The IB requires that all research questions are phrased as actual questions. Statements, claims, titles or subtitles will score poorly on Criterion A on focus and method. Statement titles often lead to unfocused essays, and that will affect your marks for Criteria B and C as well. In order to communicate the relevance, pertinence and focus of your research question to your reader (the examiner), it is recommended that you phrase your question effectively. In other words, the wording of your question matters. It sets expectations and captures the essence of your research. So which words should you include, and which phrases are better to avoid?
1.Is the investigation doable, and doable within the time-frame and in 4000 words?
2. Is the RQ significant? Why is it significant? (You may, for instance, show why the question is important, or that other studies have discussed the need for more research in this area)
3. Can you get all the evidence you need? How?
4. Can you get the materials and equipment, can you do the experiments?
5. Can you contact the people and get the information you need? Will they give it to you - and if they do, will you be allowed to use it?
6. Do you have the time for a pilot study as well as the real thing? (a pilot study is especially useful when you are conducting interviews and surveys )
7. What other resources do you need?
8. Have you checked the Choice of Topic and Treatment of the Topic sections of the EE Guide for your subject, to ensure that your approach meets requirements?
9. If you have doubts about any of these, you may need to refine or change your research question.
When the scope of your paper is too big, it's hard to dig through information & to write a paper with any depth. The goal of most research papers in is to seek a possible answer to a specific question. A focused research question helps guide your paper.
Watch the "Creating a Good Research Question"for a more in-depth explanation & examples.
From the IB Guide:
IB Command Terms can be helpful thought starters, and can guide you to forming a good research question. Try to incorporate an IB command term in the research question if possible.
Get some practice evaluating a research question.
A thorough online tutorial designed to help you develop a workable research question.
From your pre-research, think about questions you might be able to ask regarding the topic. Most scholarly research examines fairly narrow topics & looks at relationships between concepts. One way to limit the scope of your topic is to ask who, what, where, when, why, & how questions.
Watch the "Using the 5Ws to Develop a Research Questions" video to see this questioning strategy in action.