Facilitating research students in formulating qualitative research questions

SummaryOne of the initial and challenging processes that research students and students undertaking research modules encounter is the formation or appraisal of the research question. Research questions acquire significance as the rigor and validity of the research project rests on the extent to which the conclusions of the study have answered the research question. For qualitative studies the research question acquires even greater significance since the notions of audit trail, which commences from the research question is considered as an indication of a valid or not research. Hence, the formation of a qualitative research question requires to be based on a framework as to have specific content, coherence and structure. The content takes the form of a declarative statement that provides focus on a specific issue, but at the same time allows enough flexibility as for variables to emerge from the data. The coherence should smoothly bridge the philosophical/theoretical propositions of the qualitative paradigms with the practical execution of the study and this is achieved by the use of specific verbs, nouns and phrases. Lastly, the structure needs to adequately answer to the who, when, where, what, how and why of the study.