DEVELOPING YOUR QUESTION

• Narrowing Your Topic
• Broadening Your Topic
• The Question

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If you have followed the previous steps you should already have a topic that you find interesting, about which there is controversy, and for which the necessary sources are available to complete the research. You now have to make sure the topic you have chosen is neither too narrow, nor too broad for the requirements of the assignment. Keeping in mind the limitations of your assignment, ask yourself:

• What is the issue I want to consider for my paper?
• Can I cover this issue effectively in the space allotted? – If not, you may need to narrow your topic.
• Do I have enough sources to complete this assignment? – If not, you may need to broaden your topic.

Most people will find that they have a topic that is too general and will have to narrow their topic before beginning their research in earnest.

TIP – For any one paper, you only need and should only have ONE question. More than one question will weaken any argument you make.

Narrowing Your Topic

A good question has focus so that it forces you to cover the material in depth and still be comprehensive. To narrow your topic, ask yourself the following questions:

• Is there a particular time period that you want to cover?
• Is there a particular geographical area that you want to focus on?
• Are there particular people whom you want to examine?
• Is there a particular aspect of the topic that you want to focus on?

If you need to narrow your area of research, try:

• Browsing subject headings for narrower topics.
• Searching bibliographies for specific titles that could help focus your topic.

Broadening Your Topic

You have come up with an idea and done some preliminary research. Your idea is interesting, current, and controversial, but there simply aren’t enough resources available to write a research paper. In this case, broadening your question may be all you need to develop a good research question. To broaden your topic, ask yourself the following questions:

• What other focus or approach could you take with this idea?
• What other geographical place could you include in your focus?
• Can you expand the period that you are considering?
• Who else was involved?
• Is there something else you could compare it with?

If you need more breadth in your focus, try:

• Going back to your brainstorming techniques to come up with some broader possibilities for your idea.
• Looking up some of the sources you found in the Library Catalogue and see what subject headings they are catalogued under. Do these subject headings give you any ideas for a broader topic?

The Question

If you have followed all the previous steps, you should be very close to developing a good question if you haven’t already. Here are a few examples of good and bad questions to help you distinguish an effective research question from an ineffective one.

Example #1

Why has religious fundamentalism arisen in North America?

There are many reasons why this is not a good research question, all having to do with the question being too vague. The type of religious fundamentalism or the area of North America could be narrowed down to give more focus. However, much more fatal for this question is that it begins with a “why”. Why questions are always vague since “why” can be interpreted in so many different ways. The rise of religious fundamentalism could be traced to the influence of key figures in certain movements, to a widespread psychological need for certainty in the face of uncertainties encountered in early twentieth-century American culture, or to sociological and economic factors that a Marxist analysis might uncover. The point is that the significance or direction of the 'why' must be made explicit before any serious thinking can be done. What kind of reason are you looking for? When you start with a why question, try to reformulate it to make its meaning and direction clear.

Example #2

What is the relationship between theology and religious studies?

This is a good start, but it is much too general.

What does Donald Wiebe say about theology and religious studies?

This is more specific but you still need to bring the controversy to the forefront. As it stands, it invites a mere summary of Donald Wiebe's position.

Good research questions on this topic might be:

• Are there any conceptual problems with Wiebe's distinction between theology and religious studies?
• Does Wiebe's position on the distinction between theology and religious studies represent a radical departure from previous understandings of the relationship between the two?
• Does Wiebe's agenda to eliminate theology from Religious Studies have any unforeseen or undesirable practical implications?

All three of these questions have a narrower focus and can be answered in a variety of ways. Answering any of these questions will generate a thesis statement. Remember, the answer that you give to a research question is your thesis statement.

For further examples of good research questions, see Badke.

TIP – If you have done all your preliminary research and have developed a question, it is a good idea to get it approved by your professor even if it is not required. Most professors will be happy to discuss your topic and help you refine your question. Just make sure you have done your background work already and are not expecting them to develop a question for you!

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