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"What's the difference between sociology and journalism? Journalist tell us the who, what, where, and when, but sociologists tell us the why."1 "An overarching goal of critical thinking applied to social sciences research and writing is to seek to identify and challenge forces of inequality, exploitation, oppression, and marginalization that contribute to maintaining the status quo within institutions of society. "2 |
The primary purposes of research are documentation, discovery and interpretation, or the research and development of methods and systems for
the advancement of knowledge.
The purpose of research is to:
References
1 Luker, K. (2008). Salsa dancing into the social sciences : research in an age of info-glut.
2 Labaree, Robert V. Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper: Executive Summary. USC Libraries.
3 Collis, J., & Hussey. Business research: A practical guide for undergraduate and postgraduate students. Sage Research Methods.
Start with what interests you. What makes you feel curious or inspired? What taps into your experience or values? What's caught your attention in your readings? What are others excited about? Still not sure? See this Quick Tip from The Craft of Research.
Define & narrow your focus. Tease out your "intellectual itch." Reference sources can be helpful in building your background knowledge. Consider the 5W and H questions:
What, Why, How: Is there a theme or category that you'd like to focus on? The causes? The effects or implications? The solutions?
Your research will likely focus on the why and the relationships between your main concepts. 
Who: who is impacted by your topic. Who is impacting your topic? Which population? People, animals, etc.?
When: Are you interested in the current situation? The past? The future? Are you interested in a specific event?
Where: Consider location, i.e. countries, regions, states, types of places like workplace, schools, online.
Visualize your concepts.
Test your topic. Practice searching for your key concepts in Library Search, a database or Google Scholar. Does there seem to be enough literature to support your research? Is there too much? You may narrow, broaden or modify you topic after some exploratory searching and reading.
Formulate a question. Begin to arrange your main concepts into a question. What questions emerge when completing:
I'm working on X because I want to find out about Y, so that I can better understand Z.
Research questions:
More often than not, you will adjust your question as you read and become more familiar with the literature.
Is the question right for me?
☑ Will the question hold my interest?
☑ Does it align with any external requirements, such as a class assignment
☑ Is the question scoped appropriately for your paper or project?
Is the question right for the field?
☑ Will the findings be considered significant?
☑ Will it make a contribution to knowledge?
☑ Does it have the ability to affect change?
Is the question well-defined?
☑ Is the question open-ended, as opposed to a yes/no question
☑ Are terms and relationships clear and concise?
☑ Are there any unchecked assumptions?
Is the question doable?
☑ Can information be collected in an attempt to answer the question?
☑ Do I have the skills and expertise necessary to access this information? If not, can the skills be developed?
☑ Will I be able to get it all done within the time constraints?
☑ Are there any potential ethics problems?
Adapted from O'Leary. The Essential Guide to Doing Your Research Project.
Sample Research Questions
Unclear: How should social networking sites address the harm they cause?
Clear: What action should social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook take to protect users’ personal information and privacy?
The unclear version of this question doesn’t specify which social networking sites or suggest what kind of harm the sites might be causing. It also assumes that this “harm” is proven and/or accepted. The clearer version specifies sites (MySpace and Facebook), the type of potential harm (privacy issues), and who may be experiencing that harm (users). A strong research question should never leave room for ambiguity or interpretation.
Unfocused: What is the effect on the environment from global warming?
Focused: What is the most significant effect of glacial melting on the lives of penguins in Antarctica?
The unfocused research question is so broad that it couldn’t be adequately answered in a book-length piece, let alone a standard college-level paper. The focused version narrows down to a specific effect of global warming (glacial melting), a specific place (Antarctica), and a specific animal that is affected (penguins). It also requires the writer to take a stance on which effect has the greatest impact on the affected animal. When in doubt, make a research question as narrow and focused as possible.
Too simple: How are doctors addressing diabetes in the U.S.?
Appropriately Complex: What main environmental, behavioral, and genetic factors predict whether Americans will develop diabetes, and how can these commonalities be used to aid the medical community in prevention of the disease?
The simple version of this question can be looked up online and answered in a few factual sentences; it leaves no room for analysis. The more complex version is written in two parts; it is thought provoking and requires both significant investigation and evaluation from the writer. As a general rule of thumb, if a quick Google search can answer a research question, it’s likely not very effective.
From GMU Writing Center. How to Write a Research Question.
