Your Research Question
Big6 Stage 1: Task Definition. Knowing exactly what you need to find before you start looking. • RQ Starters: question templates →
Your Research Question is your destination. Everything else (the sources you find, the evidence you gather, the argument you build) is the journey to get there. You cannot start the journey without a clear destination in mind.
The Rule of Thumb
| Type | Answers |
|---|---|
| REPORT | Who? What? Where? When? These have fixed, factual answers. |
| RQ | How? Why? To what extent? These demand an argument. |
The Two Smart People Test
The most common mistake is writing a question that could be answered by looking something up. If you could find the full answer in an encyclopaedia entry in two minutes, you have a report, not a Research Question.
"What happened when the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, and how did people react?"
"To what extent did the fall of the Berlin Wall improve the economic lives of ordinary East Berliners in the years that followed?"
The first question has a definite answer you can look up. The second forces you to weigh evidence, consider different groups of people, and make an argument that someone else could reasonably dispute.
The second trap is going too broad. "How did the internet change the world?" is not a Research Question. It is a book. You need to take a Big Idea and focus it through a Specific Event: a particular moment, place, or development that makes it answerable.
The Fix: Pair a Big Idea with a Specific Event
| Big Idea | Specific Event | Resulting RQ Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity | + Release of the first iPhone (2007) | "To what extent did the release of the first iPhone (2007) shift the nature of global Connectivity from a professional tool to a personal necessity?" |
| International Cooperation | + Signing of the Maastricht Treaty (1992) | "To what extent did the Maastricht Treaty (1992) prioritize economic cooperation over political unity in post-Cold War Europe?" |
| Grassroots Activism | + Occupy Wall Street (2011) | "Was the 2008 Financial Crisis the primary cause of the Occupy Wall Street movement, or was it simply a catalyst for long-standing systemic inequality?" |
Supporting Questions: The Building Blocks
Once you have your Research Question (your destination) you need a plan to get there. You cannot answer a big "How" or "Why" without gathering the facts first. These are your Supporting Questions: the turn-by-turn directions.
- The RQ is the destination of your journey.
- The SQs are the turn-by-turn directions to get there.
| Research Question (The Destination) | Supporting Questions (The Directions) | |
|---|---|---|
| What is it? | A provocative question with no single right answer. | Specific questions that focus on facts, definitions, and data. |
| What does it do? | It sparks a debate and forces you to build an argument. | They provide the raw information you need to back up your claims. |
| How does it start? | To what extent... or How significant was... | Who... What... Where... or How did [X] work? |
Example RQ:
"To what extent did the 2008 Financial Crisis cause the rise of the Occupy Wall Street movement?"
Supporting Questions for that RQ:
- What were the specific causes of the 2008 housing market collapse?
- Who were the original organisers of the Occupy Wall Street protests?
- How many cities worldwide saw protests inspired by the movement in 2011?
The Balance Test
To succeed as a historian, you need one clear RQ supported by three or four focused SQs.
Activities
Both categories require research. A Report (R) asks you to describe how things were, while a Research Question (RQ) asks you to argue why things changed or to what extent an event mattered.
Drag each question card into either the REPORT or RESEARCH QUESTION box. When you've placed them all, click Check Answers.
Most combinations will be ridiculus...but a lot won't be! For each spin, make a research question that connect together the two ideas. Some of them will be winners.
Write the worst Research Question you can about your topic: something answerable in one sentence, or by a quick search. Then swap with a partner and "treasure the trash" by rewriting theirs as a proper analytical RQ. Do this on paper.
- 1Write the trash. Make it descriptive, not analytical. A good trash question has one definite answer. Example: "Who won the 1994 election in South Africa?"
- 2Swap. Pass your trash question to a partner on paper.
- 3Treasure it. Rewrite your partner's question as a proper Research Question. Push it from Who/What to How/Why/To what extent. Example rewrite: "To what extent did Mandela's 1994 victory actually dismantle social apartheid in South Africa?"
- 4Share. Read your rewrite aloud. Does it pass the Two Smart People Test?
For your chosen topic, you have 5 minutes to fill two lists: specific pivot points and broad changes. Then use the RQ Starters to draft 10 possible Research Questions. Circle the two that best pass the Two Smart People Test.
Now use the RQ Starters to draft 10 possible questions. Check the two that best pass the Two Smart People Test.
Your Research Question is the umbrella: the one argument everything else shelters under. Your Supporting Questions are the factual building blocks beneath it. The diagram below shows how the structure works, using the Occupy Wall Street example from the Overview.
The RQ is analytical: it demands an argument. The SQs are factual: they give you the evidence to build it. Write your own version of this diagram for your topic.
Take 10 minutes. Search for sources that could actually answer your Supporting Questions. This is not full research. It is a quick test. If you cannot find anything, your scope may need adjusting.
Check each item you can confirm:
- I can find at least two primary sources that give first-hand evidence about my topic.
- I can find at least one academic article that analyses my topic.
- My sources contain facts that directly answer at least two of my Supporting Questions.
- There is genuine disagreement in the sources: two smart people could read them and reach different conclusions.
- My RQ is not answered directly by any single source. There is still an argument to make.
If you cannot check at least 3 of the 5, talk to your teacher. You may need to adjust your scope or try a different lens.