news, and other credible sources at this stage.

You'll familiarize yourself with the terminology commonly used to describe your topic and the current take from subject matter experts and the general public. 

This preliminary review helps you in a few ways. First, you'll find many researchers will discuss challenges they found conducting their research in their "Limitations," "Results," and "Discussion" sections of research papers.

Assessing these sections also helps you avoid choosing the wrong methodological approach to answering your question. Initial research also enables you to avoid focusing on a topic that has already been covered. 

You can generate valuable research questions by tracking topics that have yet to be covered.

3. Consider your audience

Next, you'll want to give some thought to your audience. For example, what kinds of research material are they looking for, and what might they find valuable?

Reflect on why you’re conducting the research. 

What is your team looking to learn if your research is for a work assignment?

How does what they’re asking for from you connect to business goals?

Understanding what your audience is seeking can help you shape the direction of your research so that the final draft connects with your audience.

If you're writing for an academic journal, what types of research do they publish? What kinds of research approaches have they published? And what criteria do they expect submitted manuscripts to meet?

4. Generate potential questions

Take the insights you've gained from your preliminary research and your audience assessment to narrow your topic into a research question. 

Your question should be one that you can answer using the appropriate research methods. Unfortunately, some researchers start with questions they need more resources to answer and then produce studies whose outcomes are limited, limiting the study's value to the broader community. 

Make sure your question is one you can realistically answer.

• Examples of poor research questions

"How do electronics distract teen drivers?"

This question could be better from a researcher's perspective because it is overly broad. For instance, what is “electronics” in this context? Some electronics, like eye-monitoring systems in semi-autonomous vehicles, are designed to keep drivers focused on the road.

Also, how does the question define “teens”? Some states allow you to get a learner's permit as young as 14, while others require you to be 18 to drive. Therefore, conducting a study without further defining the participants' ages is not scientifically sound.

Here's another example of an ineffective research question:

"Why is the sky blue?"

This question has been researched thoroughly and answered. 

A simple online search will turn up hundreds, if not thousands, of pages of resources devoted to this very topic. 

Suppose you spend time conducting original research on a long-answered question; your research won’t be interesting, relevant, or valuable to your audience.

Alternatively, here's an example of a good research question:

"How does using a vehicle’s infotainment touch screen by drivers aged 16 to 18 in the U.S. affect driving habits?"

This question is far more specific than the first bad example. It notes the population of the study, as well as the independent and dependent variables.

And if you're still interested in the sky's color, a better example of a research question might be:

"What color is the sky on Proxima Centauri b, based on existing observations?"

A qualitative research study based on this question could extrapolate what visitors on Proxima Centauri b (a planet in the closest solar system to ours) might see as they look at the sky.

You could approach this by contextualizing our understanding of how the light scatters off the molecules of air resulting in a blue sky, and the likely composition of Proxima Centauri b's atmosphere from data NASA and others have gathered.

• Why the right research question is critical

As you can see from the examples, starting with a poorly-framed research question can make your study difficult or impossible to complete. 

Or it can lead you to duplicate research findings.

Ultimately, developing the right research question sets you up for success. It helps you define a realistic scope for your study, informs the best approach to answer the central question, and conveys its value to your audience. 

That's why you must take the time to get your research question right before you embark on any other part of your project.

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Formulation of Research Question – Stepwise Approach

Simmi k. ratan.

Department of Pediatric Surgery, Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, India

1 Department of Community Medicine, North Delhi Municipal Corporation Medical College, New Delhi, India

2 Department of Pediatric Surgery, Batra Hospital and Research Centre, New Delhi, India

Formulation of research question (RQ) is an essentiality before starting any research. It aims to explore an existing uncertainty in an area of concern and points to a need for deliberate investigation. It is, therefore, pertinent to formulate a good RQ. The present paper aims to discuss the process of formulation of RQ with stepwise approach. The characteristics of good RQ are expressed by acronym “FINERMAPS” expanded as feasible, interesting, novel, ethical, relevant, manageable, appropriate, potential value, publishability, and systematic. A RQ can address different formats depending on the aspect to be evaluated. Based on this, there can be different types of RQ such as based on the existence of the phenomenon, description and classification, composition, relationship, comparative, and causality. To develop a RQ, one needs to begin by identifying the subject of interest and then do preliminary research on that subject. The researcher then defines what still needs to be known in that particular subject and assesses the implied questions. After narrowing the focus and scope of the research subject, researcher frames a RQ and then evaluates it. Thus, conception to formulation of RQ is very systematic process and has to be performed meticulously as research guided by such question can have wider impact in the field of social and health research by leading to formulation of policies for the benefit of larger population.

I NTRODUCTION

A good research question (RQ) forms backbone of a good research, which in turn is vital in unraveling mysteries of nature and giving insight into a problem.[ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ] RQ identifies the problem to be studied and guides to the methodology. It leads to building up of an appropriate hypothesis (Hs). Hence, RQ aims to explore an existing uncertainty in an area of concern and points to a need for deliberate investigation. A good RQ helps support a focused arguable thesis and construction of a logical argument. Hence, formulation of a good RQ is undoubtedly one of the first critical steps in the research process, especially in the field of social and health research, where the systematic generation of knowledge that can be used to promote, restore, maintain, and/or protect health of individuals and populations.[ 1 , 3 , 4 ] Basically, the research can be classified as action, applied, basic, clinical, empirical, administrative, theoretical, or qualitative or quantitative research, depending on its purpose.[ 2 ]

Research plays an important role in developing clinical practices and instituting new health policies. Hence, there is a need for a logical scientific approach as research has an important goal of generating new claims.[ 1 ]

C HARACTERISTICS OF G OOD R ESEARCH Q UESTION

“The most successful research topics are narrowly focused and carefully defined but are important parts of a broad-ranging, complex problem.”

A good RQ is an asset as it:

• Details the problem statement
• Further describes and refines the issue under study
• Adds focus to the problem statement
• Guides data collection and analysis
• Sets context of research.

Hence, while writing RQ, it is important to see if it is relevant to the existing time frame and conditions. For example, the impact of “odd-even” vehicle formula in decreasing the level of air particulate pollution in various districts of Delhi.

A good research is represented by acronym FINERMAPS[ 5 ]

Interesting.

• Appropriate
• Potential value and publishability
• Systematic.

Feasibility means that it is within the ability of the investigator to carry out. It should be backed by an appropriate number of subjects and methodology as well as time and funds to reach the conclusions. One needs to be realistic about the scope and scale of the project. One has to have access to the people, gadgets, documents, statistics, etc. One should be able to relate the concepts of the RQ to the observations, phenomena, indicators, or variables that one can access. One should be clear that the collection of data and the proceedings of project can be completed within the limited time and resources available to the investigator. Sometimes, a RQ appears feasible, but when fieldwork or study gets started, it proves otherwise. In this situation, it is important to write up the problems honestly and to reflect on what has been learned. One should try to discuss with more experienced colleagues or the supervisor so as to develop a contingency plan to anticipate possible problems while working on a RQ and find possible solutions in such situations.

This is essential that one has a real grounded interest in one's RQ and one can explore this and back it up with academic and intellectual debate. This interest will motivate one to keep going with RQ.

The question should not simply copy questions investigated by other workers but should have scope to be investigated. It may aim at confirming or refuting the already established findings, establish new facts, or find new aspects of the established facts. It should show imagination of the researcher. Above all, the question has to be simple and clear. The complexity of a question can frequently hide unclear thoughts and lead to a confused research process. A very elaborate RQ, or a question which is not differentiated into different parts, may hide concepts that are contradictory or not relevant. This needs to be clear and thought-through. Having one key question with several subcomponents will guide your research.

This is the foremost requirement of any RQ and is mandatory to get clearance from appropriate authorities before stating research on the question. Further, the RQ should be such that it minimizes the risk of harm to the participants in the research, protect the privacy and maintain their confidentiality, and provide the participants right to withdraw from research. It should also guide in avoiding deceptive practices in research.

The question should of academic and intellectual interest to people in the field you have chosen to study. The question preferably should arise from issues raised in the current situation, literature, or in practice. It should establish a clear purpose for the research in relation to the chosen field. For example, filling a gap in knowledge, analyzing academic assumptions or professional practice, monitoring a development in practice, comparing different approaches, or testing theories within a specific population are some of the relevant RQs.

Manageable (M): It has the similar essence as of feasibility but mainly means that the following research can be managed by the researcher.

Appropriate (A): RQ should be appropriate logically and scientifically for the community and institution.

Potential value and publishability (P): The study can make significant health impact in clinical and community practices. Therefore, research should aim for significant economic impact to reduce unnecessary or excessive costs. Furthermore, the proposed study should exist within a clinical, consumer, or policy-making context that is amenable to evidence-based change. Above all, a good RQ must address a topic that has clear implications for resolving important dilemmas in health and health-care decisions made by one or more stakeholder groups.

Systematic (S): Research is structured with specified steps to be taken in a specified sequence in accordance with the well-defined set of rules though it does not rule out creative thinking.

Example of RQ: Would the topical skin application of oil as a skin barrier reduces hypothermia in preterm infants? This question fulfills the criteria of a good RQ, that is, feasible, interesting, novel, ethical, and relevant.

Types of research question

A RQ can address different formats depending on the aspect to be evaluated.[ 6 ] For example:

• Existence: This is designed to uphold the existence of a particular phenomenon or to rule out rival explanation, for example, can neonates perceive pain?
• Description and classification: This type of question encompasses statement of uniqueness, for example, what are characteristics and types of neuropathic bladders?
• Composition: It calls for breakdown of whole into components, for example, what are stages of reflux nephropathy?
• Relationship: Evaluate relation between variables, for example, association between tumor rupture and recurrence rates in Wilm's tumor
• Descriptive—comparative: Expected that researcher will ensure that all is same between groups except issue in question, for example, Are germ cell tumors occurring in gonads more aggressive than those occurring in extragonadal sites?
• Causality: Does deletion of p53 leads to worse outcome in patients with neuroblastoma?
• Causality—comparative: Such questions frequently aim to see effect of two rival treatments, for example, does adding surgical resection improves survival rate outcome in children with neuroblastoma than with chemotherapy alone?
• Causality–Comparative interactions: Does immunotherapy leads to better survival outcome in neuroblastoma Stage IV S than with chemotherapy in the setting of adverse genetic profile than without it? (Does X cause more changes in Y than those caused by Z under certain condition and not under other conditions).

How to develop a research question

• Begin by identifying a broader subject of interest that lends itself to investigate, for example, hormone levels among hypospadias
• Do preliminary research on the general topic to find out what research has already been done and what literature already exists.[ 7 ] Therefore, one should begin with “information gaps” (What do you already know about the problem? For example, studies with results on testosterone levels among hypospadias
• What do you still need to know? (e.g., levels of other reproductive hormones among hypospadias)
• What are the implied questions: The need to know about a problem will lead to few implied questions. Each general question should lead to more specific questions (e.g., how hormone levels differ among isolated hypospadias with respect to that in normal population)
• Narrow the scope and focus of research (e.g., assessment of reproductive hormone levels among isolated hypospadias and hypospadias those with associated anomalies)
• Is RQ clear? With so much research available on any given topic, RQs must be as clear as possible in order to be effective in helping the writer direct his or her research
• Is the RQ focused? RQs must be specific enough to be well covered in the space available
• Is the RQ complex? RQs should not be answerable with a simple “yes” or “no” or by easily found facts. They should, instead, require both research and analysis on the part of the writer
• Is the RQ one that is of interest to the researcher and potentially useful to others? Is it a new issue or problem that needs to be solved or is it attempting to shed light on previously researched topic
• Is the RQ researchable? Consider the available time frame and the required resources. Is the methodology to conduct the research feasible?
• Is the RQ measurable and will the process produce data that can be supported or contradicted?
• Is the RQ too broad or too narrow?
• Create Hs: After formulating RQ, think where research is likely to be progressing? What kind of argument is likely to be made/supported? What would it mean if the research disputed the planned argument? At this step, one can well be on the way to have a focus for the research and construction of a thesis. Hs consists of more specific predictions about the nature and direction of the relationship between two variables. It is a predictive statement about the outcome of the research, dictate the method, and design of the research[ 1 ]
• Understand implications of your research: This is important for application: whether one achieves to fill gap in knowledge and how the results of the research have practical implications, for example, to develop health policies or improve educational policies.[ 1 , 8 ]

Brainstorm/Concept map for formulating research question

• First, identify what types of studies have been done in the past?
• Is there a unique area that is yet to be investigated or is there a particular question that may be worth replicating?
• Begin to narrow the topic by asking open-ended “how” and “why” questions
• Evaluate the question
• Develop a Hypothesis (Hs)
• Write down the RQ.

Writing down the research question

• State the question in your own words
• Write down the RQ as completely as possible.

For example, Evaluation of reproductive hormonal profile in children presenting with isolated hypospadias)

• Divide your question into concepts. Narrow to two or three concepts (reproductive hormonal profile, isolated hypospadias, compare with normal/not isolated hypospadias–implied)
• Specify the population to be studied (children with isolated hypospadias)
• Refer to the exposure or intervention to be investigated, if any
• Reflect the outcome of interest (hormonal profile).

Another example of a research question

Would the topical skin application of oil as a skin barrier reduces hypothermia in preterm infants? Apart from fulfilling the criteria of a good RQ, that is, feasible, interesting, novel, ethical, and relevant, it also details about the intervention done (topical skin application of oil), rationale of intervention (as a skin barrier), population to be studied (preterm infants), and outcome (reduces hypothermia).

Other important points to be heeded to while framing research question

• Make reference to a population when a relationship is expected among a certain type of subjects
• RQs and Hs should be made as specific as possible
• Avoid words or terms that do not add to the meaning of RQs and Hs
• Stick to what will be studied, not implications
• Name the variables in the order in which they occur/will be measured
• Avoid the words significant/”prove”
• Avoid using two different terms to refer to the same variable.

Some of the other problems and their possible solutions have been discussed in Table 1 .

Potential problems and solutions while making research question

G OING B EYOND F ORMULATION OF R ESEARCH Q UESTION–THE P ATH A HEAD

Once RQ is formulated, a Hs can be developed. Hs means transformation of a RQ into an operational analog.[ 1 ] It means a statement as to what prediction one makes about the phenomenon to be examined.[ 4 ] More often, for case–control trial, null Hs is generated which is later accepted or refuted.

A strong Hs should have following characteristics:

• Give insight into a RQ
• Are testable and measurable by the proposed experiments
• Have logical basis
• Follows the most likely outcome, not the exceptional outcome.

E XAMPLES OF R ESEARCH Q UESTION AND H YPOTHESIS

Research question-1.

• Does reduced gap between the two segments of the esophagus in patients of esophageal atresia reduces the mortality and morbidity of such patients?

Hypothesis-1

• Reduced gap between the two segments of the esophagus in patients of esophageal atresia reduces the mortality and morbidity of such patients
• In pediatric patients with esophageal atresia, gap of <2 cm between two segments of the esophagus and proper mobilization of proximal pouch reduces the morbidity and mortality among such patients.

Research question-2

• Does application of mitomycin C improves the outcome in patient of corrosive esophageal strictures?

Hypothesis-2

In patients aged 2–9 years with corrosive esophageal strictures, 34 applications of mitomycin C in dosage of 0.4 mg/ml for 5 min over a period of 6 months improve the outcome in terms of symptomatic and radiological relief. Some other examples of good and bad RQs have been shown in Table 2 .

Examples of few bad (left-hand side column) and few good (right-hand side) research questions

R ESEARCH Q UESTION AND S TUDY D ESIGN

RQ determines study design, for example, the question aimed to find the incidence of a disease in population will lead to conducting a survey; to find risk factors for a disease will need case–control study or a cohort study. RQ may also culminate into clinical trial.[ 9 , 10 ] For example, effect of administration of folic acid tablet in the perinatal period in decreasing incidence of neural tube defect. Accordingly, Hs is framed.

Appropriate statistical calculations are instituted to generate sample size. The subject inclusion, exclusion criteria and time frame of research are carefully defined. The detailed subject information sheet and pro forma are carefully defined. Moreover, research is set off few examples of research methodology guided by RQ:

• Incidence of anorectal malformations among adolescent females (hospital-based survey)
• Risk factors for the development of spontaneous pneumoperitoneum in pediatric patients (case–control design and cohort study)
• Effect of technique of extramucosal ureteric reimplantation without the creation of submucosal tunnel for the preservation of upper tract in bladder exstrophy (clinical trial).

The results of the research are then be available for wider applications for health and social life

C ONCLUSION

A good RQ needs thorough literature search and deep insight into the specific area/problem to be investigated. A RQ has to be focused yet simple. Research guided by such question can have wider impact in the field of social and health research by leading to formulation of policies for the benefit of larger population.

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How to Write a Good Research Question (w/ Examples)

What is a Research Question?

A research question is the main question that your study sought or is seeking to answer. A clear research question guides your research paper or thesis and states exactly what you want to find out, giving your work a focus and objective. Learning  how to write a hypothesis or research question is the start to composing any thesis, dissertation, or research paper. It is also one of the most important sections of a research proposal . 

A good research question not only clarifies the writing in your study; it provides your readers with a clear focus and facilitates their understanding of your research topic, as well as outlining your study’s objectives. Before drafting the paper and receiving research paper editing (and usually before performing your study), you should write a concise statement of what this study intends to accomplish or reveal.

Research Question Writing Tips

Listed below are the important characteristics of a good research question:

A good research question should:

• Be clear and provide specific information so readers can easily understand the purpose.
• Be focused in its scope and narrow enough to be addressed in the space allowed by your paper
• Be relevant and concise and express your main ideas in as few words as possible, like a hypothesis.
• Be precise and complex enough that it does not simply answer a closed “yes or no” question, but requires an analysis of arguments and literature prior to its being considered acceptable. 
• Be arguable or testable so that answers to the research question are open to scrutiny and specific questions and counterarguments.

Some of these characteristics might be difficult to understand in the form of a list. Let’s go into more detail about what a research question must do and look at some examples of research questions.

The research question should be specific and focused 

Research questions that are too broad are not suitable to be addressed in a single study. One reason for this can be if there are many factors or variables to consider. In addition, a sample data set that is too large or an experimental timeline that is too long may suggest that the research question is not focused enough.

A specific research question means that the collective data and observations come together to either confirm or deny the chosen hypothesis in a clear manner. If a research question is too vague, then the data might end up creating an alternate research problem or hypothesis that you haven’t addressed in your Introduction section .

The research question should be based on the literature 

An effective research question should be answerable and verifiable based on prior research because an effective scientific study must be placed in the context of a wider academic consensus. This means that conspiracy or fringe theories are not good research paper topics.

Instead, a good research question must extend, examine, and verify the context of your research field. It should fit naturally within the literature and be searchable by other research authors.

References to the literature can be in different citation styles and must be properly formatted according to the guidelines set forth by the publishing journal, university, or academic institution. This includes in-text citations as well as the Reference section . 

The research question should be realistic in time, scope, and budget

There are two main constraints to the research process: timeframe and budget.

A proper research question will include study or experimental procedures that can be executed within a feasible time frame, typically by a graduate doctoral or master’s student or lab technician. Research that requires future technology, expensive resources, or follow-up procedures is problematic.

A researcher’s budget is also a major constraint to performing timely research. Research at many large universities or institutions is publicly funded and is thus accountable to funding restrictions. 

The research question should be in-depth

Research papers, dissertations and theses , and academic journal articles are usually dozens if not hundreds of pages in length.

A good research question or thesis statement must be sufficiently complex to warrant such a length, as it must stand up to the scrutiny of peer review and be reproducible by other scientists and researchers.

Research Question Types

Qualitative and quantitative research are the two major types of research, and it is essential to develop research questions for each type of study. 

Quantitative Research Questions

Quantitative research questions are specific. A typical research question involves the population to be studied, dependent and independent variables, and the research design.

In addition, quantitative research questions connect the research question and the research design. In addition, it is not possible to answer these questions definitively with a “yes” or “no” response. For example, scientific fields such as biology, physics, and chemistry often deal with “states,” in which different quantities, amounts, or velocities drastically alter the relevance of the research.

As a consequence, quantitative research questions do not contain qualitative, categorical, or ordinal qualifiers such as “is,” “are,” “does,” or “does not.”

Categories of quantitative research questions

Qualitative Research Questions

In quantitative research, research questions have the potential to relate to broad research areas as well as more specific areas of study. Qualitative research questions are less directional, more flexible, and adaptable compared with their quantitative counterparts. Thus, studies based on these questions tend to focus on “discovering,” “explaining,” “elucidating,” and “exploring.”

Categories of qualitative research questions

Quantitative and Qualitative Research Question Examples

Good and Bad Research Question Examples

Below are some good (and not-so-good) examples of research questions that researchers can use to guide them in crafting their own research questions.

Research Question Example 1

The first research question is too vague in both its independent and dependent variables. There is no specific information on what “exposure” means. Does this refer to comments, likes, engagement, or just how much time is spent on the social media platform?

Second, there is no useful information on what exactly “affected” means. Does the subject’s behavior change in some measurable way? Or does this term refer to another factor such as the user’s emotions?

Research Question Example 2

In this research question, the first example is too simple and not sufficiently complex, making it difficult to assess whether the study answered the question. The author could really only answer this question with a simple “yes” or “no.” Further, the presence of data would not help answer this question more deeply, which is a sure sign of a poorly constructed research topic.

The second research question is specific, complex, and empirically verifiable. One can measure program effectiveness based on metrics such as attendance or grades. Further, “bullying” is made into an empirical, quantitative measurement in the form of recorded disciplinary actions.

Steps for Writing a Research Question

Good research questions are relevant, focused, and meaningful. It can be difficult to come up with a good research question, but there are a few steps you can follow to make it a bit easier.

1. Start with an interesting and relevant topic

Choose a research topic that is interesting but also relevant and aligned with your own country’s culture or your university’s capabilities. Popular academic topics include healthcare and medical-related research. However, if you are attending an engineering school or humanities program, you should obviously choose a research question that pertains to your specific study and major.

Below is an embedded graph of the most popular research fields of study based on publication output according to region. As you can see, healthcare and the basic sciences receive the most funding and earn the highest number of publications. 

2. Do preliminary research  

You can begin doing preliminary research once you have chosen a research topic. Two objectives should be accomplished during this first phase of research. First, you should undertake a preliminary review of related literature to discover issues that scholars and peers are currently discussing. With this method, you show that you are informed about the latest developments in the field.

Secondly, identify knowledge gaps or limitations in your topic by conducting a preliminary literature review . It is possible to later use these gaps to focus your research question after a certain amount of fine-tuning.

3. Narrow your research to determine specific research questions

You can focus on a more specific area of study once you have a good handle on the topic you want to explore. Focusing on recent literature or knowledge gaps is one good option. 

By identifying study limitations in the literature and overlooked areas of study, an author can carve out a good research question. The same is true for choosing research questions that extend or complement existing literature.

4. Evaluate your research question

Make sure you evaluate the research question by asking the following questions:

Is my research question clear?

The resulting data and observations that your study produces should be clear. For quantitative studies, data must be empirical and measurable. For qualitative, the observations should be clearly delineable across categories.

Is my research question focused and specific?

A strong research question should be specific enough that your methodology or testing procedure produces an objective result, not one left to subjective interpretation. Open-ended research questions or those relating to general topics can create ambiguous connections between the results and the aims of the study. 

Is my research question sufficiently complex?

The result of your research should be consequential and substantial (and fall sufficiently within the context of your field) to warrant an academic study. Simply reinforcing or supporting a scientific consensus is superfluous and will likely not be well received by most journal editors.  

Editing Your Research Question

Your research question should be fully formulated well before you begin drafting your research paper. However, you can receive English paper editing and proofreading services at any point in the drafting process. Language editors with expertise in your academic field can assist you with the content and language in your Introduction section or other manuscript sections. And if you need further assistance or information regarding paper compositions, in the meantime, check out our academic resources , which provide dozens of articles and videos on a variety of academic writing and publication topics.

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Identifying Flaws: What Makes a Bad Research Question?

In the realm of academic research, crafting a well-defined research question is crucial as it sets the stage for the entire study. A poorly constructed question can lead to inadequate research outcomes, making it essential to understand what constitutes a bad research question. This article explores the characteristics of ineffective research questions and provides insights into why they fail, which can guide researchers in refining their inquiry.

Key Takeaways

• Identifying vague or overly broad research questions is crucial as they can dilute the focus and impact of the study.
• Questions that assume answers or are closed-ended often restrict critical analysis and thorough investigation.
• Poorly formulated questions can lead to misdirected research efforts and limited scholarly contributions.
• Evaluating the alignment of research questions with overall research goals and existing literature is essential for relevancy and feasibility.
• Continuous refinement and incorporation of peer feedback are vital strategies for avoiding common pitfalls in research question design.

The Nature of a Bad Research Question

Vagueness and ambiguity.

When you encounter a research question that lacks clarity, it often leads to confusion and misinterpretation. Vague or ambiguous questions fail to provide a clear direction for research, making it difficult to formulate a coherent approach or methodology.

Lack of Specificity

A research question that does not pinpoint specific aspects or variables is too general to be effectively researched. This lack of specificity can result in a broad, unfocused study that fails to address the core issues or contribute meaningfully to the academic discourse.

Overly Broad Scope

Attempting to cover too much ground with a single research question can dilute the effectiveness of your study. It's crucial to narrow down the scope to ensure that the research is manageable and can thoroughly address targeted aspects without being overwhelming.

Common Pitfalls in Formulating Research Questions

Leading questions.

When you craft your research questions, it's crucial to avoid leading questions that suggest a particular answer. These questions can bias your research outcomes and limit the objectivity required for scholarly work. Ensure your questions allow for unbiased exploration of the topic.

Questions with Obvious Answers

Research questions that anticipate simple answers, such as yes or no, undermine the depth of inquiry that academic research demands. These questions often fail to open up avenues for comprehensive analysis or meaningful discussion. Aim for questions that require more than a straightforward response.

Assumptive Queries

Questions that are based on unverified assumptions can mislead your research direction. It's important to base your questions on evidence and prior research to ensure they are grounded in reality. This approach helps in maintaining the integrity and relevance of your research.

Impact of Poorly Constructed Research Questions

Misdirected research efforts.

When your research question is poorly constructed, it often leads to misdirected efforts . You might find yourself exploring irrelevant areas, wasting valuable time and resources that could have been better utilized elsewhere. This misalignment can significantly delay your project's progress and may lead to incomplete or inconclusive results.

Limited Scholarly Contribution

A research question that lacks depth or relevance struggles to contribute meaningfully to the scholarly community. Such questions often result in studies that add little new knowledge or insight , rendering the research less impactful and sometimes ignored in academic circles.

Potential for Inaccurate Conclusions

Inadequate research questions can predispose your study to inaccurate conclusions. Without a clear and focused question, it's challenging to design an effective research methodology, increasing the risk of bias and errors. This can compromise the integrity of your research findings, leading to questionable conclusions that may misinform or mislead stakeholders.

Evaluating the Scope and Relevance of Your Research Question

Ensuring alignment with research goals.

To ensure your research question aligns with your overall research goals, it's crucial to define the scope of your investigation clearly. This involves determining the specific aspects of the topic you wish to explore and ensuring they contribute directly to your field of study.

Assessing the Feasibility of Investigation

When evaluating the feasibility of your research question, consider the resources available, including time, expertise, and financial support. It's essential to assess whether the scope of your research is manageable within the constraints of your project.

Relevance to Existing Literature and Theory

Your research question should not only be original but also relevant to existing literature and theory. This involves a thorough review of current studies to identify gaps that your research could fill. Engaging with existing literature is a fundamental step in maximizing resources and ensuring your research adds meaningful insights to your field.

Characteristics of Ineffective Research Questions

Closed-ended nature.

Research questions that are closed-ended typically do not foster a thorough exploration of a topic. They limit responses to a simple 'yes' or 'no,' which can stifle deeper analysis and discussion. For your research to be impactful, it should invite open-ended responses that encourage comprehensive exploration.

Lack of Researchability

A question that lacks researchability offers little scope for investigation because it is either too broad or not grounded in accessible data. Ensuring that your question can be supported by available research is crucial for the validity of your findings.

Does Not Invite Critical Analysis

Effective research questions should challenge existing knowledge and provoke thought. If your question does not require critical thinking or analysis, it may lead to superficial findings that do not advance the field. Aim to formulate questions that engage with complex issues and lead to significant scholarly contributions.

Strategies to Avoid Common Errors in Research Question Design

Incorporating feedback from peers.

To enhance the quality of your research question, actively seek and incorporate feedback from your peers. This collaborative approach not only refines your question but also ensures it withstands academic scrutiny. Engage in discussions that challenge your assumptions and broaden your perspective, making your research question more robust and less prone to common pitfalls.

Utilizing Frameworks and Checklists

Employing established frameworks and checklists can systematically guide you in crafting a well-structured research question. These tools help in maintaining focus and coherence, ensuring that your question is not only relevant but also researchable. Utilize these resources to avoid the trap of vagueness and to align your question with the necessary academic rigor.

Continuous Refinement and Clarification

The process of developing a strong research question is iterative. Continuously refine and clarify your question based on ongoing research and feedback. This dynamic approach allows you to adapt and evolve your question, enhancing its relevance and depth. Regular revisions are crucial in steering clear of overly simplistic or broad questions that might lead to misdirected research efforts.

Examples and Analysis of Bad Research Questions

Case studies.

To illustrate the pitfalls of bad research questions, consider the following examples:

• "What's red and bad for your teeth?" This question, while intriguing, anticipates a simple answer (a brick) and lacks research depth.
• "Do violent video games cause players to act violently?" This question is overly simplistic and assumes a direct causation that is not supported by nuanced research.

These examples highlight the importance of crafting questions that invite deeper inquiry and avoid assumptions.

Analysis of Why These Questions Fail

The primary reason these questions are ineffective is their failure to provoke thoughtful, research-driven responses. They are either too broad or expect straightforward answers that do not contribute to scholarly discourse. A good research question should challenge existing knowledge and invite exploration.

Improvement Suggestions

To improve your research questions, consider the following steps:

• Ensure the question is open-ended and allows for extensive exploration.
• Avoid questions that can be answered with a simple yes or no.
• Frame the question in a way that encourages critical thinking and problem-solving .

By refining your approach, you can transform a poor question into a powerful tool for discovery.

In our article section titled 'Examples and Analysis of Bad Research Questions', we delve into common pitfalls and misconceptions that can derail your research efforts. By understanding these examples, you can better formulate your own questions and set a solid foundation for your academic inquiries. For more insights and detailed guidance, visit our website and explore our comprehensive resources designed to enhance your research skills.

In conclusion, crafting a robust research question is pivotal for the success of any academic inquiry. A well-formulated question should be clear, focused, and researchable, avoiding the pitfalls of simplicity, vagueness, and subjectivity that characterize poor questions. By understanding and avoiding the common flaws discussed in this article, researchers can enhance the quality and impact of their studies, ensuring that their research questions are not only theoretically sound but also practically viable. This approach will not only facilitate a smoother research process but also contribute to the generation of meaningful and impactful academic contributions.

Frequently Asked Questions

What constitutes a bad research question.

A bad research question is typically vague, overly broad, lacks specificity, and does not align with the research goals. It often leads to misdirected research efforts and limited scholarly contribution.

Why is specificity important in a research question?

Specificity helps in clearly defining the scope of research, ensuring that the study remains focused and relevant, and facilitates the collection of precise data.

How can overly broad research questions impact a study?

Overly broad questions can dilute the research focus, making it difficult to achieve meaningful results and to draw accurate conclusions.

What are leading questions and why should they be avoided?

Leading questions suggest a particular answer, thus biasing the response and compromising the objectivity of the research.

Can a research question be too narrow?

Yes, overly narrow questions might limit the scope of the research, potentially overlooking broader implications and limiting the contribution to the field.

What strategies can help improve a research question?

Incorporating peer feedback, utilizing frameworks and checklists, and continuously refining the question can significantly improve its quality and relevance.

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How To Recognize Bad Research

In 1954, Darrell Huff called out the dangers of misrepresenting statistical data in his book How to Lie With Statistics . I don’t know how big a problem bad survey data and misinformation was in the 1950s but if you fast forward to 2019, social media and 24-hour news cycles have created an explosion of content that purports to be factual. Chances are, a percentage of it is not, which is what I want to talk about.

As a professional market researcher, I probably spend more time reading the small print on market research and public opinion surveys than most. In so doing, I’ve come across several instances where survey data is misinterpreted, misapplied or just plain wrong. The reasons for this vary. Sometimes they are honest errors, and other times the data was intentionally designed to mislead.

To the trained eye, some of these discrepancies are easy to spot, but not always. So, here are a few things I look for when reading polls and market research results to help me identify faulty research.

Misleading Questions

A common problem with survey results is that respondents often answer a different question than what the survey designer thought they were asking. This can happen because the respondent either didn’t understand the question or their preferred response was not an option in a closed-ended list. The Brexit referendum may be one of the most consequential examples of this issue. It offered a binary choice, Stay or Leave, without providing a way to capture more nuanced responses. Fifty-two percent of Britons chose Leave, but many voters stated that they chose Leave to air their dissatisfaction with the UK’s governance and would have chosen something else had there been options that addressed their concerns. In fact, new research from YouGov suggests that only 33% of the British electorate prefer a hard Leave option.

Poor Targeting

The most basic question to ask when looking at survey research results is Who was included in the survey? followed by Are they representative of the population we’re interested in? Obtaining a representative sample of U.S. consumers or voters is becoming increasingly difficult. Landlines were once the gold-standard when fielding surveys. Starting with the popularization of answering machines in the 1980s and the subsequent decline in landlines caused by mobile phones, it is now impossible to obtain a representative sample of the U.S. population over the phone. Online methodologies have stepped in to fill the void, but they present their own challenges.

While reaching individuals has become more difficult, the U.S. population has become more diverse . The most common problem we see with surveys that purport to be nationally representative is that they rely on convenience samples made up of easy to reach people. For example, we see lots of research on the U.S. Hispanic population that neglects to include the 30% that do not speak, let alone read or write English well enough to answer the survey. Neglecting to include hard-to-reach segments of the population can often skew the results enough to make them worthless.

Targeting issues also come up in polling. Determining who is more popular and who is likely to win an election are two different questions. During the presidential election cycle, we’re bombarded with polls showing support or disapproval of the candidates. Most of those are public opinion polls that try to measure the popular vote. The popular vote, however, does not elect presidents. The electoral college does. In fact, a U.S. president can be elected with as little as 23% of the popular vote. Therefore, any political poll that does not take into account the rules of an election are merely entertainment and don’t have predictive value.

Poor Survey Design

The advent of DIY survey software has produced a boon of survey data to consume. DIY is great for low-stakes decisions but present problems when the results will be used to make important ones. Survey design is a science with decades of academic research supporting it and scholarly journals devoted to its advancement. Question design matters. Here are some of the most common issues we see with survey design:

• Scales: The options respondents are given to choose when answering a question are called scales. A scale with fewer options will yield a different result than one with more options for the same reason that Brexit survey takers who weren’t presented an option that reflected their views chose Leave. Recently, two surveys measuring interest by Democrats in the upcoming election yielded wildly different results, 35% vs. 74%, simply because one had a 4 option scale and the other had 5 options.
• Framing: How one asks a question matters. A classic framing example is that more people will rate ground beef better if it’s framed as 80% lean vs. 20% fat. Bad actors use framing to create push-polls that yield desired research results. When possible, it’s recommended to see how the question is worded before accepting the outcome.
• Social Desirability Biases: We all want others to have a favorable opinion of us. Our ideal self eats right, exercises regularly, reads important books and watches mind-expanding documentaries. Our true self eats too much chocolate, sits on the couch for hours, reads gossip columns and watches reality television. It’s important to ask oneself if the reported behavior is socially desirable or undesirable. Professionally designed surveys mitigate this by careful wording that reduces the perceived risk of choosing undesirable responses and lessens the pressure to select socially desirable answers.

Finally, it’s important to look at market research and polling results holistically and ask yourself if the results are internally consistent. For example, if a survey says that only 10% of respondents would consider purchasing an electric vehicle but that 30% of everyone surveyed would purchase a Tesla, which only makes electric cars, then either the first or the second percentage may be true but not both. Internally inconsistent survey results are usually caused by poor questionnaire design. If one inconsistency exists in the results, then the rest of the data becomes suspect.

Several online news aggregation sites now have Fact Check technology that let us know if news stories on the web are true. We don’t yet have that for market research surveys but, with a little attention to the fine print, we can decrease the likelihood of being lied to by statistics.

Looking to connect your company with multicultural consumers and future proof your business? Contact us toda y and learn more about our custom market research solutions.

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Effective Guide to Good & Bad Research Questions

Table of Contents

Writing a research question is challenging and requires much more time and thought than you might think.

You cannot write a good thesis if you don’t develop a good research question first. But what makes a research question “good” or “bad?” This article is a practical guide to help you understand the qualities of good and bad research questions . The research question is what guides your research strategy.

Knowing the difference between good and bad research questions will help you stay on the right track as you write your thesis. A simple question that demands a straightforward answer will not be enough for a research question.

Let’s learn more about research questions and what makes them good or bad.

What Is a Research Question?

Research questions are one of the most important components of your research paper, thesis, or dissertation . Drafting a research question may initially appear to be the simplest step in conducting research.

But beginning to write a research question without a clear focus can cost you valuable time. A research question is:

• The first step of the research process
• Specific and directs you through the research
• Iterative and subject to change as your research and writing progress.

Compare Good and Bad Research Questions

Different opinions exist on what makes a research question good or bad . There is no universal way to word the best research questions. However, some elements give your research question greater substance.

Here are some key factors to help you draft an effective research question by comparing qualities between the good and bad ones.

Questions Should Have in-Depth Answers

It makes sense that a simple question would have an equally simple answer, but this is inadequate for a research paper. Formulate the right questions and steer clear of those requiring a simple “yes” or “no” response or a few simple phrases.

Bad: Do the US and UK have superior healthcare systems?

Good: How do the healthcare systems in the US and UK vary for treating chronic diseases?

Good Research Questions Must Have a Narrow Focus

A good research question should be narrowly focused on one subject or a group of concepts that are conceptually related.

If a topic is too broad, you must decide on which part of the topic you want to research for a clear focus. Otherwise, you won’t be able to develop a strong thesis paper.

Bad: Does medication help cure ADHD symptoms in elementary students? And do they need a regular exercise routine?

Good: How well do the various medications work for treating ADHD in elementary school students?

Instead of combining ADHD medication and exercise into the research topic, it’s best to focus solely on medication. As the question hints at the students’ age (elementary students), answering this question will make up a good thesis.

Don’t Ask for Opinions in Your Research Question

Consider the response you wish to receive as you write your research question. Expressing an opinion or value judgment in your research paper or project is not a good idea. Instead, you should develop a thesis based on statistics and objective evidence.

Bad: Which is the best tourist place?

Good: What features do the most popular tourist places have in common?

The first question only asks for an opinion and cannot serve as an appropriate research question. However, the second question asks for features, and you can use data or a list of features to answer this question better.

Research Questions Should Be Precise

You must make your research question as specific as possible. This will provide you with a more thorough answer that is compelling enough to serve as the subject of your thesis.

Bad: What are the effects of meds on people?

Good: What effects does aspirin have on people with low heart pressure?

By explicitly mentioning aspirin and low heart pressure people, you make the question easier to answer with facts and statistics. These details will help you develop a solid and more focused thesis.

A Good Research Question Avoids the Why Question

“Why” questions are open-ended queries, the ideal choice for interview sessions or featured articles. However, its open-ended nature is the exact opposite of what you need when formulating a research question. You need to ask a question that has a clear, concise answer.

Bad: Why do industries contaminate the groundwater?

Good: How do government-enforced regulations prevent industries from contaminating the water?

Great Questions Require Research to Answer

A research question is flawed if you can answer it without additional research. It’s best to ask a question that takes a little research to answer. You need a more challenging question if you can find the solution to a research question with a quick web search.

Bad: Has the world’s population increased in the last century?

Good: What factors have contributed to population growth in the past century?

A quick web search can answer the first question. However, the second question necessitates additional research to uncover a suitable response.

Best Research Questions Are Debatable

It’s simple to research a topic that isn’t controversial, but you won’t likely be contributing anything unique. Instead, pose a research question that is complex and has different aspects. This will help you get more detailed and compelling answers to your question.

Bad: Are illegal drugs harmful to teenage students?

Good: What effective educational measures can prevent drug abuse in teenage students?

Good research questions are open to debate and search for thorough answers. These questions allow people to discuss the subject matter . Compared to good questions, bad research questions are closed off and ask for a specific answer.

They have a very narrow perspective and are focused on one single point of the problem. This article lists the key features of good and bad research questions to help you formulate an effective one for your thesis paper.

Abir Ghenaiet

Abir is a data analyst and researcher. Among her interests are artificial intelligence, machine learning, and natural language processing. As a humanitarian and educator, she actively supports women in tech and promotes diversity.

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• Bad vs Good Survey Questions + [11 Examples]

The success of your survey starts with the kind of questions you ask. Bad survey questions make it difficult for you to gather data objectively while good survey questions allow you to collect insightful data that can be used during a systematic investigation. 

Many times, it can be difficult to separate bad survey questions from good survey questions and this poses a huge challenge in research.  In this article, we will differentiate bad survey questions from good ones to help you create better surveys in the future. 

What is a Good Survey Question? 

A good survey question is one that allows you to gather clear, unbiased responses from survey respondents. With a good survey question, you can gain clear insights into the thoughts, experiences, and expectations of your target audience for better decision-making. 

For instance, in market research, good survey questions will provide you with enough information on the buyer’s journey and how well your brand interacts with them across different touchpoints. This would help you optimize your product to suit your needs. 

Tips for Writing Good Survey Questions  

• Clearly outline the purpose of the survey. In this sense, you should have a well-defined idea of what you intend to achieve with your survey. Do you want to gather feedback for a product or find out what customers think about a business decision?
• Make sure your questions are simple, straight to the point, and easy to understand. Avoid making use of vague and ambiguous words.
• Avoid having too many options especially in your multiple-choice and ranking questions . This would help you reduce survey dropout rates.
• Avoid double-barrelled questions: Ensure that each question requests one specific piece of information from respondents. In other words, do not use one question to gather information for multiple contexts. 
• When necessary, include neutral answer options.
• Avoid leading and loaded questions . These kinds of questions are infused with biases that prevent survey respondents from providing objective responses. 

Examples of Good Survey Questions

Likert survey question.

A Likert scale question is a type of survey question that allows you to measure a respondent’s disposition towards specific assertions in a research context. With a Likert scale question, you can find out the extent to which respondents agree or disagree with different statements in your research. 

Likert scale questions are made up of 3,5 or 7-point ranking scales that allow you to indicate the degree to which you agree with the statement in question. All Likert scale questions have a mid-point that caters to neutral responses; that is, respondents who neither agree nor disagree with the assertion. 

Likert scale questions are one of the best methods of collecting quantitative data in research. A Likert scale question can be unipolar or bipolar. While a unipolar Likert scale question has one pole and measures one quality, a bipolar Likert scale has two opposites and focuses on two qualities. 

Examples of Likert Scale Questions in Surveys  

1. How satisfied are you with our customer experience?

• Very satisfied
• Somewhat satisfied
• Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied
• Somewhat dissatisfied
• Very dissatisfied 

2. I enjoyed using this product.

• Strongly agree
• Neither agree nor disagree
• Strongly agree nor disagree

Why is a Likert Scale Question a Good Survey Question?  

It is important to understand what makes a Likert scale question one of the best examples of a good survey question. Likert scale questions are really easy to create and they are simple and straight to the point without complexities. 

Also, with little or no biases, they help you to capture respondents’ emotions, thoughts, and emotions which translates to valid research data. Likert scale questions also account for variations in people’s thoughts and experiences and represent these adequately. 

Dichotomous Questions  

A dichotomous question is a type of survey question that has only two possible options which are typically parallel; that is, true/false, yes/no, agree/disagree. Survey respondents cannot provide neutral responses to dichotomous questions as there is no allowance for such.

Dichotomous questions are simple, direct, and straight to the point, and they are best used when you need to collect definite responses from your audience. However, because of their direct nature, dichotomous questions can be limiting in nature and prevent respondents from providing enough information in research. 

Examples of Dichotomous Questions in Research

1. Do you enjoy using our product?

2. Was this article helpful?

3. Our customer support team was very responsive.

Multiple-Choice Questions

A multiple-choice question is a type of close-ended question that provides respondents with a fixed set of answer options they can choose from. Depending on the multiple-choice question, respondents are allowed to choose one option or multiple options that they agree with. 

Every multiple-choice question is made up of 3 parts which are the stem, answer, and distractors. The stem is the question, the answer is the appropriate response to the question while the distractors are other options listed in the MCQ. 

Examples of Multiple Choice Questions in Research  

1. What is your gender?

• Others (please indicate)

2. Which of these would you prefer for breakfast?

• Tea and Bread

How to Identify Bad Survey Questions

A bad survey question is one that prevents respondents from providing objective answers in research. These questions usually contain several biases that make it difficult for survey respondents to communicate their true thoughts, preferences, and experiences. 

Many times, having a poor survey response rate, high survey dropout rate, and subjective research outcomes are indicators of bad survey questions in research. To prevent these, you must know the features of bad survey questions so that you can work on avoiding them. 

Features of Bad Survey Questions  

• Bad survey questions use biased language to influence survey respondents. 
• These questions are usually vague, complex, and ambiguous. 
• Bad survey questions contain inherent biases that prevent respondents from providing objective answers. 
• Some bad survey questions request multiple information at the same time. 
• In many cases, these questions are absolute; thereby, preventing respondents from providing meaningful feedback.  
• Bad survey questions do not field mutually exclusive options. This often leads to confusion in the minds of the respondents. 
• Bad survey questions do not lead to variability in responses. This makes it difficult for survey data to be organized and processed accordingly. 

Examples of Bad Survey Questions

1. double-barreled question.

This is a type of survey question that addresses more than one issue but provides for only one response. It is also known as a double direct question because it weaves multiple issues into one and expects respondents to address these issues with only one answer. 

Double-barreled questions are problematic in surveys because they can be confusing and misleading. Weaving multiple assertions into one question that demands a single response makes it nearly impossible for respondents to agree to one assertion and leave out the others. 

Examples of Double-Barrelled Questions

a. Do you find our product interesting and useful?

b. How satisfied are you with our customer service and service delivery?

2. Loaded Questions

A loaded question is a type of question with inherent biases. It typically contains a controversial assumption that typically presupposes that the respondent is guilty of a specific action or behavior. Many times, the assumptions in a loaded question are unverified and this is what makes them problematic. 

A loaded question is a bad survey question because it imposes unverified implicit or explicit assumptions on the respondent. This makes it difficult for the respondent to freely communicate his or her thoughts and experiences about the issue at hand. 

Examples of Loaded Questions in Research 

a. Have you stopped smoking before the incident happened?

This question assumes that the respondent smokes which may not be the case. Providing a yes/no answer to this question already confirms the intrinsic bias of the respondent’s smoking habit. 

b. Do you think we should report this criminal?

This question presupposes that the person in question is a criminal. Whether you answer yes/no to this question, it still confirms the existing bias. 

3. Leading Questions

This is a type of survey question that subtly prompts the respondent to provide answers in line with predetermined responses. With a leading question, the researcher already knows what he or she wants you to say so they craft the question to make you respond exactly how they want. 

A leading question is a bad survey question because it leads to survey response bias and typically boxes respondents into a corner. This is because it is extremely suggestive. Leading questions can be based on assumptions, interconnected statements, coercion, or direct implications. 

Examples of Leading Questions in Survey Research 

a. How well did our excellent services meet your needs?

b. If you enjoyed this event, would you like to check out our other activities? 

4. Negative Questions

A negative question is a type of survey question that requires a negative answer for a positive response and a positive answer for a negative response. It is a bad survey question because it is quite complex and can confuse respondents. 

As we’ve said earlier, the best kinds of survey questions are simple, straight to the point, and easy to understand. Having a negative question or double negative question in your survey defeats this purpose and can affect the quality of information you gather from your survey. 

Examples of Negative Questions in Surveys 

a. I don’t think your product is not too expensive.

b. I don’t enjoy using this product. 

5. Vague Questions

A vague question is one that is uncertain or unclear. This type of question does not seek a specific response and it is usually too broad or poorly defined. Because vague questions are not restricted to a specific context, they always result in generic responses that are not useful in research. 

Vague questions almost defeat the purpose of your survey because they make it difficult for you to gather valid data. To avoid vague questions in your survey, ensure that your questions are crafted in a way that they are easy to understand, specific, and well-defined for your audience.

Examples of Vague Questions in Surveys  

a. Do you think people enjoy using our product? 

b. Do we have the best product in the market? 

How to Create Good Online Surveys on Formplus

With Formplus, you can say goodbye to bad online surveys. Our form builder is easy to use and has more than 30 form fields that help you collect and process different types of information without stress. Follow these easy steps to create good online surveys using Formplus.

1. Create your Formplus account for free on www.formpl.us/signup . If you already have a Formplus account, simply login to access your dashboard.

2. On your dashboard, click the “create new form” option to start working on your online survey. Alternatively, you can choose any of the templates and edit them to suit your needs in the form builder.

3. The Formplus builder has more than 30 fields that you can add to your survey easily. All you have to do is drag preferred fields from the field section into your form. You’d find the field section on the left corner of the form builder. 

4. You can use the multi-page option to break your survey into different pages and sections. This makes your survey layout neater and more appealing. 

5. After adding the fields you want, save the form to automatically access the customization section of the form builder. 

6. Use the form customization options to change the appearance of your online survey. You can add background images, your organization’s logo, and also change the form font and layout as you wish. 

7. Copy the form link and start sharing your online survey. Formplus has multiple form sharing options that take the stress of you by making it easier for you to administer your survey. 

8. For example, you can send out email invitations to respondents or use our social media direct sharing buttons to share your form with your online audience. 

9. Don’t forget to monitor the form analytics dashboard to gain insights into the survey response rate and other important numbers. 

Conclusion  

To get the most out of your survey, of any kind, you must start with the right type of questions. It doesn’t matter whether you have the best survey design or the most effective sharing platforms; bad survey questions will ruin your data collection process. 

A lot of effort goes into surveys and data collection and this is why you must strive to get them right at the first trial. Knowing the difference between bad survey questions and good survey questions takes you even closer to having an effective data collection process. 

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Opinion Scientific journals have a credibility problem. Here’s how to fix it.

Four experts on how to discredit the so-called “paper mills” while keeping research open to everyone.

Regarding Adam Marcus and Ivan Oransky’s June 17 op-ed, “ An epidemic of scientific fakery threatens publishers ”:

What we see here is a crisis caused by bad incentives. Publishers charge anywhere from $1,000 to $12,000 for publishing a single open-access article. Every time the publisher rejects a submission, they lose potential revenue. This creates a strong economic incentive to lower the quality standards — a temptation that many publishers cannot resist.

At the same time, the most important “productivity metrics” that advance the careers of scientists are the number of articles they publish and the citations those articles get. The peer-review process that is supposed to filter for quality relies on the pro-bono work of other busy scientists who have little to gain by being thorough and often lack access to the data and code necessary to check the authors’ claims. Add the rise of artificial intelligence and the lack of incentives for scientists to replicate the publications of others, and we have the conditions for a perfect storm aimed straight at the legitimacy of the scientific enterprise.

Cosmetic changes, such as checklists by journals or ethics declarations, are not sufficient to overcome these fundamental problems. Instead, we must rethink how science is being incentivized, funded, practiced and shared with the public from first principles. The stakes couldn’t be higher: If we can’t trust science, how else are we going to make progress?

Philipp Koellinger , Baech, Switzerland

Yes, “science must fight back” against fraud in scientific papers, as Adam Marcus and Ivan Oransky suggest in their recent op-ed. But it must somehow do so without crippling the open-access effort to make those publications freely available to all.

For three centuries, the international science enterprise evolved based largely on well-curated paper publications. Eventually, the burden of subscription costs to the ever-increasing number of published journals effectively sequestered the reports of science’s progress in well-funded university libraries. For many within and outside science, that meant unacceptably — undemocratically — closed access.

That’s why it’s deeply problematic to contemplate retiring “the pay-for-play business model that, by charging researchers to publish their work, has the effect of putting the veneer of legitimacy up for sale.” The problem is that model figures centrally in the effort to achieve open access. That’s why the op-ed stipulated that retiring the author-pays model would be “painful.”

Open access and the fight against fakery are intertwined information-age challenges for science. Defeating this fakery epidemic is crucial. So is maintaining open access.

H. Frederick Dylla , Lewes, Del.

The writer served as executive director and chief executive of the American Institute of Physics from 2007 to 2015 and helped to organize the Scholarly Publishing Roundtable that met from 2009 to 2010.

Adam Marcus and Ivan Oransky raise important concerns in their recent op-ed, but it’s worth discussing one crucial reason the “paper mill” scientific journals have been able to thrive.

The advent of the open-access movement in science publishing in the past 20 years was meant to make the results of scientific work more widely accessible, and to a substantial degree that goal has been achieved. But many funding agencies, particularly in Europe, made the mistake of requiring that research funded by their grants be published in “gold” open-access journals — or in free journals that charge neither subscription nor publication fees but, understandably, remain quite rare.

That decision gave the veneer of respectability to the paper mills that present themselves as gold open-access journals, but for all practical purposes operate as profit-oriented self-publishing venues. The only realistic way to counter this destructive trend is for the funding agencies to change course and start promoting “green” open-access alternatives such as open-access preprint servers such as arxiv.org , and various open-access institutional repositories. Scientific papers get posted in these forums in their final accepted form before appearing in a journal, but the typesetting and pagination might be different from what the journal eventually uses. For most readers, such differences are minor to the point of being immaterial. The free availability of a paper is what really matters.

At the same time, the funding agencies should require attestation that none of the articles resulting from their grants were published using the payment of publication charges. Even for “respectable” publishers, the use of such charges should be viewed as a form of self-publishing and eventually phased out. Instead, the publishers should be encouraged to shorten the copyright embargo period as much as possible.

Ilya Kapovich , New York

The writer served as chair of the committee on publications of the American Mathematical Society from 2018 to 2019.

Publishers agree that paper mills, which try to subvert editorial practices to trick publishers into publishing fake science, are a real challenge to our community. But we would argue that we are far from being overwhelmed.

At Springer Nature, we are absolutely dedicated to keeping this content out of our (digital) pages and to removing any content that has tricked its way through to publication. We have invested millions of dollars in developing artificial intelligence technology to identify problematic content, including two newly announced AI tools looking out for signals such as AI-generated content or duplicated images. Through technology, people power and collaboration with sleuths, we have identified and are tracking different mills around the world and ensuring their submissions cannot make it through our systems. In 2023, our research integrity unit identified and prevented publication of over 8,000 submitted papers with major integrity problems.

In addition to our own in-house work, we are committed to working with other publishers via the STM Integrity Hub, a community initiative to facilitate knowledge and data exchange and develop shared technology tools to help publishers overcome the challenges of paper mills and unethical practices.

Publishers are working hard to address these issues, but we cannot work in a vacuum. Real efforts need to be made to address perverse incentives to publish fake research and to train researchers in appropriate standards in research practices. We are committed to working together to that end, including by providing free online integrity training, and we hope that the wider scientific community will agree that collaboration, rather than criticism, is the best way forward.

Chris Graf , London

The writer is the research integrity director at Springer Nature.

Following ‘the science’:

So far, I’ve willingly received three coronavirus vaccine injections and usually take the annual influenza vaccine because I basically believe the mainstream science behind them. But while the verbal assaults against public health officials such as Anthony S. Fauci are inexcusable, I nevertheless feel the term “science” gets invoked as a trump card a bit too readily nowadays, including for political or self-serving purposes.

Due to increasingly common privatized research for corporate profit aims, sometimes even science can be for sale. Questionable research results are sometimes amplified if they favor a corporate product; accurate research results might be ignored if they are unfavorable to business interests, even if they have serious health implications. And lobbyists do their best to lead government regulators around by the nose.

Such profit-driven manipulation does not belong in any government body, or anywhere in the scientific process.

Frank Sterle Jr. , White Rock, British Columbia

Space to breathe

Regarding The Post’s June 3 article “ CDC’s 6-foot distancing rule during pandemic had little scientific basis ”:

Anthony S. Fauci’s recent appearance before Congress and The Post’s coverage made clear that “What were the failures of early pandemic management?” is a contested question. Our collective answers to this question carry profound implications for ongoing and future emergencies.

Distancing guidelines were based on the preliminary understanding that large droplets were the main route of covid-19 infection. Given the efficacy of such protocols for other diseases, it made sense to recommend distancing while more research was underway. Though today we know that covid is primarily airborne and transmitted through inhalation, distancing still lowers the risk of inhaling an infectious dose of the virus.

It’s worth examining what the experiences of agricultural and food workers, who were disproportionately harmed during the pandemic, reveal about how precautions and distancing were not universal and were often denied. On Maryland’s Eastern Shore, where our team focuses our research, living quarters at employer-controlled camps such as Westover in Somerset County are overcrowded and lack proper ventilation or air conditioning. Workers who live off-site are often packed into employer-approved motel rooms.

In the early months of the pandemic, at food sites across the country, employers concealed outbreaks, forced sick employees to return to work and denied them access to personal protective equipment — and these were just a few of the ways in which they prioritized profits over public health. Honoring regulatory mandates, following health guidelines, and conferring the same protection, dignity and care offered to people not labeled “essential” would have saved lives and lessened the unequal harm these communities faced.

As lawmakers fight to control the pandemic narrative, we are drawing the wrong conclusions.

Of course it’s necessary to reflect on the past to prepare for the next, inevitable pandemic. But rather than obsessing about whether 3, 6 or 10 feet of distance is optimal depending on the pathogen and its transmission method, we should remember that the more significant harm came from the way our society chose to respond and who was deemed sacrificial, not just technical considerations. If we decide that the major problems of pandemic management were costs to businesses or mental health for those who could isolate themselves at home, while ignoring the massive toll (physical, mental, financial and communal) demanded from frontline workers, we risk repeating past harms when faced with a new virus.

Avian flu is currently infecting dairy workers. We can’t waste time on the wrong questions.

Elise Ferrer , Washington

Devon Payne-Sturges , College Park

Thurka Sangaramoorthy , Washington

Jessica Culley , Glassboro, N.J.

The writers work on the RESPIRAR Project, which focuses on disparities in health outcomes for migrant and seasonal farmworkers.

About letters to the editor

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Why am i never asked to take a poll.

You have roughly the same chance of being polled as anyone else living in the United States. This chance, however, is only about 1 in 170,000 for a typical Pew Research Center survey. To obtain that rough estimate, we divide the current adult population of the U.S. (about 255 million) by the typical number of adults we recruit to our survey panel each year (usually around 1,500 people). We draw a random sample of addresses from the U.S. Postal Service’s master residential address file. We recruit one randomly selected adult from each of those households to join our survey panel. This process gives every non-institutionalized adult a known chance of being included. The only people who are not included are those who do not live at a residential address (e.g., adults who are incarcerated, living at a group facility like a rehabilitation center, or living in a remote area without a standard postal address).

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While we appreciate people who want to participate, we can’t base our polls on volunteers. The key to survey research is to have a  random sample so that every person has a chance of having their views captured. The kinds of people who might volunteer for our polls are likely to be very different from the average American – at the very least they would probably be more politically interested and engaged, which would not be a true representation of the general population.

Why should I participate in surveys?

Polls are a way for you to express your opinions to the nation’s leaders and the country as a whole. Public officials and other leaders pay attention to the results of polls and often take them into account in their decision-making. If certain kinds of people do not participate in the surveys, then the results won’t represent the full range of opinions in the nation.

What good are polls?

Polls seek to measure public opinion and document the experiences of the public on a range of subjects. The results provide information for academics, researchers and government officials and help to inform the decision-making process for policymakers and others. Much of what the country knows about its media usage, labor and job markets, educational performance, crime victimization and social conditions is based on data collected through polls.

Do pollsters have a code of ethics? If so, what is in the code?

The major professional organizations of survey researchers have very clear codes of ethics for their members. These codes cover the responsibilities of pollsters with respect to the treatment of respondents, their relationships with clients and their responsibilities to the public when reporting on polls.  Some good examples of a pollster’s Code of Ethics include:

American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR)

Council of American Survey Research Organizations (CASRO)

You can read Pew Research Center’s mission and code of ethics  here .

How are your polls different from market research?

One main difference is the subject matter. Market research explores opinions about products and services and measures your buying patterns, awareness of products and services or willingness to buy something. Our polls typically focus on public policy issues, mainly aimed at informing the public. We also try to measure topics like how voters are reacting to candidates in political campaigns and what issues are important to them.

Do you survey Asian Americans?

Yes. Our surveys are representative of the entire adult population of the United States and accurately account for the full population’s diversity by age, gender, race and ethnicity, region, and socioeconomic factors such as education levels, household income and employment status. We do not exclude anyone from our analyses based on his or her demographic characteristics. With the American Trends Panel, the Center release results specifically for Asian Americans in multiple reports each year.

How are people selected for your polls?

Most of our U.S. surveys are conducted on the American Trends Panel (ATP), the Center’s national survey panel of over 10,000 randomly selected U.S. adults. ATP participants are recruited offline using random sampling from the U.S. Postal Service’s residential address file. Respondents complete the surveys online using smartphones, tablets or desktop devices. We provide tablets and data plans to adults without home internet.

Do people lie to pollsters?

We know that not all survey questions are answered accurately, but it’s impossible to gauge intent and to say that any given inaccurate answer necessarily involves lying. People may simply not remember their behavior accurately.

More people say they voted in a given election than voting records indicate actually cast ballots. In some instances, researchers have actually verified the voting records of people who were interviewed and found that some of them said they voted but did not. Voting is generally considered a socially desirable behavior, like attending church or donating money to charity. Studies suggest these kinds of behaviors are overreported. Similarly, socially undesirable behaviors such as illegal drug use, certain kinds of sexual behavior or driving while intoxicated are underreported.

We take steps to minimize errors related to questions about socially desirable or undesirable activities. For example, questions about voter registration and voting usually acknowledge that not everyone takes part in elections. Pew Research Center’s voter turnout question is worded this way:

“Which of the following statements best describes you? I did not vote in the [YEAR] presidential election; I planned to vote but wasn’t able to; I definitely voted in the [YEAR] presidential election”

Do people really have opinions on all of those questions?

When we poll on a topic that may be unfamiliar, we typically start by asking how much, if anything, people have heard about it. This way we can get some insight into who knows about the subject and who does not. When we release results from the poll, we typically report just the opinions of people who say they had heard about the topic, and we also report what share of the public had not heard about the topic.

How can I tell a high-quality poll from a lower-quality one?

Two key aspects to consider are transparency and representation. Pollsters who provide clear, detailed explanations about how the poll was conducted (and by whom) tend to be more accurate than those who do not. For example, reputable pollsters will report the source from which the sample was selected, the mode(s) used for interviewing, question wording, etc. High-quality polls also have procedures to ensure that the poll represents the public, even though response rates are low, and some groups are more likely to participate in polls than others. For example, it helps to sample from a database that includes virtually all Americans (e.g., a master list of addresses or phone numbers). Also, it is critical that the poll uses a statistical adjustment (called “weighting”) to make sure that it aligns with an accurate profile of the public. For example, Pew Research Center polls adjust on variables ranging from age, sex and education to voter registration status and political party affiliation. More general guidelines on high-quality polling are available here .

How can a small sample of 1,000 (or even 10,000) accurately represent the views of 250,000,000+ Americans?

Two main statistical techniques are used to ensure that our surveys are representative of the populations they’re drawn from: random sampling and weighting. Random sampling ensures that each person has the same chance of selection to participate in a survey and that the people selected into a sample are a good mix of various demographics, such as age, race, income and education, just like in the general population. However, sample compositions can differ. For example, one sample drawn from a nationally representative list of residential addresses may have a higher percentage of rural dwellers compared with another sample drawn from the exact same list. To ensure that samples drawn ultimately resemble the population they are meant to represent, we use weighting techniques in addition to random sampling. These weighting techniques adjust for differences between respondents’ demographics in the sample and what we know them to be at population level, based on information obtained through institutions such as the U.S. Census Bureau. For more on this topic, check out our Methods 101 video on random sampling.

Do your surveys include people who are offline?

Yes. For the online ATP panel to be truly nationally representative, the share of those who do not use the internet nationally must be represented on the panel. In the past, we did this by providing identified non-internet users with paper questionnaires to complete and mail back. Now, those who don’t have internet access are provided with internet-enabled tablets to take their surveys. These tablet-provided individuals are representative of our non-internet population in the Center’s analyses.  

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Human Subjects Office

Medical terms in lay language.

Please use these descriptions in place of medical jargon in consent documents, recruitment materials and other study documents. Note: These terms are not the only acceptable plain language alternatives for these vocabulary words.

This glossary of terms is derived from a list copyrighted by the University of Kentucky, Office of Research Integrity (1990).

For clinical research-specific definitions, see also the Clinical Research Glossary developed by the Multi-Regional Clinical Trials (MRCT) Center of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard  and the Clinical Data Interchange Standards Consortium (CDISC) .

Alternative Lay Language for Medical Terms for use in Informed Consent Documents

A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I  J  K   L   M   N   O   P   Q   R   S   T   U   V   W  X  Y  Z

ABDOMEN/ABDOMINAL body cavity below diaphragm that contains stomach, intestines, liver and other organs ABSORB take up fluids, take in ACIDOSIS condition when blood contains more acid than normal ACUITY clearness, keenness, esp. of vision and airways ACUTE new, recent, sudden, urgent ADENOPATHY swollen lymph nodes (glands) ADJUVANT helpful, assisting, aiding, supportive ADJUVANT TREATMENT added treatment (usually to a standard treatment) ANTIBIOTIC drug that kills bacteria and other germs ANTIMICROBIAL drug that kills bacteria and other germs ANTIRETROVIRAL drug that works against the growth of certain viruses ADVERSE EFFECT side effect, bad reaction, unwanted response ALLERGIC REACTION rash, hives, swelling, trouble breathing AMBULATE/AMBULATION/AMBULATORY walk, able to walk ANAPHYLAXIS serious, potentially life-threatening allergic reaction ANEMIA decreased red blood cells; low red cell blood count ANESTHETIC a drug or agent used to decrease the feeling of pain, or eliminate the feeling of pain by putting you to sleep ANGINA pain resulting from not enough blood flowing to the heart ANGINA PECTORIS pain resulting from not enough blood flowing to the heart ANOREXIA disorder in which person will not eat; lack of appetite ANTECUBITAL related to the inner side of the forearm ANTIBODY protein made in the body in response to foreign substance ANTICONVULSANT drug used to prevent seizures ANTILIPEMIC a drug that lowers fat levels in the blood ANTITUSSIVE a drug used to relieve coughing ARRHYTHMIA abnormal heartbeat; any change from the normal heartbeat ASPIRATION fluid entering the lungs, such as after vomiting ASSAY lab test ASSESS to learn about, measure, evaluate, look at ASTHMA lung disease associated with tightening of air passages, making breathing difficult ASYMPTOMATIC without symptoms AXILLA armpit

BENIGN not malignant, without serious consequences BID twice a day BINDING/BOUND carried by, to make stick together, transported BIOAVAILABILITY the extent to which a drug or other substance becomes available to the body BLOOD PROFILE series of blood tests BOLUS a large amount given all at once BONE MASS the amount of calcium and other minerals in a given amount of bone BRADYARRHYTHMIAS slow, irregular heartbeats BRADYCARDIA slow heartbeat BRONCHOSPASM breathing distress caused by narrowing of the airways

CARCINOGENIC cancer-causing CARCINOMA type of cancer CARDIAC related to the heart CARDIOVERSION return to normal heartbeat by electric shock CATHETER a tube for withdrawing or giving fluids CATHETER a tube placed near the spinal cord and used for anesthesia (indwelling epidural) during surgery CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM (CNS) brain and spinal cord CEREBRAL TRAUMA damage to the brain CESSATION stopping CHD coronary heart disease CHEMOTHERAPY treatment of disease, usually cancer, by chemical agents CHRONIC continuing for a long time, ongoing CLINICAL pertaining to medical care CLINICAL TRIAL an experiment involving human subjects COMA unconscious state COMPLETE RESPONSE total disappearance of disease CONGENITAL present before birth CONJUNCTIVITIS redness and irritation of the thin membrane that covers the eye CONSOLIDATION PHASE treatment phase intended to make a remission permanent (follows induction phase) CONTROLLED TRIAL research study in which the experimental treatment or procedure is compared to a standard (control) treatment or procedure COOPERATIVE GROUP association of multiple institutions to perform clinical trials CORONARY related to the blood vessels that supply the heart, or to the heart itself CT SCAN (CAT) computerized series of x-rays (computerized tomography) CULTURE test for infection, or for organisms that could cause infection CUMULATIVE added together from the beginning CUTANEOUS relating to the skin CVA stroke (cerebrovascular accident)

DERMATOLOGIC pertaining to the skin DIASTOLIC lower number in a blood pressure reading DISTAL toward the end, away from the center of the body DIURETIC "water pill" or drug that causes increase in urination DOPPLER device using sound waves to diagnose or test DOUBLE BLIND study in which neither investigators nor subjects know what drug or treatment the subject is receiving DYSFUNCTION state of improper function DYSPLASIA abnormal cells

ECHOCARDIOGRAM sound wave test of the heart EDEMA excess fluid collecting in tissue EEG electric brain wave tracing (electroencephalogram) EFFICACY effectiveness ELECTROCARDIOGRAM electrical tracing of the heartbeat (ECG or EKG) ELECTROLYTE IMBALANCE an imbalance of minerals in the blood EMESIS vomiting EMPIRIC based on experience ENDOSCOPIC EXAMINATION viewing an  internal part of the body with a lighted tube  ENTERAL by way of the intestines EPIDURAL outside the spinal cord ERADICATE get rid of (such as disease) Page 2 of 7 EVALUATED, ASSESSED examined for a medical condition EXPEDITED REVIEW rapid review of a protocol by the IRB Chair without full committee approval, permitted with certain low-risk research studies EXTERNAL outside the body EXTRAVASATE to leak outside of a planned area, such as out of a blood vessel

FDA U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the branch of federal government that approves new drugs FIBROUS having many fibers, such as scar tissue FIBRILLATION irregular beat of the heart or other muscle

GENERAL ANESTHESIA pain prevention by giving drugs to cause loss of consciousness, as during surgery GESTATIONAL pertaining to pregnancy

HEMATOCRIT amount of red blood cells in the blood HEMATOMA a bruise, a black and blue mark HEMODYNAMIC MEASURING blood flow HEMOLYSIS breakdown in red blood cells HEPARIN LOCK needle placed in the arm with blood thinner to keep the blood from clotting HEPATOMA cancer or tumor of the liver HERITABLE DISEASE can be transmitted to one’s offspring, resulting in damage to future children HISTOPATHOLOGIC pertaining to the disease status of body tissues or cells HOLTER MONITOR a portable machine for recording heart beats HYPERCALCEMIA high blood calcium level HYPERKALEMIA high blood potassium level HYPERNATREMIA high blood sodium level HYPERTENSION high blood pressure HYPOCALCEMIA low blood calcium level HYPOKALEMIA low blood potassium level HYPONATREMIA low blood sodium level HYPOTENSION low blood pressure HYPOXEMIA a decrease of oxygen in the blood HYPOXIA a decrease of oxygen reaching body tissues HYSTERECTOMY surgical removal of the uterus, ovaries (female sex glands), or both uterus and ovaries

IATROGENIC caused by a physician or by treatment IDE investigational device exemption, the license to test an unapproved new medical device IDIOPATHIC of unknown cause IMMUNITY defense against, protection from IMMUNOGLOBIN a protein that makes antibodies IMMUNOSUPPRESSIVE drug which works against the body's immune (protective) response, often used in transplantation and diseases caused by immune system malfunction IMMUNOTHERAPY giving of drugs to help the body's immune (protective) system; usually used to destroy cancer cells IMPAIRED FUNCTION abnormal function IMPLANTED placed in the body IND investigational new drug, the license to test an unapproved new drug INDUCTION PHASE beginning phase or stage of a treatment INDURATION hardening INDWELLING remaining in a given location, such as a catheter INFARCT death of tissue due to lack of blood supply INFECTIOUS DISEASE transmitted from one person to the next INFLAMMATION swelling that is generally painful, red, and warm INFUSION slow injection of a substance into the body, usually into the blood by means of a catheter INGESTION eating; taking by mouth INTERFERON drug which acts against viruses; antiviral agent INTERMITTENT occurring (regularly or irregularly) between two time points; repeatedly stopping, then starting again INTERNAL within the body INTERIOR inside of the body INTRAMUSCULAR into the muscle; within the muscle INTRAPERITONEAL into the abdominal cavity INTRATHECAL into the spinal fluid INTRAVENOUS (IV) through the vein INTRAVESICAL in the bladder INTUBATE the placement of a tube into the airway INVASIVE PROCEDURE puncturing, opening, or cutting the skin INVESTIGATIONAL NEW DRUG (IND) a new drug that has not been approved by the FDA INVESTIGATIONAL METHOD a treatment method which has not been proven to be beneficial or has not been accepted as standard care ISCHEMIA decreased oxygen in a tissue (usually because of decreased blood flow)

LAPAROTOMY surgical procedure in which an incision is made in the abdominal wall to enable a doctor to look at the organs inside LESION wound or injury; a diseased patch of skin LETHARGY sleepiness, tiredness LEUKOPENIA low white blood cell count LIPID fat LIPID CONTENT fat content in the blood LIPID PROFILE (PANEL) fat and cholesterol levels in the blood LOCAL ANESTHESIA creation of insensitivity to pain in a small, local area of the body, usually by injection of numbing drugs LOCALIZED restricted to one area, limited to one area LUMEN the cavity of an organ or tube (e.g., blood vessel) LYMPHANGIOGRAPHY an x-ray of the lymph nodes or tissues after injecting dye into lymph vessels (e.g., in feet) LYMPHOCYTE a type of white blood cell important in immunity (protection) against infection LYMPHOMA a cancer of the lymph nodes (or tissues)

MALAISE a vague feeling of bodily discomfort, feeling badly MALFUNCTION condition in which something is not functioning properly MALIGNANCY cancer or other progressively enlarging and spreading tumor, usually fatal if not successfully treated MEDULLABLASTOMA a type of brain tumor MEGALOBLASTOSIS change in red blood cells METABOLIZE process of breaking down substances in the cells to obtain energy METASTASIS spread of cancer cells from one part of the body to another METRONIDAZOLE drug used to treat infections caused by parasites (invading organisms that take up living in the body) or other causes of anaerobic infection (not requiring oxygen to survive) MI myocardial infarction, heart attack MINIMAL slight MINIMIZE reduce as much as possible Page 4 of 7 MONITOR check on; keep track of; watch carefully MOBILITY ease of movement MORBIDITY undesired result or complication MORTALITY death MOTILITY the ability to move MRI magnetic resonance imaging, diagnostic pictures of the inside of the body, created using magnetic rather than x-ray energy MUCOSA, MUCOUS MEMBRANE moist lining of digestive, respiratory, reproductive, and urinary tracts MYALGIA muscle aches MYOCARDIAL pertaining to the heart muscle MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION heart attack

NASOGASTRIC TUBE placed in the nose, reaching to the stomach NCI the National Cancer Institute NECROSIS death of tissue NEOPLASIA/NEOPLASM tumor, may be benign or malignant NEUROBLASTOMA a cancer of nerve tissue NEUROLOGICAL pertaining to the nervous system NEUTROPENIA decrease in the main part of the white blood cells NIH the National Institutes of Health NONINVASIVE not breaking, cutting, or entering the skin NOSOCOMIAL acquired in the hospital

OCCLUSION closing; blockage; obstruction ONCOLOGY the study of tumors or cancer OPHTHALMIC pertaining to the eye OPTIMAL best, most favorable or desirable ORAL ADMINISTRATION by mouth ORTHOPEDIC pertaining to the bones OSTEOPETROSIS rare bone disorder characterized by dense bone OSTEOPOROSIS softening of the bones OVARIES female sex glands

PARENTERAL given by injection PATENCY condition of being open PATHOGENESIS development of a disease or unhealthy condition PERCUTANEOUS through the skin PERIPHERAL not central PER OS (PO) by mouth PHARMACOKINETICS the study of the way the body absorbs, distributes, and gets rid of a drug PHASE I first phase of study of a new drug in humans to determine action, safety, and proper dosing PHASE II second phase of study of a new drug in humans, intended to gather information about safety and effectiveness of the drug for certain uses PHASE III large-scale studies to confirm and expand information on safety and effectiveness of new drug for certain uses, and to study common side effects PHASE IV studies done after the drug is approved by the FDA, especially to compare it to standard care or to try it for new uses PHLEBITIS irritation or inflammation of the vein PLACEBO an inactive substance; a pill/liquid that contains no medicine PLACEBO EFFECT improvement seen with giving subjects a placebo, though it contains no active drug/treatment PLATELETS small particles in the blood that help with clotting POTENTIAL possible POTENTIATE increase or multiply the effect of a drug or toxin (poison) by giving another drug or toxin at the same time (sometimes an unintentional result) POTENTIATOR an agent that helps another agent work better PRENATAL before birth PROPHYLAXIS a drug given to prevent disease or infection PER OS (PO) by mouth PRN as needed PROGNOSIS outlook, probable outcomes PRONE lying on the stomach PROSPECTIVE STUDY following patients forward in time PROSTHESIS artificial part, most often limbs, such as arms or legs PROTOCOL plan of study PROXIMAL closer to the center of the body, away from the end PULMONARY pertaining to the lungs

QD every day; daily QID four times a day

RADIATION THERAPY x-ray or cobalt treatment RANDOM by chance (like the flip of a coin) RANDOMIZATION chance selection RBC red blood cell RECOMBINANT formation of new combinations of genes RECONSTITUTION putting back together the original parts or elements RECUR happen again REFRACTORY not responding to treatment REGENERATION re-growth of a structure or of lost tissue REGIMEN pattern of giving treatment RELAPSE the return of a disease REMISSION disappearance of evidence of cancer or other disease RENAL pertaining to the kidneys REPLICABLE possible to duplicate RESECT remove or cut out surgically RETROSPECTIVE STUDY looking back over past experience

SARCOMA a type of cancer SEDATIVE a drug to calm or make less anxious SEMINOMA a type of testicular cancer (found in the male sex glands) SEQUENTIALLY in a row, in order SOMNOLENCE sleepiness SPIROMETER an instrument to measure the amount of air taken into and exhaled from the lungs STAGING an evaluation of the extent of the disease STANDARD OF CARE a treatment plan that the majority of the medical community would accept as appropriate STENOSIS narrowing of a duct, tube, or one of the blood vessels in the heart STOMATITIS mouth sores, inflammation of the mouth STRATIFY arrange in groups for analysis of results (e.g., stratify by age, sex, etc.) STUPOR stunned state in which it is difficult to get a response or the attention of the subject SUBCLAVIAN under the collarbone SUBCUTANEOUS under the skin SUPINE lying on the back SUPPORTIVE CARE general medical care aimed at symptoms, not intended to improve or cure underlying disease SYMPTOMATIC having symptoms SYNDROME a condition characterized by a set of symptoms SYSTOLIC top number in blood pressure; pressure during active contraction of the heart

TERATOGENIC capable of causing malformations in a fetus (developing baby still inside the mother’s body) TESTES/TESTICLES male sex glands THROMBOSIS clotting THROMBUS blood clot TID three times a day TITRATION a method for deciding on the strength of a drug or solution; gradually increasing the dose T-LYMPHOCYTES type of white blood cells TOPICAL on the surface TOPICAL ANESTHETIC applied to a certain area of the skin and reducing pain only in the area to which applied TOXICITY side effects or undesirable effects of a drug or treatment TRANSDERMAL through the skin TRANSIENTLY temporarily TRAUMA injury; wound TREADMILL walking machine used to test heart function

UPTAKE absorbing and taking in of a substance by living tissue

VALVULOPLASTY plastic repair of a valve, especially a heart valve VARICES enlarged veins VASOSPASM narrowing of the blood vessels VECTOR a carrier that can transmit disease-causing microorganisms (germs and viruses) VENIPUNCTURE needle stick, blood draw, entering the skin with a needle VERTICAL TRANSMISSION spread of disease

WBC white blood cell

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Research: Speed Matters When Companies Respond to Social Issues

• Alison Wood Brooks,
• Maya Balakrishnan,
• Julian De Freitas

An analysis of Instagram posts by Fortune 500 companies after George Floyd’s murder found that customers were skeptical of those who waited too long to make a statement.

Companies and their leaders face new pressures to make public statements about controversial and sometimes divisive social and political issues. New research shows that timing matters: consumers perceive a relationship between speed and authenticity, and discount statements from companies that wait too long to respond. Leaders can use four questions to understand when and how they should shape their response.

In the wake of George Floyd’s killing by Minneapolis police officers in 2020, individuals began protesting racial injustice both in person and online. But it wasn’t just individuals — many well-known companies in corporate America seemed to publicly align themselves with protestors, rather than staying silent or neutral.

• Alison Wood Brooks is the O’Brien Associate Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School.
• JN Jimin Nam is a doctoral candidate in marketing at Harvard Business School.
• MB Maya Balakrishnan is a doctoral candidate in technology and operations management at Harvard Business School.
• Julian De Freitas is an assistant professor in the marketing unit at Harvard Business School.

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