Brainstorming Research Questions
Coming up with research topics can be very intimidating. Just like the students many of us work with, librarians can become overwhelmed and stuck when narrowing down our subject matter. This process can stir up feelings of being an imposter when it comes to being an expert in the topic or fear that you will not be able to say anything original. It’s important to give yourself time for reflection as you get your bearings before inundating yourself with criticism. In LibParlor’s first ever guest post, Getting Around the Gates, Kevin Seeber wrote that it took him three years as a librarian and eight years in the profession to truly feel like he had something to contribute. All this is to say, this is a tricky — but natural — part of the process! Give yourself some grace.
When you are ready to start tackling research, here are a few places to get ideas for research questions:
Where to get ideas
- Review others’ work in the field — reviewing LIS An interdisciplinary field that examines how physical and digital information is organized, accessed, collected, managed, disseminated and used, particularly in library settings. research in journals or books is a great way to get inspired and gather some ideas for pursuing research. Hint: researchers often include a section or sentence that includes the phrase, “suggestions for future research.” You can also attend conferences and webinars for research inspiration.
- Tap into professional communities — consider joining professional associations and see if they offer mentorship or other programs worth getting involved in.
- Reach out to potential mentors — who in your community has conducted research before, or is familiar with the process? Connect with them and ask them questions!
- Reach out to peers — chatting with other LIS folks in your area can get the creative ideas flowing. As you share the challenges you are facing, their experiences may help you navigate those challenges.
- Reflect on your own experiences — consider what your time in libraries has been like. Is there a problem you want to solve? A program you want to build? This can serve as great inspiration.
Try out a few of these strategies and then move on to begin working on your research questions in the following activity.
Activity
Complete the following activity in your LPOL Workbook. This activity will help you work toward a final curriculum deliverable, and it will help you develop your overall research plan.
Something important to keep in mind when developing research questions is that refining and perfecting your question is often a part of the research process. You don’t need to have a perfect research question right away! Brainstorming and generating questions can be very productive. Eventually you will realize you have far too many to pursue and too little time! If you have completed Course 1, Lesson 1: Developing an Identity as a Researcher, refer to the responses you gave to your various reflections and activities. Your identity, professional values, and considerations for what you want your research to accomplish can help you with a sense of direction. Fill out the 1.2.2: Brainstorming Research Questions worksheets in your LPOL Workbook. After you finish the first part, continue to the second part to refine your research questions.
Brainstorming Research Questions, Part One
- Begin by writing down some really big picture topics you think might be good to use for your research.
- Next, let’s review those topics and begin asking as many questions as we can that fit within the scope of those topics to get inspired. Do not stop to judge or perfect the questions, just brainstorm continuously for about five minutes.
- Next, let’s prioritize those questions by identifying:
- The question you find the most important
- The question that is the most personally meaningful to you
- The question that you feel will best align with institutional goals
Brainstorming Research Questions, Part Two
What makes a good research question?
Now is a good time to refine your research questions. Look at your answers to the questions above and review them against the list describing what makes a good research question.
Use the following categories to justify why your research question(s) align with those criteria. Then, refine the question(s) and write out a new version applying everything you have learned. Do this for your top research questions. Make as many copies of this page as you need.
Feasible: Your research question should be within your means to answer. Considerations include the study population, funding, time, and appropriate scope.
Interesting: Research is often an exciting but frustrating endeavor. Your research question should be something that greatly interests you!
Novel: While your research question should be informed by work in your field, it should seek to provide new findings The section of a research article where researchers share the results from the research. This section takes the results and directly connects them to the research questions or hypotheses posed at the start of the article. Also can be called “Findings.” . Are you working with a new study population? Are you using a different methodology The theoretical framework that informs how a researcher approaches their work and what methods are used to collect data.? Are you expanding current research? What is unique about the question you are asking?
Ethical: An important consideration for any research, if your study involves humans, is it something your Institutional Review Board A group that is charged with overseeing and approving research projects. The group ensures that research projects are ethical, meet regulations and standards, and protect any human subjects involved in the research. (IRB A group that is charged with overseeing and approving research projects. The group ensures that research projects are ethical, meet regulations and standards, and protect any human subjects involved in the research.) will approve? In addition to ensuring you meet the IRB criteria, it is also important to think more broadly about the implications of your research and how you can conduct it in the most ethical way possible.
Relevant: Along the same vein of being interesting and novel, your research question should also be relevant to the interests and work being done in your field, and in some cases, the wider public.
Topic 2 References
Right Question Institute. “What is the QFT?” Accessed April 3, 2023. https://rightquestion.org/what-is-the-qft/.
Seeber, Kevin. “Getting Around the Gates.” The Librarian Parlor. August 30, 2017. https://libparlor.com/2017/08/30/getting-around-the-gates/
Brainstorming Research Questions
Coming up with research topics can be very intimidating. Just like the students many of us work with, librarians can become overwhelmed and stuck when narrowing down our subject matter. This process can stir up feelings of being an imposter when it comes to being an expert in the topic or fear that you will not be able to say anything original. It’s important to give yourself time for reflection as you get your bearings before inundating yourself with criticism. In LibParlor’s first ever guest post, Getting Around the Gates, Kevin Seeber wrote that it took him three years as a librarian and eight years in the profession to truly feel like he had something to contribute. All this is to say, this is a tricky — but natural — part of the process! Give yourself some grace.
When you are ready to start tackling research, here are a few places to get ideas for research questions:
Where to get ideas
Try out a few of these strategies and then move on to begin working on your research questions in the following activity.
Activity
Complete the following activity in your LPOL Workbook. This activity will help you work toward a final curriculum deliverable, and it will help you develop your overall research plan.
Something important to keep in mind when developing research questions is that refining and perfecting your question is often a part of the research process. You don’t need to have a perfect research question right away! Brainstorming and generating questions can be very productive. Eventually you will realize you have far too many to pursue and too little time! If you have completed Course 1, Lesson 1: Developing an Identity as a Researcher, refer to the responses you gave to your various reflections and activities. Your identity, professional values, and considerations for what you want your research to accomplish can help you with a sense of direction. Fill out the 1.2.2: Brainstorming Research Questions worksheets in your LPOL Workbook. After you finish the first part, continue to the second part to refine your research questions.
Brainstorming Research Questions, Part One
Brainstorming Research Questions, Part Two
What makes a good research question?
Now is a good time to refine your research questions. Look at your answers to the questions above and review them against the list describing what makes a good research question.
Use the following categories to justify why your research question(s) align with those criteria. Then, refine the question(s) and write out a new version applying everything you have learned. Do this for your top research questions. Make as many copies of this page as you need.
Feasible: Your research question should be within your means to answer. Considerations include the study population, funding, time, and appropriate scope.
Interesting: Research is often an exciting but frustrating endeavor. Your research question should be something that greatly interests you!
Novel: While your research question should be informed by work in your field, it should seek to provide new findingsResults The section of a research article where researchers share the results from the research. This section takes the results and directly connects them to the research questions or hypotheses posed at the start of the article. Also can be called “Findings.” . Are you working with a new study population? Are you using a different methodologyMethodology The theoretical framework that informs how a researcher approaches their work and what methods are used to collect data.? Are you expanding current research? What is unique about the question you are asking?
Ethical: An important consideration for any research, if your study involves humans, is it something your Institutional Review BoardInstitutional Review Board A group that is charged with overseeing and approving research projects. The group ensures that research projects are ethical, meet regulations and standards, and protect any human subjects involved in the research. (IRBInstitutional Review Board A group that is charged with overseeing and approving research projects. The group ensures that research projects are ethical, meet regulations and standards, and protect any human subjects involved in the research.) will approve? In addition to ensuring you meet the IRB criteria, it is also important to think more broadly about the implications of your research and how you can conduct it in the most ethical way possible.
Relevant: Along the same vein of being interesting and novel, your research question should also be relevant to the interests and work being done in your field, and in some cases, the wider public.
Topic 2 References
Right Question Institute. “What is the QFT?” Accessed April 3, 2023. https://rightquestion.org/what-is-the-qft/.
Seeber, Kevin. “Getting Around the Gates.” The Librarian Parlor. August 30, 2017. https://libparlor.com/2017/08/30/getting-around-the-gates/