Research questions guide your research and analysis. These questions go beyond what can be answered by yes or no and surpass factual questions that can be easily answered with a statement of fact. Research questions should focus on how and why things happened. These questions will help you focus your research and develop your argument as you progress throughout your project.
From A Pocket Guide to Writing in History by Mary Lynn Rampolla:
- Avoid questions that elicit simple descriptions, such as "What was the Young British Artist (YBA) Movement?"
- Better might be, "In what ways did 1980s London culture give rise to the YBA movement?"
- Avoid questions that are too broad, such as "What impact did African-Americans have on jazz music?"
- Being more specific will help, such as, "How did the rise of jazz clubs in New York City create opportunities for African-American musicians to be heard by a white audience?"
- Avoid questions that are too narrow that won't take you very far, such as, "Did John Millais' painting Christ in the House of his Parents cause the downfall of the Pre-Raphaelite movemment?"
- Instead try, "What were the cultural underpinnings of the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood that lead to Millais' controversial painting Christ in the House of his Parents?"
- Avoid speculative questions, such as "How would Spanish art in the 20th century been different if Franco had not risen to power?"
- There is no historical evidence to support speculative theses.
This website also gives some really helpful ideas for writing research questions.