The Research Question

We ask questions to learn more about things. In our daily personal and professional lives, we come across many questions. As healthcare professionals, we encounter questions from various sources: our patients, who seek to understand their health issues, our colleagues, who want to provide the best care, and ourselves, as we reflect on our practice and seek ways to improve.

Asking a question and converting it into a good research question is the first and foremost step of the research process. Developing a research question in itself is a process that starts with the selection of a broad research topic. After choosing the topic of one’s interest, the researcher goes through the initial literature search to find out what research has already been done and what literature already exists on the topic. This helps the researcher to further refine the research question to ensure it is appropriate for a scientific inquiry. So choosing a topic is the initial step.

Remember, the development of a research question is a process of thinking, reading, reflecting, discussing with colleagues and mentors, reading and refining.

Where do research questions come from?

Research questions can arise from a wide variety of sources:

• Personal encounters: clinical observations, such as those concerning the behaviours of a patient and family in crisis and how the nurse might intervene to improve their coping.

• Personal Knowledge: Personal knowledge is formed through direct involvement in various situations and events within one's practice. As described by Moule et al. (2017, page 26), this individual knowledge is shaped by personal experiences.

• Available evidence: Literature review helps in the identification of gaps in the current knowledge and also helps identify or develop a specific research question.

• Customs and tradition: Traditional practices can be conveyed through observed practice, role modelling, written documents, books, journal articles and often from ‘experienced’ practitioners. Exploring or interrogating such customs and traditions can help develop new research questions

• Other sources: There could be other sources of questions which include discussion with colleagues, feedback from customers, unanticipated events (e.g., COVID-19 Pandemic) research work in itself etc

Criteria for a good research question

When thinking about research questions, the following characteristics should be considered:

• Is the question too broad or too narrow?

• Do you have resources to explore the topic (consider budget, time and expertise)

• Is it focused, clear and researchable?

• Is it relevant, significant and potentially contributing to practice/evidence?

• Is it justified and supported by established theory, and research and linked to other variables of interest?

• Does it hold the prospect of being able to make an original contribution, no matter how small?

• Can it be explored ethically?

Clarifying terms

You may have seen that not all studies have research questions. Some have hypotheses, some have aims or objectives and some have research questions. Sometimes, all three are presented in a study. It is important to note that you don't need to have all three in one paper and that all of these pretty much serve the same purpose.

Click on the terms below to understand and distinguish between various terms:

Research problem

An enigmatic or troubling condition or concern or specific issue or gap in knowledge that the researcher would like to explore.

Example:

Recent data shows rise in number of medical incidents and staff sickness reports.

Stress can impact on healthcare workers performance and health.

"Reducing healthcare worker stress through targeted interventions and support to mitigate its adverse effects on well-being and performance."

Statement of purpose

A clear and concise description of the problem and the proposed methods of addressing it (problem).

Example:

The purpose of the study is to investigate the link between lack of sleep and stress at work, among healthcare workers.

Research question

A research question is a specific enquiry of exactly what issues the researcher intends to answer.

Example:

Does more than 6 hours of sleep at night reduce stress at work among healthcare workers?

Hypothesis

A statement about the expected or predictive relationship between two or more variables. It must specify the variables, the population being studied and the predicted outcome of the hypothesis.

Example:

Healthcare providers who sleep more than 6 hours at night are less stressed at work than healthcare workers who sleep less than hours at night.

Aims/Objectives

A purpose statement explains the major aim, intent, or roadmap of the study. It should be a single sentence, include the purpose of the study, include the central phenomenon, use qualitative words, e.g. explore, understand, discover, note the participants (if any) and state the research site.

Example:

To assess the impact of mobility-promoting interventions on patient recovery, functional independence, and overall healthcare outcomes within a specific healthcare environment.

Research questions in Qualitative and Quantitative research

Qualitative and quantitative questions differ in their nature, purpose, and the type of data they seek to collect.

Here are the key differences between the two: