A Guide for Social Science Undergraduates on Crafting Research Questions of Your Independent Research
If you’re an undergraduate or master’s student who isn’t familiar with research, you may find yourself feeling overwhelmed when asked to write a research proposal or thesis. One of the most important tasks when starting a research project is identifying the research question you want to explore.
Types of Research Questions You Can Ask
In the field of social science, there are several types of research questions you can use. Here are some “types” research questions (the type is copied from the typeset, but I added the example).
| Research Question Type | Question |
| Descriptive | What are the properties of A? Example: Allen, J. D., Shelton, R. C., Kephart, L., Jandorf, L., Folta, S. C., & Knott, C. L. (2020). Organizational characteristics conducive to the implementation of health programs among Latino churches. Implementation Science Communications, 1(1), 1-9. |
| Comparative | What are the similarities and distinctions between A and B? Example: Valentine, S. E., Marques, L., Wang, Y., Ahles, E. M., De Silva, L. D., & Alegría, M. (2019). Gender differences in exposure to potentially traumatic events and diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) by racial and ethnic group. General hospital psychiatry, 61, 60-68. |
| Correlational | What can you do to correlate variables A and B? Example: Bahrami, M. A., Bahrami, D., & Chaman-Ara, K. (2019). The correlations of mental health literacy with psychological aspects of general health among Iranian female students. International journal of mental health systems, 13(1), 1-7. |
| Exploratory | What factors affect the prevalence of C? Are A and B influencing C? Example: Okonji, A. I., Inungu, J. N., Akinmoladun, T. M., Kushion, M. L., & Aduse-Poku, L. (2021). Factors associated with depression among immigrants in the US. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 23(3), 415-424. |
| Explanatory | What are the causes for C? What does A do to B? What’s causing D? Nagasu, M., & Yamamoto, I. (2020). Impact of socioeconomic-and lifestyle-related risk factors on poor mental health conditions: A nationwide longitudinal 5-wave panel study in Japan. PLoS one, 15(10), e0240240. |
| Evaluation | What is the impact of C? What role does B have? What are the benefits and drawbacks of A? Example: Hwang, W. C., Myers, H. F., Chiu, E., Mak, E., Butner, J. E., Fujimoto, K., … & Miranda, J. (2015). Culturally adapted cognitive-behavioral therapy for Chinese Americans with depression: A randomized controlled trial. Psychiatric Services, 66(10), 1035-1042. |
| Action-Based | What can you do to improve X? Example: Ataöv, A., Brøgger, B., & Hildrum, J. M. (2010). An action research approach to the inclusion of immigrants in work life and local community life: preparation of a participatory realm. Action Research, 8(3), 237-265. |
The uses of exploratory and explanatory research can be confused. One crucial difference here is that we are not able to say A is the “cause” of B unless longitudinal data are used. The reason is that temporal precedence must be confirmed for causation, which means that it cannot be proven through cross-sectional data (collected only once). Cross-sectional data allows you to explore only associations rather than causes.
You can also formulate research questions based on problems you care about. Here is an example (from the typeset). Many recommend starting with the idea of a research question in the form of a problem statement. Once written, it is relatively easy to transform it into the form of research questions.
Where can I find the problem/question? Please refer to the guide provided at the following link for details.
The Research Problem/Question – Organizing Academic Research Papers
- Deductions from Theory
- Interdisciplinary Perspectives
- Interviewing Practitioners
- Personal Experience (I firmly believe that lived experiences are one of the great sources of research questions, especially in social work research )
- Relevant Literature
Find the Gap in the Literature
Another way to build the research questions is to immerse yourself in the world of previous research and find the gap in the literature. Here are the types of gaps that exist in the literature. You can use this type of gap to build your research question and write them in the introduction and limitations of your thesis or article. For example, the study’s rationale could be the methodological gap (mentioned in the introduction section). However, your study still could have a population gap (mentioned in the limitation section).
Please find the document for more details on the types of research gaps. “Research Methods and Strategies Workshop: A Taxonomy of Research Gaps: Identifying and Defining the Seven Research Gaps” (researchgate.net)
I also recommend this document from Yale Graduate Writing Center: How to Write Your First Research Paper
Find the Relevant Theories for Your Research Questions
I also recommend finding the relevant theories to build the research questions. In Social Science Research, the theory is like the lighthouse that guides you and prevents you from losing the path. So, what is the theory? Here is a typology of theory types. You can use the theory for explaining, comprehending, ordering, enacting, or provoking.
Expand Your Methodological Toolbox
Last but not least, learning various research methods can help you transform from problem statements to research questions and expand your researcher’s toolbox to come up with more research questions! Please see the following guide for information on learning research methodology to broaden your toolbox as a researcher.
▶️Beginner’s guide on Quantitative Methods in Social Work Research
