Problem #1 – You don’t have a clear research question

The research question should tell us what data needs to be collected and something about the structure of the project.  It is not the same thing as a topic statement or the same as the questions you are asking of your research subjects.

The answer to your research question should not already be clearly solved.  They need to tie into a contemporary debate. If you are struggling to know what the contemporary debates are around your topic, try searching for your topic in The Conversation as it is generally written by an academic for a lay audience but cites the academic literature that is relevant.  If you are broadly struggling with a topic, try listening to some podcasts that you are interested in (99% invisible, Planet Money/the Indicator, City of the Future Podcast | Sidewalk Labs, etc..)

Research questions should be a question…

Research questions should be a question (who where, what, when, why, how, do/are…?).  Research questions should not begin with “to what extent…”  I’ve never seen a “to what extent” that is actually asking about the extent, they are almost always asking “How” or the “do/are/is/have” that comes after “to what extent” (do/are).  Thus, if your question begins with “to what extent” you should just delete the “to what extent” and see if what remains is what you wanted to ask (a yes/no question). Similarly, if your research question begins with “In what ways” you probably mean to ask “how” or your asking a yes/no question.

Red Flags to watch out for

• Be careful about asking questions that involve speculating about the future, especially if that future won’t come to fruition in the time you are working on your project.
• Avoid questions that are asking for judgment about right or wrong or ethical/unethical, as that is hard to prove through empirical methods. Your research isn’t empirical if it’s asking about something that can’t be measured, assessed, sensed, etc… 
• Questions that ask about an opinion “should X be celebrated” or  “was X a failure” or imply a value judgment on behalf of the researcher that generally needs to be established before it can be asked about. 
• Questions that include the phrase “socio-economic” are almost always a red flag for not being clear and specific enough.  Are you asking about the social dynamics?  Kinship? Labour relations? Perceptions of class?  Interest rates? Crime? Public finance? Population structures?  Housing prices?  These all belong in separate projects and separate questions, but would all fall under “socio-economic.”  You can’t study everything, you need to focus on a specific research question.