noun phrase · academic
research question
UK/rɪˈsɜːtʃ ˈkwestʃən/US/rɪˈsɜːrtʃ ˈkwɛstʃən/re·SEARCH·QUEST·ion
The main question that a study sets out to answer; it guides the whole research.
Examples
“The research question should be clear before you choose methods.”
“A clear research question helps focus your literature review.”
“He refined his research question after the pilot study.”
Band 8 sentence
“Before designing the survey, I narrowed my research question to one measurable variable to make the study feasible.”
Collocations
- pose a research question
- refine the research question
Word family
Common mistakes
study topic→research question
research topic→research question
Say it for a higher band
5study topic→6research topic→7+research question
Synonyms
study question
Easily confused
research topic
“My research topic is climate change, but my research question focuses on local farming practices.”
Related words
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In Science & Research
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