How to Develop a Research Question : A Research Guide by Mike Palmquist

Step 4: Select a Preliminary Research Question

After she reviewed the information from the first three steps, Megan selected the research question on the right. As you can see, her preliminary research question is a combination of two questions she generated in Step 3. Megan chose this question because it best fulfilled her purposes as a writer (to write an informative article about an issue affecting the health of Americans), the needs and interests of her readers, and the role she adopted (reporter).

Note: If you are combining questions, be sure that the scope of your question is not too broad.

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