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Getting Started
Research begins as curiosity. Research is grounded in questions. Researchers conduct research because something has given them an intellectual “itch.” That “itch” can be described in various ways, but somehow, something has led the researcher to think “I wonder…” or “How…?” or “Why…?
Even if you are just researching because your instructor told you that you had to, your instructor will be guiding you through a process of finding something that you can raise questions about.
Often, like an itch, the topic or idea or question starts as a vague “something” that you keep returning to it. For example, something might occur to you, such as: “I seem to be on my smartphone all the time…I wonder if that’s a problem.” Or, “Three different times this week someone has claimed that robots are going to take all of our jobs. Could that really happen?”
You, of course, will need to follow your own intellectual itch, but to show you how that might develop, let’s consider the idea that robots will take all our jobs, to see how it might move from an itch to an academic research question.
Sample Project: Robots Take Over
Let’s say you have identified “robots taking jobs” as something that you want to know more about, to explore, to understand. Since this is something you are doing for class, you will need to go about this in an academic way (but, your instructors will argue that it is not “just” academic, because this process and habit of researching will benefit you in “the real world,” too).
You might begin, then, with some vague sense of “What’s up with Robots?” but that will develop into something like “What effect will automation have on Indiana’s economy?”
Recursive Research
Researching is a recursive process. Sometimes recursive feels like you are going in circles, but while in some sense you do cover the same ground again, with each pass, you cover the ground in a more efficient and effective way. “Doing research” or “gathering sources” can feel like this.
You have probably been encouraged already to do some initial research. And if not, you soon will. If you are like most students (and professional researchers, too), you will head to Google, and type in something like “will robots take jobs?”
Something like this will be your first pass at research. In such a beginning, you get a sense of whether there is enough “stuff” to work with. Novice researchers often gauge this by sheer volume: “If I get a ton of hits, then it should work.” As you become more experienced, you will go beyond volume to look at the content enough to see if there is some conversation, debate, discussion, dilemma, or disagreement.
So your initial research on robots gives you a sense that there is something interesting there that will take some time and energy to understand. You may even bookmark, save, or print something you found in that initial search, with the expectation that you can use it in your paper.
Once you have determined that the basic idea is worth exploring, and will probably work for the research project, you return to your search engine for another pass at robots and jobs.
Sample Project: Robots Take Over
Let’s look at a source together. Click HERE. (Source will open in a new tab.) Skim the source, then return to this tab.
This source can provide some starting points, but most likely will NOT be a source you use in an academic paper.
Read with an Eye for New Keywords and Search Terms
Consider the title: “Robot automation will ‘take 800 million jobs by 2030’ – report. One thing that this title can provide is a new keyword: “automation.” As you read more and more about your topic, you will need to pay close attention to how the experts talk about issues, and to the vocabulary they use. You will find that returning to your search engine with “automation” and “jobs” will lead to different resources than your search for “robots” did. And, as you research you will determine which of those terms is more important for your project, or whether both can be used.
Follow the Threads of Research: Go to the Source
Another part of the title that will be important is the word “report.” As you read the article, you probably noticed that this article from the BBC is reporting about a report that has been published. A report of a report means that you are getting your information second hand. It is worth reading this article to see if the report is likely to fit in with your research. If you decide it is, though, your job as a researcher will be to track down a copy of that original report so you can read and interpret it for yourself. An academic researcher will not rely on someone else’s abbreviated interpretation of source material.
Okay, but can we get to the Research Question already?
No. Not yet. As we said, research is grounded in questions, so all through the process you are asking—and answering—questions. The Research Question is a formal, academic version of a question. It may be the question you have been asking from the beginning, or it may be something that you work your way into. But you will not be ready for The Research Question until you understand the Problem and state your Purpose.
Finding a Problem
Let’s look at the BBC article again. On the surface, it presents some straightforward information—a fact. The message is that 800 million jobs will be taken over by robots. As a researcher, reading critically and questioning carefully, you will realize that although the BBC is a reliable, respected source, it is still a source that wants to sell stories. So a number like 800 million is eye-catching and the editor may want to emphasize that to get your attention. Knowing that, you will read carefully, understand the context, and go to the original source to put this into perspective.
Also, as you question sources, you will be looking to see if the 800 million is as factual as it first seems. It probably won’t be a case where the number is just wrong, but it may be a situation where not all experts agree on how to determine the impact of automation on jobs. You will do more research to see if other experts agree with this number. Sometimes the initial “facts” you discover turn out to be things that are up for debate. However, if you find—through much more research and reading to be sure you understand the views of the main experts in the field—that for the most part, everyone agrees on how many jobs, then you know that the “how many?” question will not be academically interesting, because there isn’t really any debate on the issue.
So let’s say you determine that “if jobs will be lost” and “how many will be lost” are not effective academic questions because for the most part, the experts agree on the answer those questions. You will want to keep track of these answers. You may need to discuss them briefly in your paper, depending on who your audience is, but these do not lead to complex questions and answers that will take careful analysis and exploration to understand and explain.
However, even though these are not THE research question, these things can be the beginning you need, because it gives you a clear sense of the problem. The problem is that automation will replace a significant number of jobs in the near future.
Defining Purpose
Once you understand and can clearly state the problem, then you can move on to defining the purpose for your research.
In this case, it may be fairly straightforward, as it leads quickly to the question: “What do we do about it?” This is where the distinction between questions in general, and the careful shaping of your Research Question becomes important. Broadly, your research project may be trying to find out what to do about it. However, when you identify a clear purpose, and then move to a specific research question you will shape a much more focused project. A more focused project will be more successful (and often easier to accomplish, because the task is clear).
Thus you can shape the question of “What do we do?” into a purpose statement. Purpose: To understand the best way to respond to the loss of jobs caused by automation.
Defining a Question
While it is possible to turn your purpose directly into a question, such as: “What is the best way to respond to the loss of jobs caused by automation?” that question may not work well yet. Let’s explore why that is so. Try answering the question yourself:
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To move closer to an effective research question, try to be more specific about who might respond to the problem you are exploring. The conclusion of the BBC article contains a line that offers one option, and it is something that comes up more often in other research you will do on the topic: “The report’s authors urge governments to enact plans to retrain their citizens.” You will, of course, have read the report yourself by now, which may give you more sense of exactly what the authors recommend. And, other research you have done will demonstrate that there is not a consensus among expert about who needs to respond or about how to respond—such discussion and lack of consensus among experts is a sign of a good research project.
Try answering a more focused question:
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As we develop research questions, we explore the tension between questions that are too broad, questions that are too specific, and questions that achieve the proper balance between the two extremes.
Consider how you might answer when the question is phrased this way:
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This version of the question responded to the tension of “too broad” vs. “too specific” by becoming slightly more broad—or at least more complex. Shifting from what government should do to asking what government’s role should be adds complexity by joining an ongoing conversation about the role of government. In the US we often see this conversation come up in calls for “smaller government” or “more government programs.” Digging deeply into that issue could easily become too broad. However, when a researcher is able to keep the focus on the specific issue of job loss due to automation, but do so in the context of the role of government, then the research may have a chance to use the specific example to also comment on the larger issue. If successful, such a project would be appropriately focused, but also complex.
Summary
Thus—as you can see—the academic Research Question arises from an intellectual itch, the exploration of which leads to identification of a PROBLEM. When the problem is clearly stated, the researcher continues to explore and determines a PURPOSE in the context of, or in response to, the identified problem. From purpose, the researcher then works to articulate a more specific project, phrased as a RESEARCH QUESTION that is properly balanced between breadth and specificity while including the complexity expected of college-level research writing.
NEXT: Aligning Question with Research Methods