Research: A Step-by-Step Guide

Once you have selected an initial topic, the next step is to develop research questions. Start with a question or hypothesis about something that interests you.  

 Avoid making your research topic too broad, too narrow or unanswerable.

• What do you know about this topic?
• What don’t you know?

Using this information, develop questions you would like to answer when doing your research.

• Use probing questions such as Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?
• Avoid questions that can be answered with yes or no. 
• Write down key words and any new questions

Look up background information from subject encyclopedias, handbooks or specialized dictionaries. This provides you with a good overview of the topic and helps you with formulating your hypothesis, if one is needed.

Modify your questions as your research progresses.