topic sentence research questions

Research Question Examples 🧑🏻‍🏫

25+ Practical Examples & Ideas To Help You Get Started 

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) | October 2023

A well-crafted research question (or set of questions) sets the stage for a robust study and meaningful insights.  But, if you’re new to research, it’s not always clear what exactly constitutes a good research question. In this post, we’ll provide you with clear examples of quality research questions across various disciplines, so that you can approach your research project with confidence!

Research Question Examples

• Psychology research questions
• Business research questions
• Education research questions
• Healthcare research questions
• Computer science research questions

Examples: Psychology

Let’s start by looking at some examples of research questions that you might encounter within the discipline of psychology.

How does sleep quality affect academic performance in university students?

This question is specific to a population (university students) and looks at a direct relationship between sleep and academic performance, both of which are quantifiable and measurable variables.

What factors contribute to the onset of anxiety disorders in adolescents?

The question narrows down the age group and focuses on identifying multiple contributing factors. There are various ways in which it could be approached from a methodological standpoint, including both qualitatively and quantitatively.

Do mindfulness techniques improve emotional well-being?

This is a focused research question aiming to evaluate the effectiveness of a specific intervention.

How does early childhood trauma impact adult relationships?

This research question targets a clear cause-and-effect relationship over a long timescale, making it focused but comprehensive.

Is there a correlation between screen time and depression in teenagers?

This research question focuses on an in-demand current issue and a specific demographic, allowing for a focused investigation. The key variables are clearly stated within the question and can be measured and analysed (i.e., high feasibility).

Examples: Business/Management

Next, let’s look at some examples of well-articulated research questions within the business and management realm.

How do leadership styles impact employee retention?

This is an example of a strong research question because it directly looks at the effect of one variable (leadership styles) on another (employee retention), allowing from a strongly aligned methodological approach.

What role does corporate social responsibility play in consumer choice?

Current and precise, this research question can reveal how social concerns are influencing buying behaviour by way of a qualitative exploration.

Does remote work increase or decrease productivity in tech companies?

Focused on a particular industry and a hot topic, this research question could yield timely, actionable insights that would have high practical value in the real world.

How do economic downturns affect small businesses in the homebuilding industry?

Vital for policy-making, this highly specific research question aims to uncover the challenges faced by small businesses within a certain industry.

Which employee benefits have the greatest impact on job satisfaction?

By being straightforward and specific, answering this research question could provide tangible insights to employers.

Examples: Education

Next, let’s look at some potential research questions within the education, training and development domain.

How does class size affect students’ academic performance in primary schools?

This example research question targets two clearly defined variables, which can be measured and analysed relatively easily.

Do online courses result in better retention of material than traditional courses?

Timely, specific and focused, answering this research question can help inform educational policy and personal choices about learning formats.

What impact do US public school lunches have on student health?

Targeting a specific, well-defined context, the research could lead to direct changes in public health policies.

To what degree does parental involvement improve academic outcomes in secondary education in the Midwest?

This research question focuses on a specific context (secondary education in the Midwest) and has clearly defined constructs.

What are the negative effects of standardised tests on student learning within Oklahoma primary schools?

This research question has a clear focus (negative outcomes) and is narrowed into a very specific context.

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Examples: Healthcare

Shifting to a different field, let’s look at some examples of research questions within the healthcare space.

What are the most effective treatments for chronic back pain amongst UK senior males?

Specific and solution-oriented, this research question focuses on clear variables and a well-defined context (senior males within the UK).

How do different healthcare policies affect patient satisfaction in public hospitals in South Africa?

This question is has clearly defined variables and is narrowly focused in terms of context.

Which factors contribute to obesity rates in urban areas within California?

This question is focused yet broad, aiming to reveal several contributing factors for targeted interventions.

Does telemedicine provide the same perceived quality of care as in-person visits for diabetes patients?

Ideal for a qualitative study, this research question explores a single construct (perceived quality of care) within a well-defined sample (diabetes patients).

Which lifestyle factors have the greatest affect on the risk of heart disease?

This research question aims to uncover modifiable factors, offering preventive health recommendations.

Examples: Computer Science

Last but certainly not least, let’s look at a few examples of research questions within the computer science world.

What are the perceived risks of cloud-based storage systems?

Highly relevant in our digital age, this research question would align well with a qualitative interview approach to better understand what users feel the key risks of cloud storage are.

Which factors affect the energy efficiency of data centres in Ohio?

With a clear focus, this research question lays a firm foundation for a quantitative study.

How do TikTok algorithms impact user behaviour amongst new graduates?

While this research question is more open-ended, it could form the basis for a qualitative investigation.

What are the perceived risk and benefits of open-source software software within the web design industry?

Practical and straightforward, the results could guide both developers and end-users in their choices.

Remember, these are just examples…

In this post, we’ve tried to provide a wide range of research question examples to help you get a feel for what research questions look like in practice. That said, it’s important to remember that these are just examples and don’t necessarily equate to good research topics . If you’re still trying to find a topic, check out our topic megalist for inspiration.

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Topic sentences and signposts make an essay's claims clear to a reader. Good essays contain both.  Topic sentences   reveal the main point of a paragraph. They show the relationship of each paragraph to the essay's thesis, telegraph the point of a paragraph, and tell your reader what to expect in the paragraph that follows. Topic sentences also establish their relevance right away, making clear why the points they're making are important to the essay's main ideas. They argue rather than report.  Signposts , as their name suggests, prepare the reader for a change in the argument's direction. They show how far the essay's argument has progressed vis-ˆ-vis the claims of the thesis. 

Topic sentences and signposts occupy a middle ground in the writing process. They are neither the first thing a writer needs to address (thesis and the broad strokes of an essay's structure are); nor are they the last (that's when you attend to sentence-level editing and polishing). Topic sentences and signposts deliver an essay's structure and meaning to a reader, so they are useful diagnostic tools to the writer—they let you know if your thesis is arguable—and essential guides to the reader

Forms of Topic Sentences

 Sometimes topic sentences are actually two or even three sentences long. If the first makes a claim, the second might reflect on that claim, explaining it further. Think of these sentences as asking and answering two critical questions: How does the phenomenon you're discussing operate? Why does it operate as it does?

There's no set formula for writing a topic sentence. Rather, you should work to vary the form your topic sentences take. Repeated too often, any method grows wearisome. Here are a few approaches.

Complex sentences.   Topic sentences at the beginning of a paragraph frequently combine with a transition from the previous paragraph. This might be done by writing a sentence that contains both subordinate and independent clauses, as in the example below.

 Although  Young Woman with a Water Pitcher  depicts an unknown, middle-class woman at an ordinary task, the image is more than "realistic"; the painter [Vermeer] has imposed his own order upon it to strengthen it. 

This sentence employs a useful principle of transitions: always move from old to new information.  The subordinate clause (from "although" to "task") recaps information from previous paragraphs; the independent clauses (starting with "the image" and "the painter") introduce the new information—a claim about how the image works ("more than Ôrealistic'") and why it works as it does (Vermeer "strengthens" the image by "imposing order"). 

Questions.   Questions, sometimes in pairs, also make good topic sentences (and signposts).  Consider the following: "Does the promise of stability justify this unchanging hierarchy?" We may fairly assume that the paragraph or section that follows will answer the question. Questions are by definition a form of inquiry, and thus demand an answer. Good essays strive for this forward momentum.

Bridge sentences.   Like questions, "bridge sentences" (the term is John Trimble's) make an excellent substitute for more formal topic sentences. Bridge sentences indicate both what came before and what comes next (they "bridge" paragraphs) without the formal trappings of multiple clauses: "But there is a clue to this puzzle." 

Pivots.   Topic sentences don't always appear at the beginning of a paragraph. When they come in the middle, they indicate that the paragraph will change direction, or "pivot." This strategy is particularly useful for dealing with counter-evidence: a paragraph starts out conceding a point or stating a fact ("Psychologist Sharon Hymer uses the term Ônarcissistic friendship' to describe the early stage of a friendship like the one between Celie and Shug"); after following up on this initial statement with evidence, it then reverses direction and establishes a claim ("Yet ... this narcissistic stage of Celie and Shug's relationship is merely a transitory one. Hymer herself concedes . . . "). The pivot always needs a signal, a word like "but," "yet," or "however," or a longer phrase or sentence that indicates an about-face. It often needs more than one sentence to make its point.

Signposts operate as topic sentences for whole sections in an essay. (In longer essays, sections often contain more than a single paragraph.) They inform a reader that the essay is taking a turn in its argument: delving into a related topic such as a counter-argument, stepping up its claims with a complication, or pausing to give essential historical or scholarly background. Because they reveal the architecture of the essay itself, signposts remind readers of what the essay's stakes are: what it's about, and why it's being written. 

Signposting can be accomplished in a sentence or two at the beginning of a paragraph or in whole paragraphs that serve as transitions between one part of the argument and the next. The following example comes from an essay examining how a painting by Monet,  The Gare Saint-Lazare: Arrival of a Train,  challenges Zola's declarations about Impressionist art. The student writer wonders whether Monet's Impressionism is really as devoted to avoiding "ideas" in favor of direct sense impressions as Zola's claims would seem to suggest. This is the start of the essay's third section:

It is evident in this painting that Monet found his Gare Saint-Lazare motif fascinating at the most fundamental level of the play of light as well as the loftiest level of social relevance.  Arrival of a Train  explores both extremes of expression. At the fundamental extreme, Monet satisfies the Impressionist objective of capturing the full-spectrum effects of light on a scene.

 The writer signposts this section in the first sentence, reminding readers of the stakes of the essay itself with the simultaneous references to sense impression ("play of light") and intellectual content ("social relevance"). The second sentence follows up on this idea, while the third serves as a topic sentence for the paragraph. The paragraph after that starts off with a topic sentence about the "cultural message" of the painting, something that the signposting sentence predicts by not only reminding readers of the essay's stakes but also, and quite clearly, indicating what the section itself will contain. 

Copyright 2000, Elizabeth Abrams, for the Writing Center at Harvard University

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How to Write a Research Question: Types and Examples 

The first step in any research project is framing the research question. It can be considered the core of any systematic investigation as the research outcomes are tied to asking the right questions. Thus, this primary interrogation point sets the pace for your research as it helps collect relevant and insightful information that ultimately influences your work.   

Typically, the research question guides the stages of inquiry, analysis, and reporting. Depending on the use of quantifiable or quantitative data, research questions are broadly categorized into quantitative or qualitative research questions. Both types of research questions can be used independently or together, considering the overall focus and objectives of your research.  

What is a research question?

A research question is a clear, focused, concise, and arguable question on which your research and writing are centered. 1 It states various aspects of the study, including the population and variables to be studied and the problem the study addresses. These questions also set the boundaries of the study, ensuring cohesion. 

Designing the research question is a dynamic process where the researcher can change or refine the research question as they review related literature and develop a framework for the study. Depending on the scale of your research, the study can include single or multiple research questions. 

A good research question has the following features: 

• It is relevant to the chosen field of study. 
• The question posed is arguable and open for debate, requiring synthesizing and analysis of ideas. 
• It is focused and concisely framed. 
• A feasible solution is possible within the given practical constraint and timeframe. 

A poorly formulated research question poses several risks. 1   

• Researchers can adopt an erroneous design. 
• It can create confusion and hinder the thought process, including developing a clear protocol.  
• It can jeopardize publication efforts.  
• It causes difficulty in determining the relevance of the study findings.  
• It causes difficulty in whether the study fulfils the inclusion criteria for systematic review and meta-analysis. This creates challenges in determining whether additional studies or data collection is needed to answer the question.  
• Readers may fail to understand the objective of the study. This reduces the likelihood of the study being cited by others. 

Now that you know “What is a research question?”, let’s look at the different types of research questions. 

Types of research questions

Depending on the type of research to be done, research questions can be classified broadly into quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-methods studies. Knowing the type of research helps determine the best type of research question that reflects the direction and epistemological underpinnings of your research. 

The structure and wording of quantitative 2 and qualitative research 3 questions differ significantly. The quantitative study looks at causal relationships, whereas the qualitative study aims at exploring a phenomenon. 

• Quantitative research questions:  
• Seeks to investigate social, familial, or educational experiences or processes in a particular context and/or location.  
• Answers ‘how,’ ‘what,’ or ‘why’ questions. 
• Investigates connections, relations, or comparisons between independent and dependent variables. 

Quantitative research questions can be further categorized into descriptive, comparative, and relationship, as explained in the Table below. 

• Qualitative research questions  

Qualitative research questions are adaptable, non-directional, and more flexible. It concerns broad areas of research or more specific areas of study to discover, explain, or explore a phenomenon. These are further classified as follows: 

• Mixed-methods studies  

Mixed-methods studies use both quantitative and qualitative research questions to answer your research question. Mixed methods provide a complete picture than standalone quantitative or qualitative research, as it integrates the benefits of both methods. Mixed methods research is often used in multidisciplinary settings and complex situational or societal research, especially in the behavioral, health, and social science fields. 

What makes a good research question

A good research question should be clear and focused to guide your research. It should synthesize multiple sources to present your unique argument, and should ideally be something that you are interested in. But avoid questions that can be answered in a few factual statements. The following are the main attributes of a good research question. 

• Specific: The research question should not be a fishing expedition performed in the hopes that some new information will be found that will benefit the researcher. The central research question should work with your research problem to keep your work focused. If using multiple questions, they should all tie back to the central aim. 
• Measurable: The research question must be answerable using quantitative and/or qualitative data or from scholarly sources to develop your research question. If such data is impossible to access, it is better to rethink your question. 
• Attainable: Ensure you have enough time and resources to do all research required to answer your question. If it seems you will not be able to gain access to the data you need, consider narrowing down your question to be more specific. 
• You have the expertise 
• You have the equipment and resources 
• Realistic: Developing your research question should be based on initial reading about your topic. It should focus on addressing a problem or gap in the existing knowledge in your field or discipline. 
• Based on some sort of rational physics 
• Can be done in a reasonable time frame 
• Timely: The research question should contribute to an existing and current debate in your field or in society at large. It should produce knowledge that future researchers or practitioners can later build on. 
• Novel 
• Based on current technologies. 
• Important to answer current problems or concerns. 
• Lead to new directions. 
• Important: Your question should have some aspect of originality. Incremental research is as important as exploring disruptive technologies. For example, you can focus on a specific location or explore a new angle. 
• Meaningful whether the answer is “Yes” or “No.” Closed-ended, yes/no questions are too simple to work as good research questions. Such questions do not provide enough scope for robust investigation and discussion. A good research question requires original data, synthesis of multiple sources, and original interpretation and argumentation before providing an answer. 

Steps for developing a good research question

The importance of research questions cannot be understated. When drafting a research question, use the following frameworks to guide the components of your question to ease the process. 4  

• Determine the requirements: Before constructing a good research question, set your research requirements. What is the purpose? Is it descriptive, comparative, or explorative research? Determining the research aim will help you choose the most appropriate topic and word your question appropriately. 
• Select a broad research topic: Identify a broader subject area of interest that requires investigation. Techniques such as brainstorming or concept mapping can help identify relevant connections and themes within a broad research topic. For example, how to learn and help students learn. 
• Perform preliminary investigation: Preliminary research is needed to obtain up-to-date and relevant knowledge on your topic. It also helps identify issues currently being discussed from which information gaps can be identified. 
• Narrow your focus: Narrow the scope and focus of your research to a specific niche. This involves focusing on gaps in existing knowledge or recent literature or extending or complementing the findings of existing literature. Another approach involves constructing strong research questions that challenge your views or knowledge of the area of study (Example: Is learning consistent with the existing learning theory and research). 
• Identify the research problem: Once the research question has been framed, one should evaluate it. This is to realize the importance of the research questions and if there is a need for more revising (Example: How do your beliefs on learning theory and research impact your instructional practices). 

How to write a research question

Those struggling to understand how to write a research question, these simple steps can help you simplify the process of writing a research question. 

Sample Research Questions

The following are some bad and good research question examples 

• Example 1 
• Example 2 

References:  

• Thabane, L., Thomas, T., Ye, C., & Paul, J. (2009). Posing the research question: not so simple.  Canadian Journal of Anesthesia/Journal canadien d’anesthésie ,  56 (1), 71-79. 
• Rutberg, S., & Bouikidis, C. D. (2018). Focusing on the fundamentals: A simplistic differentiation between qualitative and quantitative research.  Nephrology Nursing Journal ,  45 (2), 209-213. 
• Kyngäs, H. (2020). Qualitative research and content analysis.  The application of content analysis in nursing science research , 3-11. 
• Mattick, K., Johnston, J., & de la Croix, A. (2018). How to… write a good research question.  The clinical teacher ,  15 (2), 104-108. 
• Fandino, W. (2019). Formulating a good research question: Pearls and pitfalls.  Indian Journal of Anaesthesia ,  63 (8), 611. 
• Richardson, W. S., Wilson, M. C., Nishikawa, J., & Hayward, R. S. (1995). The well-built clinical question: a key to evidence-based decisions.  ACP journal club ,  123 (3), A12-A13 

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Creating Topic Sentences for Research Papers

Creating Topic Sentences for Research Papers is a critical step in the process of writing an academic essay. The topic sentence serves as both a guide and a signpost to readers, informing them of what will be covered in the paragraph while providing context that links the current point to previous points discussed in the paper. This article outlines best practices for developing effective topic sentences when creating research papers, highlighting their importance and illustrating how they can contribute to a successful final product.

1. Introduction to Topic Sentences in Research Papers

and writing

Topic sentences are the first sentences of each paragraph in a research paper. They serve as an important tool for organizing information, setting up arguments, or transitioning between ideas. The topic sentence should give readers a clear idea of what to expect from the rest of the paragraph and its contribution to your larger argument.

When constructing your topic sentence, be sure to keep it specific enough that you can develop it further with concrete details throughout the remainder of your paragraph. Additionally, make sure there is continuity between all paragraphs by having some degree of overlap among their topics; this helps prevent abrupt changes in direction which can cause confusion for readers who might have difficulty understanding how different sections connect together.

• Keep them short – typically one or two lines long
• Start general but become more specific

2. Elements of an Effective Topic Sentence

The Purpose of a Topic Sentence

A topic sentence is the most important part of any paragraph as it helps to introduce and drive the main idea or argument in that specific section. It should clearly convey what point the writer intends to make, leaving no doubt for readers about how this information relates to their overall understanding. As such, writing an effective topic sentence can be challenging but not impossible with some practice.

In order for a topic sentence to do its job correctly, there are certain elements that must be present within it:

• It must include only one major idea.
• The language used must relate directly back to evidence from research sources.

3. Identifying Relevant Information for a Topic Sentence

When constructing a sentence that accurately reflects the main idea of your paper, it is important to identify relevant information for your topic sentence. This includes details from any primary sources you might have used and secondary research conducted through reading related material on the subject.

• Start by brainstorming possible topics based on the general area in which you are writing about

You should also consider any background information available on those topics as well as how they relate to each other and current events or trends. It may be helpful to create an outline or chart with notes summarizing all this information so that when creating a topic sentence, relevant facts are easily accessible.

• Finally, review all gathered material before crafting your final sentences to ensure accuracy and clarity

4. Structuring the Text Around a Focus Statement

Four Steps to Structuring a Text Structuring a text is an important part of the writing process and involves four essential steps:

• Crafting a Focus Statement
• Outlining Main Ideas
• Filling in Supporting Details

This post will focus on crafting a clear, effective focus statement – often called “the controlling idea” or “thesis statement.” A good focus statement helps readers identify what the essay is about and serves as an organizing principle for main ideas that follow. It should be short but specific enough to capture your key points in just one sentence.

5. Crafting Clear and Concise Topic Sentences

Formulating a Topic Sentence: A topic sentence is the main idea of a paragraph, serving as an opening statement to guide readers through the rest of the writing and provide them with context for understanding it better. The topic sentence should be focused, clear, and concise in order to capture reader attention. When crafting one, consider all ideas within a given paragraph that could form its basis; then decide on which key concept or phrase best summarizes what will follow.

• Choose language that’s appropriate for your audience.
• Make sure each sentence relates directly back to the thesis statement.
• Provide sufficient evidence to support claims made in each sentence.

6. Revising and Editing Your Work for Quality Assurance

When it comes to producing quality work, revising and editing is an essential step. To ensure that your piece of writing is as strong and clear as possible, you should take the time to revise and edit the text thoroughly before submitting or publishing.

• Read through your entire document at least once: Start by reading your entire piece from start to finish without making any changes yet. This allows you to get a sense of how well all of the parts fit together in order for you to better identify areas where revisions can be made.
• Check each sentence individually: Once you’ve read through the whole thing once, go back over every individual sentence and check for errors. Make sure that there are no mistakes in grammar or spelling, but also pay attention to consistency with language used throughout (e.g., verb tenses). Additionally, see if sentences have been properly constructed; for example, do they contain subject-verb agreement? Are conjunctions being used correctly? Is there effective use of punctuation marks?

7 .Conclusion: Utilizing Research Paper Strategies with Confidence

At the conclusion of this post, it is evident that utilizing research paper strategies can be advantageous and help increase a student’s success in completing their project. By organizing ideas and resources, creating an outline or template to structure the essay, using multiple sources for information gathering and proper citation methods, as well as taking notes during each step of the process are all important elements which will assist with attaining confidence when tackling any research paper.

• Organizing Ideas & Resources : Arranging related materials into categories helps build a coherent flow throughout your writing.
• Creating an Outline or Template : Utilize pre-existing templates or create one yourself to ensure you have included all necessary components such as introduction, body paragraphs and a clear thesis statement.

In addition to those previously mentioned steps there are also other strategies which should be employed when attempting such tasks. These include reading over collected material prior to beginning work on the assignment; proofreading once complete; revising key points if needed; editing grammar mistakes where applicable; avoiding plagiarism at all costs by citing correctly via appropriate referencing styles depending upon discipline (e.g., APA style); asking questions about confusing topics before starting assignments; following instructions given carefully without deviating from them significantly during composition stages – always bearing in mind particular word counts/length requirements etc.; checking formatting rules relating to font type/size etc.; researching more than just textbooks but looking at online journal articles too alongside print media whenever possible. English: Creating topic sentences for research papers is a critical step in crafting an effective paper. Through careful consideration of the evidence and argumentation within each section, authors can ensure that their readers understand the importance of their work. Furthermore, through thoughtful construction of these sentence-level ideas, writers can help guide their audiences to a meaningful conclusion. Ultimately, developing strong topic sentences can lead to successful research papers and fruitful academic exploration.

Writing Studio

Formulating your research question (rq).

In an effort to make our handouts more accessible, we have begun converting our PDF handouts to web pages. Download this page as a PDF: Formulating Your Research Question Return to Writing Studio Handouts

In a research paper, the emphasis is on generating a unique question and then synthesizing diverse sources into a coherent essay that supports your argument about the topic. In other words, you integrate information from publications with your own thoughts in order to formulate an argument. Your topic is your starting place: from here, you will develop an engaging research question. Merely presenting a topic in the form of a question does not transform it into a good research question.

Research Topic Versus Research Question Examples

1. broad topic versus narrow question, 1a. broad topic.

“What forces affect race relations in America?”

1b. NARROWER QUESTION

“How do corporate hiring practices affect race relations in Nashville?”

The question “What is the percentage of racial minorities holding management positions in corporate offices in Nashville?” is much too specific and would yield, at best, a statistic that could become part of a larger argument.

2. Neutral Topic Versus Argumentative Question

2a. neutral topic.

“How does KFC market its low-fat food offerings?”

2b. Argumentative question

“Does KFC put more money into marketing its high-fat food offerings than its lower-fat ones?”

The latter question is somewhat better, since it may lead you to take a stance or formulate an argument about consumer awareness or benefit.

3. Objective Topic Versus Subjective Question

Objective subjects are factual and do not have sides to be argued. Subjective subjects are those about which you can take a side.

3a. Objective topic

“How much time do youth between the ages of 10 and 15 spend playing video games?”

3b. Subjective Question

“What are the effects of video-gaming on the attention spans of youth between the ages of 10 and 15?”

The first question is likely to lead to some data, though not necessarily to an argument or issue. The second question is somewhat better, since it might lead you to formulate an argument for or against time spent playing video games.

4. Open-Ended Topic Versus Direct Question

4a. open-ended topic.

“Does the author of this text use allusion?”

4b. Direct question (gives direction to research)

“Does the ironic use of allusion in this text reveal anything about the author’s unwillingness to divulge his political commitments?”

The second question gives focus by putting the use of allusion into the specific context of a question about the author’s political commitments and perhaps also about the circumstances under which the text was produced.

Research Question (RQ) Checklist

• Is my RQ something that I am curious about and that others might care about? Does it present an issue on which I can take a stand?
• Does my RQ put a new spin on an old issue, or does it try to solve a problem?
• Is my RQ too broad, too narrow, or OK?
• within the time frame of the assignment?
• given the resources available at my location?
• Is my RQ measurable? What type of information do I need? Can I find actual data to support or contradict a position?
• What sources will have the type of information that I need to answer my RQ (journals, books, internet resources, government documents, interviews with people)?

Final Thoughts

The answer to a good research question will often be the THESIS of your research paper! And the results of your research may not always be what you expected them to be. Not only is this ok, it can be an indication that you are doing careful work!

Adapted from an online tutorial at Empire State College: http://www.esc.edu/htmlpages/writerold/menus.htm#develop (broken link)

Last revised: November 2022 | Adapted for web delivery: November 2022

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How to Write a Good Research Question (w/ Examples)

What is a Research Question?

A research question is the main question that your study sought or is seeking to answer. A clear research question guides your research paper or thesis and states exactly what you want to find out, giving your work a focus and objective. Learning  how to write a hypothesis or research question is the start to composing any thesis, dissertation, or research paper. It is also one of the most important sections of a research proposal . 

A good research question not only clarifies the writing in your study; it provides your readers with a clear focus and facilitates their understanding of your research topic, as well as outlining your study’s objectives. Before drafting the paper and receiving research paper editing (and usually before performing your study), you should write a concise statement of what this study intends to accomplish or reveal.

Research Question Writing Tips

Listed below are the important characteristics of a good research question:

A good research question should:

• Be clear and provide specific information so readers can easily understand the purpose.
• Be focused in its scope and narrow enough to be addressed in the space allowed by your paper
• Be relevant and concise and express your main ideas in as few words as possible, like a hypothesis.
• Be precise and complex enough that it does not simply answer a closed “yes or no” question, but requires an analysis of arguments and literature prior to its being considered acceptable. 
• Be arguable or testable so that answers to the research question are open to scrutiny and specific questions and counterarguments.

Some of these characteristics might be difficult to understand in the form of a list. Let’s go into more detail about what a research question must do and look at some examples of research questions.

The research question should be specific and focused 

Research questions that are too broad are not suitable to be addressed in a single study. One reason for this can be if there are many factors or variables to consider. In addition, a sample data set that is too large or an experimental timeline that is too long may suggest that the research question is not focused enough.

A specific research question means that the collective data and observations come together to either confirm or deny the chosen hypothesis in a clear manner. If a research question is too vague, then the data might end up creating an alternate research problem or hypothesis that you haven’t addressed in your Introduction section .

The research question should be based on the literature 

An effective research question should be answerable and verifiable based on prior research because an effective scientific study must be placed in the context of a wider academic consensus. This means that conspiracy or fringe theories are not good research paper topics.

Instead, a good research question must extend, examine, and verify the context of your research field. It should fit naturally within the literature and be searchable by other research authors.

References to the literature can be in different citation styles and must be properly formatted according to the guidelines set forth by the publishing journal, university, or academic institution. This includes in-text citations as well as the Reference section . 

The research question should be realistic in time, scope, and budget

There are two main constraints to the research process: timeframe and budget.

A proper research question will include study or experimental procedures that can be executed within a feasible time frame, typically by a graduate doctoral or master’s student or lab technician. Research that requires future technology, expensive resources, or follow-up procedures is problematic.

A researcher’s budget is also a major constraint to performing timely research. Research at many large universities or institutions is publicly funded and is thus accountable to funding restrictions. 

The research question should be in-depth

Research papers, dissertations and theses , and academic journal articles are usually dozens if not hundreds of pages in length.

A good research question or thesis statement must be sufficiently complex to warrant such a length, as it must stand up to the scrutiny of peer review and be reproducible by other scientists and researchers.

Research Question Types

Qualitative and quantitative research are the two major types of research, and it is essential to develop research questions for each type of study. 

Quantitative Research Questions

Quantitative research questions are specific. A typical research question involves the population to be studied, dependent and independent variables, and the research design.

In addition, quantitative research questions connect the research question and the research design. In addition, it is not possible to answer these questions definitively with a “yes” or “no” response. For example, scientific fields such as biology, physics, and chemistry often deal with “states,” in which different quantities, amounts, or velocities drastically alter the relevance of the research.

As a consequence, quantitative research questions do not contain qualitative, categorical, or ordinal qualifiers such as “is,” “are,” “does,” or “does not.”

Categories of quantitative research questions

Qualitative research questions.

In quantitative research, research questions have the potential to relate to broad research areas as well as more specific areas of study. Qualitative research questions are less directional, more flexible, and adaptable compared with their quantitative counterparts. Thus, studies based on these questions tend to focus on “discovering,” “explaining,” “elucidating,” and “exploring.”

Categories of qualitative research questions

Quantitative and qualitative research question examples.

Good and Bad Research Question Examples

Below are some good (and not-so-good) examples of research questions that researchers can use to guide them in crafting their own research questions.

Research Question Example 1

The first research question is too vague in both its independent and dependent variables. There is no specific information on what “exposure” means. Does this refer to comments, likes, engagement, or just how much time is spent on the social media platform?

Second, there is no useful information on what exactly “affected” means. Does the subject’s behavior change in some measurable way? Or does this term refer to another factor such as the user’s emotions?

Research Question Example 2

In this research question, the first example is too simple and not sufficiently complex, making it difficult to assess whether the study answered the question. The author could really only answer this question with a simple “yes” or “no.” Further, the presence of data would not help answer this question more deeply, which is a sure sign of a poorly constructed research topic.

The second research question is specific, complex, and empirically verifiable. One can measure program effectiveness based on metrics such as attendance or grades. Further, “bullying” is made into an empirical, quantitative measurement in the form of recorded disciplinary actions.

Steps for Writing a Research Question

Good research questions are relevant, focused, and meaningful. It can be difficult to come up with a good research question, but there are a few steps you can follow to make it a bit easier.

1. Start with an interesting and relevant topic

Choose a research topic that is interesting but also relevant and aligned with your own country’s culture or your university’s capabilities. Popular academic topics include healthcare and medical-related research. However, if you are attending an engineering school or humanities program, you should obviously choose a research question that pertains to your specific study and major.

Below is an embedded graph of the most popular research fields of study based on publication output according to region. As you can see, healthcare and the basic sciences receive the most funding and earn the highest number of publications. 

2. Do preliminary research  

You can begin doing preliminary research once you have chosen a research topic. Two objectives should be accomplished during this first phase of research. First, you should undertake a preliminary review of related literature to discover issues that scholars and peers are currently discussing. With this method, you show that you are informed about the latest developments in the field.

Secondly, identify knowledge gaps or limitations in your topic by conducting a preliminary literature review . It is possible to later use these gaps to focus your research question after a certain amount of fine-tuning.

3. Narrow your research to determine specific research questions

You can focus on a more specific area of study once you have a good handle on the topic you want to explore. Focusing on recent literature or knowledge gaps is one good option. 

By identifying study limitations in the literature and overlooked areas of study, an author can carve out a good research question. The same is true for choosing research questions that extend or complement existing literature.

4. Evaluate your research question

Make sure you evaluate the research question by asking the following questions:

Is my research question clear?

The resulting data and observations that your study produces should be clear. For quantitative studies, data must be empirical and measurable. For qualitative, the observations should be clearly delineable across categories.

Is my research question focused and specific?

A strong research question should be specific enough that your methodology or testing procedure produces an objective result, not one left to subjective interpretation. Open-ended research questions or those relating to general topics can create ambiguous connections between the results and the aims of the study. 

Is my research question sufficiently complex?

The result of your research should be consequential and substantial (and fall sufficiently within the context of your field) to warrant an academic study. Simply reinforcing or supporting a scientific consensus is superfluous and will likely not be well received by most journal editors.  

Editing Your Research Question

Your research question should be fully formulated well before you begin drafting your research paper. However, you can receive English paper editing and proofreading services at any point in the drafting process. Language editors with expertise in your academic field can assist you with the content and language in your Introduction section or other manuscript sections. And if you need further assistance or information regarding paper compositions, in the meantime, check out our academic resources , which provide dozens of articles and videos on a variety of academic writing and publication topics.

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Paragraphs: Topic Sentences

Topic sentences video playlist.

Note that these videos were created while APA 6 was the style guide edition in use. There may be some examples of writing that have not been updated to APA 7 guidelines.

• Academic Paragraphs: Introduction to Paragraphs and the MEAL Plan (video transcript)
• Academic Paragraphs: Examples of the MEAL Plan (video transcript)

The best way to understand the role of the topic sentence in paragraph development is to imagine that any given paragraph is a miniature essay that has its own thesis, support, and conclusion. The parts of a paragraph easily correspond to the parts of an essay:

Just as an effective essay starts off with an introduction that presents the paper's thesis statement and indicates the specific claim or argument that the essay will develop, each paragraph should begin with a topic sentence that indicates the focus of that paragraph, alerting the reader to the particular subtopic that the paragraph will provide evidence to support.

A strong topic sentence should be placed at or near the beginning of a paragraph. In addition, this sentence should focus on a specific issue, avoid the use of direct quotations, and leave room for support and analysis within the body of the paragraph. Read on to learn more about creating an effective topic sentence.

The topic sentence does not have to be the first sentence in the paragraph; however, it should come early in the paragraph in order to orient the reader to the paragraph's focus right away. Occasionally a writer may place a transition sentence before the topic sentence, to create continuity between topics.

Topic Sentence to begin paragraph:

In the novel Sula , Morrison uses the physical bonds of female friendship to propel her characters into self-awareness.

Transition Sentence + Topic Sentence to begin paragraph:

However, Morrison does not only use the emotional and spiritual bonds between her female characters to initiate their coming-of-age. In addition, the author uses the physical bonds of female friendship to propel her adolescent protagonists into self-awareness.

Specificity

Your topic sentence should be more narrowly focused than your thesis sentence, and you will want to make sure the claim you are making can be supported, argued, and analyzed within the body of your paragraph.

Example: In the novel Sula , Morrison uses the physical bonds of female friendship to propel her characters into self-awareness.

In this topic sentence, the essayist is arguing that physical bonds of friendship, specifically, make the female characters more self-aware. Because this idea can be refuted or supported by readers (based on how successfully the essayist persuades his or her readers with examples and analysis from the novel), and because the claim is narrow enough to address within a single paragraph, the above sentence is a successful topic sentence.

Direct Quotations (Are Best Avoided)

Although it might be tempting to begin a paragraph with a compelling quotation, as a general rule, topic sentences should state the main idea of the paragraph in your own words. Direct quotations have a place later in the paragraph, where they may be incorporated to support the topic sentence.

Needs Improvement: As Morrison (1982) conveyed, the girls' "friendship let them use each other to grow on…they found in each other's eyes the intimacy they were looking for" (p. 52).

Better: In the novel Sula , Morrison uses the physical bonds of female friendship to propel her characters into self-awareness. Pointing to the connection of eyes meeting and bodies growing together, Morrison makes coming-of-age an interactive physical process between the adolescent protagonists. Specifically, Morrison describes how Sula and Nel have used "each other to grow on…they found in each other's eyes the intimacy they were looking for" (p. 52).

In this second paragraph, the topic sentence appears first, immediately orienting readers to the main focus (or topic) of the paragraph. The quotation is used later in the paragraph as a form of evidence or support for the topic sentence.

If you are finding it challenging to create effective topic sentences, you might consider outlining before beginning to write a paper. The points and subpoints of an outline can then become the topic sentences for the paper's paragraphs.

Additionally, because the topic sentence functions similarly at the paragraph level to the thesis at the essay level, you may also find it helpful to check out our thesis statement construction information. Our resource on paragraphs has helpful information about the scope of a paragraph, as well.

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How to Write a Strong Topic Sentence + Examples

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What’s Covered:

• What Is a Topic Sentence?
• 5 Steps to Writing a Good Topic Sentence

Elements of a Good Topic Sentence

Common pitfalls to avoid.

• Where To Get Your Essay Edited For Free

Crafting the perfect essay takes time and dedication. There are so many elements you have to worry about, such as tone, purpose, and correct spelling and grammar. Writing a strong topic sentences is another critical part in writing a cohesive essay. 

Without a strong topic sentence, you risk losing your reader and perhaps part of your grade. If it’s a college admissions essay, then you need it to be as strong as possible to back up your application. Learn about what steps you should take to write a strong topic sentence.

What Is a Topic Sentence? 

People often confuse a topic sentence with a thesis statement. A thesis statement is typically at the end of your opening paragraph, that dictates the main argument you’ll be making in your essay. 

Throughout your essay, you’ll have multiple topic sentences, as each paragraph should start off with one. This beginning sentence is used to direct the topic of the paragraph and outline the flow of the following sentences. It’s used to help guide your reader and to continue to keep them hooked on your overall essay. Without topic sentences, your essay will be unorganized, lack transitions, and sound very choppy. To write a good topic sentence, there are several steps to take.

Writing a Good Topic Sentence: 5 Steps

Step 1: decide what you’re going to write about..

When you see the essay prompt, you’ll have some time to think through what you want to say and why. You have to decide if it’s a persuasive essay, informative, narrative, or descriptive. Determine your purpose for writing the essay after reading through the prompt. Whether it’s an assignment for school or if it’s to get into college, you need to make sure you have that purpose clearly outlined. 

Step 2: Create a thesis statement.

One of the first things you need to do is create a thesis statement. This is typically a sentence with three points that you’ll back up throughout your essay. 

For example: The Office became a cultural phenomenon because it spurred the careers of many of today’s successful movie stars, it talked about situations that most American workers can relate to, and even 15 years later, offers funny, relevant content that helps to break down prejudices. 

You then use that thesis statement to create an essay around the points you want to make. 

Step 3: Make your essay outline.

Once you have the points you want to make within your thesis statement hammered out, make an outline for your essay. This is where you’ll start to create your topic sentence for each paragraph. You want to clearly state the main idea of that paragraph in the very first sentence. From there, you back up that main idea with facts and reputable sources. Make sure your topic sentence is clear, but does not just announce your topic. 

For example, do not write something like: “In this paragraph, I will discuss why it’s bad that poachers are killing giraffes.”

Instead, write something that clearly states your idea with a reasonable opinion and that gives direction to the paragraph: “Giraffes are a key part of the African ecosystem, so it’s important to enforce regulations against the poachers who are killing them for their body parts.” 

You’d then follow that up with reasons why giraffes are a key part of the African ecosystem and how poachers are destroying their population.

Step 4: Begin writing your essay.

Once you have your thesis statement and you’ve created an outline with supporting paragraphs and their topic sentences, you can begin writing your essay. It’s important to make that outline before just jumping in–a disorganized essay can spell disaster for you as you continue to write, and could result in a poor grade. Many times, teachers will even require you to turn in your outline as part of your overall essay grade. 

Step 5: Proofread and check your resources.

After you’ve written the essay, go back through it with a fine tooth comb. Read through each topic sentence and the paragraphs that follow to ensure that you’ve written clear, solid topic sentences throughout and that the paragraphs with them make sense. During the proofreading phase, you also need to recheck the sources you’re using. Make sure each source is reputable. In other words, do not use sites like Wikipedia where anyone can go in and edit an article to add misinformation. Use sites that:

• Are actual reputable news sources, such as the New York Times , CNN, CBS News
• Have domain names that end in .edu or .gov
• Come from an encyclopedia, such as Encyclopedia Britannica

Using sites that are not reputable could jeopardize the validity of your argument. 

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Now that you know the steps to set yourself up for success when writing a topic sentence, there are certain elements that go into a quality first sentence. Always make sure that your topic sentence is the first sentence of a paragraph. You don’t want to make your reader hunt for the point you’re trying to make. Check out some key elements of a good topic sentence:

Make sure your topic sentence isn’t too vague.

You need a topic sentence that has some specifics to it. It also needs to hook in your reader in some way with an opinion. A vague sentence makes it harder to write a paragraph that can clearly backs up your thoughts. For example:

DON’T: “In Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Bingley seems like a nice guy.”

DO: “When Mr. Bingley is first introduced, he comes across as a kind person because he speaks to everyone and doesn’t immediately pass judgment.”

Choose a reasonable opinion.

Your topic sentence should clearly outline whatever point you’re trying to make in the paragraph, but you want to pick a reasonable opinion that you can easily reinforce with facts and statistics. Here’s an example of what you should and should not do:

DON’T: “It’s obvious that Mr. Bingley was a total loser with no backbone.”

DO: “Mr. Bingley could have shown more confidence in his choices and stood up to Mr. Darcy when he found himself in love with Jane Bennet.”

You can then back that up with facts, saying that he was a wealthy Englishman and thus one of the key players in society at the time, which should have given him more confidence. If he’d been more confident, perhaps he would not have left and devastated Jane.

Use your topic sentence as a transition.

Along with telling the reader the point of your next paragraph, your topic sentence should also serve as a transition from the previous paragraph. Without a transition, the essay can feel like it’s choppy and disjointed. For example:

DON’T: “Mr. Bingley is a good man and here’s why.”

DO: “Although Mr. Bingley did break Jane’s heart by leaving, he ended up redeeming himself by returning to Netherfield Hall.”

Keep your topic sentence short.

A long, drawn-out topic sentence can risk losing your reader. Many times, it’s hard to determine the point of a sentence when it goes on for too long. You want a clear, concise sentence that draws in the reader but also leaves some room for you to expand on it in the following paragraph.

DON’T: “Throughout the novel of Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Bingley was often quite different from Mr. Darcy as he would treat all people in a friendly manner, considering them all his friends and acquaintances, even agreeing to throw a ball after Elizabeth’s sisters rudely demanded he do so and was gracious to Mr. and Mrs. Bennet as well despite their manners.”

DO: “Overall, Mr. Bingley served as a foil to Mr. Darcy throughout the story by treating everyone around him equally with dignity and grace.”

Writing an essay can be overwhelming at times, but so long as you avoid some of these common pitfalls, it can be easier to get it done on time. 

Don’t wait until the last minute.

If your teacher assigns you an essay or tells you that you have an essay test coming up, don’t wait until the day before to do anything about it. You have to plan or study and you need to give yourself time to do that. If you know it takes you a while to write something, then start planning it as soon as you get the assignment.

Don’t forget to write an outline.

Along with planning, make sure you have that outline written up and planned out well. It will serve as your guideline for writing the essay. Without it, you’ll face the risk of a disorganized essay that does not clearly illustrate your point.

Ask for help if you need it.

This may be the most important pitfall to avoid. If you get in over your head while writing, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Ask a friend to review the essay or ask your teacher for guidance. 

Where to Get Your Essay Edited for Free

Once you’ve finished your essay, you may want additional input. There are tools out there to help, but CollegeVine’s free peer essay review tool can provide you with actionable feedback from students just like you. CollegeVine’s tool has helped many students and may be able to help you, too! Asking for peer feedback can help to refine your essay and it never hurts to have an extra set of eyes read through what you’ve written. Check out the free tool today!

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Research Question Generator: Best Tool for Students

Stuck formulating a research question? Try the tool we’ve made! With our research question generator, you’ll get a list of ideas for an academic assignment of any level. All you need to do is add the keywords you’re interested in, push the button, and enjoy the result!

Now, here comes your inspiration 😃

Please try again with some different keywords.

Why Use Research Question Generator?

The choice of research topic is a vital step in the process of any academic task completion. Whether you’re working on a small essay or a large dissertation, your topic will make it fail or fly. The best way to cope with the naming task and proceed to the writing part is to use our free online tool for title generation. Its benefits are indisputable.

• The tool generates research questions, not just topics
• It makes questions focused on your field of interest
• It’s free and quick in use

Research Question Generator: How to Use

Using our research question generator tool, you won’t need to crack your brains over this part of the writing assignment anymore. All you need to do is:

• Insert your study topic of interest in the relevant tab
• Choose a subject and click “Generate topics”
• Grab one of the offered options on the list

The results will be preliminary; you should use them as an initial reference point and refine them further for a workable, correctly formulated research question.

Research Questions: Types & Examples

Depending on your type of study (quantitative vs. qualitative), you might need to formulate different research question types. For instance, a typical quantitative research project would need a quantitative research question, which can be created with the following formula:

Variable(s) + object that possesses that variable + socio-demographic characteristics

You can choose among three quantitative research question types: descriptive, comparative, and relationship-based. Let's consider each type in more detail to clarify the practical side of question formulation.

Descriptive

As its name suggests, a descriptive research question inquires about the number, frequency, or intensity of something and aims to describe a quantitative issue. Some examples include:

• How often do people download personal finance apps in 2022?
• How regularly do Americans go on holidays abroad?
• How many subscriptions for paid learning resources do UK students make a year?

Comparative

Comparative research questions presuppose comparing and contrasting things within a research study. You should pick two or more objects, select a criterion for comparison, and discuss it in detail. Here are good examples:

• What is the difference in calorie intake between Japanese and American preschoolers?
• Does male and female social media use duration per day differ in the USA?
• What are the attitudes of Baby Boomers versus Millennials to freelance work?

Relationship-based

Relationship-based research is a bit more complex, so you'll need extra work to formulate a good research question. Here, you should single out:

• The independent variable
• The dependent variable
• The socio-demographics of your population of interest

Let’s illustrate how it works:

• How does the socio-economic status affect schoolchildren’s dropout rates in the UK?
• What is the relationship between screen time and obesity among American preschoolers?

Research Question Maker FAQ

In a nutshell, a research question is the one you set to answer by performing a specific academic study. Thus, for instance, if your research question is, “How did global warming affect bird migration in California?," you will study bird migration patterns concerning global warming dynamics.

You should think about the population affected by your topic, the specific aspect of your concern, and the timing/historical period you want to study. It’s also necessary to specify the location – a specific country, company, industry sector, the whole world, etc.

A great, effective research question should answer the "who, what, when, where" questions. In other words, you should define the subject of interest, the issue of your concern related to that subject, the timeframe, and the location of your study.

If you don’t know how to write a compelling research question, use our automated tool to complete the task in seconds. You only need to insert your subject of interest, and smart algorithms will do the rest, presenting a set of workable, interesting question suggestions.

Choose Your Test

Sat / act prep online guides and tips, 113 great research paper topics.

General Education

One of the hardest parts of writing a research paper can be just finding a good topic to write about. Fortunately we've done the hard work for you and have compiled a list of 113 interesting research paper topics. They've been organized into ten categories and cover a wide range of subjects so you can easily find the best topic for you.

In addition to the list of good research topics, we've included advice on what makes a good research paper topic and how you can use your topic to start writing a great paper.

What Makes a Good Research Paper Topic?

Not all research paper topics are created equal, and you want to make sure you choose a great topic before you start writing. Below are the three most important factors to consider to make sure you choose the best research paper topics.

#1: It's Something You're Interested In

A paper is always easier to write if you're interested in the topic, and you'll be more motivated to do in-depth research and write a paper that really covers the entire subject. Even if a certain research paper topic is getting a lot of buzz right now or other people seem interested in writing about it, don't feel tempted to make it your topic unless you genuinely have some sort of interest in it as well.

#2: There's Enough Information to Write a Paper

Even if you come up with the absolute best research paper topic and you're so excited to write about it, you won't be able to produce a good paper if there isn't enough research about the topic. This can happen for very specific or specialized topics, as well as topics that are too new to have enough research done on them at the moment. Easy research paper topics will always be topics with enough information to write a full-length paper.

Trying to write a research paper on a topic that doesn't have much research on it is incredibly hard, so before you decide on a topic, do a bit of preliminary searching and make sure you'll have all the information you need to write your paper.

#3: It Fits Your Teacher's Guidelines

Don't get so carried away looking at lists of research paper topics that you forget any requirements or restrictions your teacher may have put on research topic ideas. If you're writing a research paper on a health-related topic, deciding to write about the impact of rap on the music scene probably won't be allowed, but there may be some sort of leeway. For example, if you're really interested in current events but your teacher wants you to write a research paper on a history topic, you may be able to choose a topic that fits both categories, like exploring the relationship between the US and North Korea. No matter what, always get your research paper topic approved by your teacher first before you begin writing.

113 Good Research Paper Topics

Below are 113 good research topics to help you get you started on your paper. We've organized them into ten categories to make it easier to find the type of research paper topics you're looking for.

Arts/Culture

• Discuss the main differences in art from the Italian Renaissance and the Northern Renaissance .
• Analyze the impact a famous artist had on the world.
• How is sexism portrayed in different types of media (music, film, video games, etc.)? Has the amount/type of sexism changed over the years?
• How has the music of slaves brought over from Africa shaped modern American music?
• How has rap music evolved in the past decade?
• How has the portrayal of minorities in the media changed?

Current Events

• What have been the impacts of China's one child policy?
• How have the goals of feminists changed over the decades?
• How has the Trump presidency changed international relations?
• Analyze the history of the relationship between the United States and North Korea.
• What factors contributed to the current decline in the rate of unemployment?
• What have been the impacts of states which have increased their minimum wage?
• How do US immigration laws compare to immigration laws of other countries?
• How have the US's immigration laws changed in the past few years/decades?
• How has the Black Lives Matter movement affected discussions and view about racism in the US?
• What impact has the Affordable Care Act had on healthcare in the US?
• What factors contributed to the UK deciding to leave the EU (Brexit)?
• What factors contributed to China becoming an economic power?
• Discuss the history of Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies  (some of which tokenize the S&P 500 Index on the blockchain) .
• Do students in schools that eliminate grades do better in college and their careers?
• Do students from wealthier backgrounds score higher on standardized tests?
• Do students who receive free meals at school get higher grades compared to when they weren't receiving a free meal?
• Do students who attend charter schools score higher on standardized tests than students in public schools?
• Do students learn better in same-sex classrooms?
• How does giving each student access to an iPad or laptop affect their studies?
• What are the benefits and drawbacks of the Montessori Method ?
• Do children who attend preschool do better in school later on?
• What was the impact of the No Child Left Behind act?
• How does the US education system compare to education systems in other countries?
• What impact does mandatory physical education classes have on students' health?
• Which methods are most effective at reducing bullying in schools?
• Do homeschoolers who attend college do as well as students who attended traditional schools?
• Does offering tenure increase or decrease quality of teaching?
• How does college debt affect future life choices of students?
• Should graduate students be able to form unions?

• What are different ways to lower gun-related deaths in the US?
• How and why have divorce rates changed over time?
• Is affirmative action still necessary in education and/or the workplace?
• Should physician-assisted suicide be legal?
• How has stem cell research impacted the medical field?
• How can human trafficking be reduced in the United States/world?
• Should people be able to donate organs in exchange for money?
• Which types of juvenile punishment have proven most effective at preventing future crimes?
• Has the increase in US airport security made passengers safer?
• Analyze the immigration policies of certain countries and how they are similar and different from one another.
• Several states have legalized recreational marijuana. What positive and negative impacts have they experienced as a result?
• Do tariffs increase the number of domestic jobs?
• Which prison reforms have proven most effective?
• Should governments be able to censor certain information on the internet?
• Which methods/programs have been most effective at reducing teen pregnancy?
• What are the benefits and drawbacks of the Keto diet?
• How effective are different exercise regimes for losing weight and maintaining weight loss?
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How to Write a Great Research Paper

Even great research paper topics won't give you a great research paper if you don't hone your topic before and during the writing process. Follow these three tips to turn good research paper topics into great papers.

#1: Figure Out Your Thesis Early

Before you start writing a single word of your paper, you first need to know what your thesis will be. Your thesis is a statement that explains what you intend to prove/show in your paper. Every sentence in your research paper will relate back to your thesis, so you don't want to start writing without it!

As some examples, if you're writing a research paper on if students learn better in same-sex classrooms, your thesis might be "Research has shown that elementary-age students in same-sex classrooms score higher on standardized tests and report feeling more comfortable in the classroom."

If you're writing a paper on the causes of the Civil War, your thesis might be "While the dispute between the North and South over slavery is the most well-known cause of the Civil War, other key causes include differences in the economies of the North and South, states' rights, and territorial expansion."

#2: Back Every Statement Up With Research

Remember, this is a research paper you're writing, so you'll need to use lots of research to make your points. Every statement you give must be backed up with research, properly cited the way your teacher requested. You're allowed to include opinions of your own, but they must also be supported by the research you give.

#3: Do Your Research Before You Begin Writing

You don't want to start writing your research paper and then learn that there isn't enough research to back up the points you're making, or, even worse, that the research contradicts the points you're trying to make!

Get most of your research on your good research topics done before you begin writing. Then use the research you've collected to create a rough outline of what your paper will cover and the key points you're going to make. This will help keep your paper clear and organized, and it'll ensure you have enough research to produce a strong paper.

What's Next?

Are you also learning about dynamic equilibrium in your science class? We break this sometimes tricky concept down so it's easy to understand in our complete guide to dynamic equilibrium .

Thinking about becoming a nurse practitioner? Nurse practitioners have one of the fastest growing careers in the country, and we have all the information you need to know about what to expect from nurse practitioner school .

Want to know the fastest and easiest ways to convert between Fahrenheit and Celsius? We've got you covered! Check out our guide to the best ways to convert Celsius to Fahrenheit (or vice versa).

These recommendations are based solely on our knowledge and experience. If you purchase an item through one of our links, PrepScholar may receive a commission.

Christine graduated from Michigan State University with degrees in Environmental Biology and Geography and received her Master's from Duke University. In high school she scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT and was named a National Merit Finalist. She has taught English and biology in several countries.

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How To Write Better Sentences For A Research Paper?

• Smodin Editorial Team
• Updated: May 17, 2024

When you’re faced with writing a research paper, coming up with clear, impactful sentences can be a headache. This is especially true when you aim to convey complex ideas effectively.

If you struggle with sentence structure or cannot express your thoughts clearly, this guide will help you.

From basic grammar to using AI tools, we’ll look at how to craft sentences that resonate with readers and bolster your arguments.

Understand the Basics of Sentence Structure

Understanding the basics of sentence structure is important in academic writing. Every sentence in your research paper is a building block, contributing to the clarity and persuasiveness of your argument. A good sentence begins with a clear focus: every word should help convey your main idea directly and effectively.

First, recognize the importance of a strong subject and verb combination. The subject of your sentence performs the action, which is described by the verb. Ensuring these elements are clear and concise prevents ambiguity and keeps the reader on their toes. For example: “The experiment demonstrates…” is more direct than saying: “It is demonstrated by the experiment that…”

Think about the structure of your sentences. A well-crafted sentence follows a logical pattern: subject, verb, object. Following this structure can make your writing easier while enhancing the article’s readability.

Finally, remember that every sentence you write should support the main point of your paragraph. Think of each sentence as a mini-argument that adds to your thesis, logically linking your ideas. Mastering these basics is the first step in ensuring that every sentence you write contributes substance.

Techniques for Enhancing Sentences

No, we weren’t about to leave you hanging. Here are some practical techniques that you can use to make each sentence add value to your research paper.

Achieving clarity is extremely important, especially in scientific writing and within your thesis statement. The argument must be clear to the reader immediately. One common issue is the overuse of complex sentences that muddy your points. Counter this by focusing on using active voice rather than passive voice. Passive voice can simply obscure “who” is performing the action.

Here’s an example: “The researcher conducted the experiment” (active) is clearer than: “The experiment was conducted by the researcher” (passive).

Also, when explaining processes or results that occurred in your study, past tense should be used consistently to maintain clarity. Ensure every verb in your sentence drives home a clear idea, supporting the main argument. So, when it comes to clarity, be sure to choose the right verb tense.

Sentence structure is an important part of keeping your academic articles engaging. The general rule is to mix different types of sentences to keep the reader’s interest and highlight key points.

Start by varying the length of your sentences: pair a shorter, impactful sentence with a longer, more descriptive one. This can prevent your writing from becoming boring. After a punchy statement, for example, extend the next sentence with additional details.

It’s also important to experiment with different starts to sentences . Using an adverb, an adjective, or a phrase to lead your thoughts can be helpful. Discussing your topics with various verbs also adds rhythm and dynamics to your text. Do this carefully, though: getting too creative with your diction can make a sentence more complex than it needs to be.

Trust us, it’s worth the effort to rephrase sentences to avoid repetitive structures and ensure your ideas are expressed as clearly and vividly as possible. This is key to crafting a compelling narrative for your article.

Transitions

Powerful transitions are the glue that holds your essay together, guiding the reader smoothly from one idea to the next. The first sentence of each paragraph should serve as a bridge from the previous paragraph. The most important point of a new section should be introduced clearly and succinctly.

This helps the reader follow your argument without struggling through abrupt changes and disconnected points. For example, if one paragraph discusses a specific aspect of your research, the next could link that aspect to another, deepening the reader’s understanding of the topic.

Within a paragraph, each sentence should logically flow to the next , using transition words and phrases to signal the connection between ideas. Using transitions effectively clarifies the relationship between paragraphs and sentences. It also reinforces the overall structure of your paper, ensuring each point contributes meaningfully to your thesis.

Write Better Sentences With Smodin

Using Smodin in your academic writing can transform how you structure sentences in your research papers. Smodin is equipped with tools to refine your writing and ensure it’s crisp, engaging, and informative. With it, you can expect meticulous attention to detail. This allows you to present more details clearly in your discussions.

The subject of your paper is handled with precision, backed by artificial intelligence (AI) that enriches your argument with well-structured ideas and only the relevant evidence.

Smodin’s AI tools help maintain a sharp focus on the topic at hand and select the best words to articulate your ideas. This can be particularly useful when you must express many research findings within a small word limit. Plus, Smodin’s ability to generate references accurately and integrate them seamlessly enhances credibility and saves you tons of time.

We should also mention that Smodin’s suite of AI writing tools goes way beyond just restructuring sentences. You can also do plagiarism checks and receive comprehensive research assistance, supporting your writing at every step.

Final Thoughts

To become a “good writer,” you must master sentence structure and clarity. It won’t be easy at first, but you can do it!

Present your subject in a way that resonates with your reader, ensuring that each sentence builds on the last to form a coherent argument. Eventually, with practice and attention to detail, you’ll improve.

Remember, you can speed this up by leveraging the power of artificial intelligence. Smodin lets you start for free, so what are you waiting for?

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Using ideas from game theory to improve the reliability of language models

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Imagine you and a friend are playing a game where your goal is to communicate secret messages to each other using only cryptic sentences. Your friend's job is to guess the secret message behind your sentences. Sometimes, you give clues directly, and other times, your friend has to guess the message by asking yes-or-no questions about the clues you've given. The challenge is that both of you want to make sure you're understanding each other correctly and agreeing on the secret message.

MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) researchers have created a similar "game" to help improve how AI understands and generates text. It is known as a “consensus game” and it involves two parts of an AI system — one part tries to generate sentences (like giving clues), and the other part tries to understand and evaluate those sentences (like guessing the secret message).

The researchers discovered that by treating this interaction as a game, where both parts of the AI work together under specific rules to agree on the right message, they could significantly improve the AI's ability to give correct and coherent answers to questions. They tested this new game-like approach on a variety of tasks, such as reading comprehension, solving math problems, and carrying on conversations, and found that it helped the AI perform better across the board.

Traditionally, large language models answer one of two ways: generating answers directly from the model (generative querying) or using the model to score a set of predefined answers (discriminative querying), which can lead to differing and sometimes incompatible results. With the generative approach, "Who is the president of the United States?" might yield a straightforward answer like "Joe Biden." However, a discriminative query could incorrectly dispute this fact when evaluating the same answer, such as "Barack Obama."

So, how do we reconcile mutually incompatible scoring procedures to achieve coherent, efficient predictions? 

"Imagine a new way to help language models understand and generate text, like a game. We've developed a training-free, game-theoretic method that treats the whole process as a complex game of clues and signals, where a generator tries to send the right message to a discriminator using natural language. Instead of chess pieces, they're using words and sentences," says Athul Jacob, an MIT PhD student in electrical engineering and computer science and CSAIL affiliate. "Our way to navigate this game is finding the 'approximate equilibria,' leading to a new decoding algorithm called 'equilibrium ranking.' It's a pretty exciting demonstration of how bringing game-theoretic strategies into the mix can tackle some big challenges in making language models more reliable and consistent."

When tested across many tasks, like reading comprehension, commonsense reasoning, math problem-solving, and dialogue, the team's algorithm consistently improved how well these models performed. Using the ER algorithm with the LLaMA-7B model even outshone the results from much larger models. "Given that they are already competitive, that people have been working on it for a while, but the level of improvements we saw being able to outperform a model that's 10 times the size was a pleasant surprise," says Jacob. 

"Diplomacy," a strategic board game set in pre-World War I Europe, where players negotiate alliances, betray friends, and conquer territories without the use of dice — relying purely on skill, strategy, and interpersonal manipulation — recently had a second coming. In November 2022, computer scientists, including Jacob, developed “Cicero,” an AI agent that achieves human-level capabilities in the mixed-motive seven-player game, which requires the same aforementioned skills, but with natural language. The math behind this partially inspired the Consensus Game. 

While the history of AI agents long predates when OpenAI's software entered the chat in November 2022, it's well documented that they can still cosplay as your well-meaning, yet pathological friend. 

The consensus game system reaches equilibrium as an agreement, ensuring accuracy and fidelity to the model's original insights. To achieve this, the method iteratively adjusts the interactions between the generative and discriminative components until they reach a consensus on an answer that accurately reflects reality and aligns with their initial beliefs. This approach effectively bridges the gap between the two querying methods. 

In practice, implementing the consensus game approach to language model querying, especially for question-answering tasks, does involve significant computational challenges. For example, when using datasets like MMLU, which have thousands of questions and multiple-choice answers, the model must apply the mechanism to each query. Then, it must reach a consensus between the generative and discriminative components for every question and its possible answers. 

The system did struggle with a grade school right of passage: math word problems. It couldn't generate wrong answers, which is a critical component of understanding the process of coming up with the right one. 

“The last few years have seen really impressive progress in both strategic decision-making and language generation from AI systems, but we’re just starting to figure out how to put the two together. Equilibrium ranking is a first step in this direction, but I think there’s a lot we’ll be able to do to scale this up to more complex problems,” says Jacob.   

An avenue of future work involves enhancing the base model by integrating the outputs of the current method. This is particularly promising since it can yield more factual and consistent answers across various tasks, including factuality and open-ended generation. The potential for such a method to significantly improve the base model's performance is high, which could result in more reliable and factual outputs from ChatGPT and similar language models that people use daily. 

"Even though modern language models, such as ChatGPT and Gemini, have led to solving various tasks through chat interfaces, the statistical decoding process that generates a response from such models has remained unchanged for decades," says Google Research Scientist Ahmad Beirami, who was not involved in the work. "The proposal by the MIT researchers is an innovative game-theoretic framework for decoding from language models through solving the equilibrium of a consensus game. The significant performance gains reported in the research paper are promising, opening the door to a potential paradigm shift in language model decoding that may fuel a flurry of new applications."

Jacob wrote the paper with MIT-IBM Watson Lab researcher Yikang Shen and MIT Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science assistant professors Gabriele Farina and Jacob Andreas, who is also a CSAIL member. They presented their work at the International Conference on Learning Representations (ICLR) earlier this month, where it was highlighted as a "spotlight paper." The research also received a “best paper award” at the NeurIPS R0-FoMo Workshop in December 2023.

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MIT researchers have developed a new procedure that uses game theory to improve the accuracy and consistency of large language models (LLMs), reports Steve Nadis for Quanta Magazine . “The new work, which uses games to improve AI, stands in contrast to past approaches, which measured an AI program’s success via its mastery of games,” explains Nadis. 

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• A Majority of Latinas Feel Pressure To Support Their Families or To Succeed at Work

Expectations to excel at work and to do housework, be beautiful and start a family are top pressures

Table of contents.

• The impact of gender, Hispanic identity and skin color on the lives of Latinas
• 2. Pressures Latinas face in their lives
• 3. Life satisfaction and sources of joy for Latinas
• Acknowledgments
• The American Trends Panel survey methodology

Pew Research Center surveyed 5,078 Hispanic adults, including 2,600 Hispanic women, in an effort to better understand Latinas’ life experiences, the pressures they face and where they find joy. The survey was conducted from Nov. 6 to Nov. 19, 2023, and includes 1,524 respondents from the Center’s American Trends Panel and an additional 3,554 from Ipsos’ KnowledgePanel.

Respondents on both panels are recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. Recruiting panelists by mail ensures that nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. This gives us confidence that any sample can represent the whole population (see our Methods 101 explainer on random sampling). For more information on this survey, refer to its methodology and questionnaire .

The terms  Hispanic  and  Latino  are used interchangeably in this report. 

The terms Latinas and Hispanic women are used interchangeably throughout this report to refer to U.S. adult women who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino, regardless of their racial identity. 

Foreign born  refers to persons born outside of the 50 U.S. states or the District of Columbia. For the purposes of this report, foreign born also refers to those born in Puerto Rico. Although individuals born in Puerto Rico are U.S. citizens by birth, they are grouped with the foreign born because they are born into a Spanish-dominant culture and because on many points their attitudes, views and beliefs are much closer to those of Hispanics born outside the U.S. than to Hispanics born in the 50 U.S. states or D.C., even those who identify themselves as being of Puerto Rican origin. 

The terms  foreign born  and  immigrant  are used interchangeably in this report. Immigrants are also considered first-generation Americans. 

U.S. born  refers to persons born in the 50 U.S. states or D.C. 

Second generation  refers to people born in the 50 U.S. states or D.C. with at least one immigrant parent.  

Third or higher generation  refers to people born in the 50 U.S. states or D.C., with both parents born in the 50 U.S. states or D.C. 

Throughout this report, Democrats are respondents who identify politically with the Democratic Party or those who are independent or identify with some other party but lean toward the Democratic Party. Similarly, Republicans are those who identify politically with the Republican Party and those who are independent or identify with some other party but lean toward the Republican Party.

More than half of Latinas say they often feel pressure to provide for their loved ones at home or succeed in their jobs, mirroring the life stressors experienced by women across the United States today.

Latinas feel cross-pressured in other ways too, as they juggle cultural expectations around gender roles rooted in Latin America and those rooted in the U.S. Majorities of Latinas say that U.S. Hispanic women face pressure to do housework, be beautiful and start families.

Despite these life pressures, 88% of Latinas are either extremely or very satisfied (56%) or somewhat satisfied (32%) with their family life. And 86% say they are extremely or very happy (43%) or somewhat happy (43%) with how things are going in their lives these days.

At 22.2 million, Latinas account for 17% of all adult women in the U.S. today. The population grew 5.6 million from 2010 to 2022, the largest increase of any major female racial or ethnic group.

Moreover, most Latina adults have recent immigrant connections, with 77% being either immigrants themselves (52%) or having at least one immigrant parent (25%). 1

Some Latinas in the U.S. grow up with traditional cultural values carried over from Latin America. This can produce pressure from family or a community to place the needs of others ahead of their own, be passive or subordinate to others, or be virtuous or chaste – characteristics related to marianismo . At the same time, some Latinas may also feel pressure to achieve success in their own right in academics or a career .

These findings emerge from Pew Research Center’s bilingual National Survey of Latinos, conducted Nov. 6-19, 2023, among 5,078 Hispanic adults. The survey explores what it’s like to be a Latina in the U.S. today.

In addition to life pressures ( Chapter 2 ), the report explores Latinas’ views on sexism against women in media, schools, family and the workplace, and their experiences with harassment and discrimination ( Chapter 1 ). Other topics include Latinas’ views of their general happiness and life satisfaction and where they find joy in life ( Chapter 3 ).

Pressures Latinas say they face at home and work

• 53% of Latinas say they often feel pressure to support their family in some way, by caring for children or elderly family members, supporting their family financially or living close to family.
• 39% of Latinas say they often feel pressure to be successful in their job or career.
• Overall, 63% of Latinas say they often feel family pressures or work pressures.

Hispanic men also feel life pressures. About half (49%) of Hispanic men say they often feel pressure to support their family in some way, and 40% say they face pressure to be successful at work. Overall, 59% of Hispanic men say they often feel pressure from family or work.

However, Latinas are more likely to say Hispanic women face pressures such as cooking and cleaning at home, being pleasant to others, and starting a family than to say this about Hispanic men. Among Latinas:

• 68% of Latinas say Hispanic women face a great deal or fair amount of pressure to cook and clean at home, compared with 19% who say the same is true for Hispanic men.
• 62% say Hispanic women face pressure to be beautiful, such as by dressing nicely, wearing makeup or doing their hair and nails. By comparison, 37% of Latinas say Hispanic men face pressure to be handsome, such as by dressing nicely or styling their hair.
• 56% say Hispanic women face pressure to get married and have children, while 36% say the same of Hispanic men.

Hispanic men generally agree that Hispanic women face more pressure than Hispanic men to do things associated with gender roles for women. For example, 57% of Hispanic men say Hispanic women face pressure to cook and clean at home, compared with 18% who say Hispanic men face this pressure.

Among Latina adults, those who are U.S. born are more likely than immigrants to say Hispanic women as a group face pressure to do things tied to idealized gender roles.

• 66% of U.S.-born Latinas say Hispanic women face a great deal or fair amount of pressure to get married and have children, compared with 47% of Latina immigrants who say U.S. Hispanic women face these pressures.
• 76% of U.S.-born Latinas say Hispanic women in the U.S. face a great deal or fair amount of pressure to cook and clean at home, compared with 59% of immigrant Latinas.
• 68% of U.S.-born Latinas say Hispanic women face a great deal or fair amount of pressure to be beautiful, compared with 56% of immigrant Latinas.

About half of Hispanic women say sexism against women is a problem in different settings, including at work and in entertainment media. Hispanic men are less likely to say so.

• 52% of Hispanic women say sexism against women is at least a somewhat big problem in the workplace, compared with 44% of Hispanic men.
• 48% of Hispanic women say sexism against women is a problem in schools, while 37% of Hispanic men say this.
• Among English speakers, 50% of Hispanic women say sexism against women is a problem in English-language music, compared with 40% of Hispanic men. 2
• Among Hispanic adults, 47% of women say sexism against women is a problem in English-language movies and TV, versus 36% of men.
• Among Spanish speakers, 46% of Hispanic women say sexism against women is a problem in Spanish-language movies and TV, compared with 36% of Hispanic men. 3

Latinas’ views vary by age on pressures, sexism and harassment

Younger Latinas are more likely than older Latinas to say:

• They often face pressure to succeed at work or live close to their family ( Chapter 2 ).
• Sexism against women is a big problem in the workplace ( Chapter 1 ).
• They have experienced harassment or discrimination in the past year ( Chapter 1 ).

For new research on the economic gains Latinas have made in the last two decades, read “ Half of Latinas Say Hispanic Women’s Situation Has Improved Over the Past Decade, Expect More Gains .”

• Latinas’ population size and growth rate from 2010 to 2022 were calculated using the 2010 and 2022 American Community Surveys through IPUMS. Latinas’ shares that are foreign born or second generation were calculated using the 2023 Current Population Survey ASEC, also through IPUMS. ↩
• Asked only of those who say they can carry on a conversation in English at least “a little.” ↩
• Asked only of those who say they can carry on a conversation in Spanish at least “a little.” ↩

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