CiteDashEnter a topic and get focused research questions for your paper, thesis, or dissertation. Generates descriptive, comparative, causal, exploratory, and evaluative questions.
Narrow your topic to a specific aspect. Instead of 'How does social media affect society?' try 'How does Instagram use affect body image perception among college-age women?'
Your question should be answerable through data collection and analysis. Avoid questions that are purely philosophical or based on personal opinion.
Your question should address a gap in existing research or contribute new knowledge to your field. Review the literature to identify what has and has not been studied.
Consider your available time, resources, and access to data. A great question that cannot be feasibly answered is not useful for your project.
Common questions about formulating research questions
A good research question is focused, specific, and researchable. It should be complex enough that it cannot be answered with a simple yes or no. It should be relevant to your field of study, feasible given available resources and time, and original enough to contribute to existing knowledge. The question should also be clear and unambiguous.
There are several types: (1) Descriptive questions ask 'what' (What are the characteristics of X?); (2) Comparative questions examine differences (How does X compare to Y?); (3) Causal questions explore cause and effect (What factors contribute to X?); (4) Exploratory questions investigate relationships (What is the relationship between X and Y?); (5) Evaluative questions assess effectiveness (How effective is X in context Y?).
Start with your broad topic, then: (1) Read preliminary literature to understand what has been studied; (2) Identify a specific aspect or gap that interests you; (3) Consider your practical constraints (time, access to data, resources); (4) Frame the specific aspect as a question; (5) Refine the question until it is focused, specific, and answerable through research.
These generated questions are starting points to help you brainstorm and narrow your focus. They should be refined based on your specific field, existing literature, available data, and advisor's guidance. A thesis or dissertation question typically needs to be more specific and grounded in the literature review than a template can provide.
This depends on the scope of your paper. A short research paper typically has 1-2 research questions. A thesis may have 1 primary question with 2-3 sub-questions. A dissertation may have 3-5 research questions. The key is that each question should be clearly addressed in your research — do not ask more questions than you can thoroughly answer.
CiteDash uses AI to generate tailored research questions based on your topic, existing literature, and research goals. Go beyond templates with questions grounded in real academic sources.