Refining a weak research question

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Date:

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Quick Questions

Shade in the A or B circle for each question.

1. Which set of four features is used to test a weak research question?

A Colour, layout, speed, cost

B Clarity, measurability, feasibility, originality

2. Which rewrite fixes the vague question 'Is social media bad for students?'

A Is social media really, truly bad for all students everywhere?

B Do Year 11 students at our school who use social media for over 3 hours a day report lower sleep hours than those who use it for under 1 hour?

3. A question fails the clarity test. What is the best way to improve it?

A Replace vague words such as 'good' or 'popular' with specific, defined terms

B Make the question longer by adding more topics to it

4. 'What are all the causes of climate change around the world?' is too big. How should you narrow it?

A Limit it to one place and one time, e.g. 'How have Victorian household electricity emissions changed since 2015?'

B Add more countries so the question covers the whole topic

5. Which question fails the measurability test?

A Do students feel happier at school than they used to?

B What is the average number of absences per student in Term 1?

Match the Pairs

Draw a line connecting each item on the left to its match on the right.

Left column		Right column
1Clarity check: "Is social media bad?"		AWrong check: 'like' is vague and cannot be measured, so it fails clarity and measurability. It should be rewritten, such as 'How do students rate canteen food from 1 to 5?'
2Narrowing: "Do Year 11 students at our school who use TikTok sleep less on school nights?"		BToo big, so it is not feasible: the group is the whole world and 'technology' is far too broad. It must be narrowed to a specific group and topic.
3Refining a question means testing it against all four features: clarity, measurability, feasibility and originality		CChecklist: Clear? Measurable? Feasible? Original?
4Rewriting a vague question replaces unclear words with measurable data, such as hours of sleep per night		DNarrows a too-big question to a specific group, platform and measurable outcome so it becomes feasible
5Research question: "What are the effects of technology on every person in the world?"		EHow many hours do Year 11 students sleep on school nights?
6Research question: "Do students like our canteen?" Checked: all four features pass.		FFails clarity: 'bad' and 'social media' are vague, so the question must be rewritten with specific terms

Definitions

Refine a research question

Fill in the Blanks

Complete each line of code by filling in the missing parts.

Weak: Do students use phones a lot? Check: _______ - 'a lot' is vague

Q: How many hours do Year 12s sleep? Data can be counted, so it is __________

Too big: Survey every school in Australia Feature failed: ___________ (time, cost)

Q: What is the population of Victoria? Already answered online: not ________

Step 1: test against the 4 features Step 2: _______ the weak question Step 3: test the new version again

Spot the Error

Shade in the letter of the line that contains an error.

Question 1

A Weak: Is social media bad?

B Fails feasibility: 'bad' vague

C Fix: define bad as hours slept

Question 2

A checks = 3 features

B 1 clarity

C 2 measurability

D 3 feasibility

E 4 originality

Question 3

A Weak: What affects health?

B Problem: too big to research

C Narrow to: Year 11 students

D Limit: all schools, all years

Question 4

A Weak: Do apps help learning?

B Vague: 'help' is not defined

C Measure: how students feel

D Rewrite: Do apps raise scores?

Question 5

A Q: Is the Earth round?

B Fails feasibility: answered

C Fix: ask about a new angle

Answer Key

Refining a weak research question

Section A: Quick Questions

B — Clarity, measurability, feasibility, originality

B — Do Year 11 students at our school who use social media for over 3 hours a day report lower sleep hours than those who use it for under 1 hour?

A — Replace vague words such as 'good' or 'popular' with specific, defined terms

A — Limit it to one place and one time, e.g. 'How have Victorian household electricity emissions changed since 2015?'

A — Do students feel happier at school than they used to?

Section B: Match the Pairs

Clarity check: "Is social media bad?" → Fails clarity: 'bad' and 'social media' are vague, so the question must be rewritten with specific terms

Narrowing: "Do Year 11 students at our school who use TikTok sleep less on school nights?" → Narrows a too-big question to a specific group, platform and measurable outcome so it becomes feasible

Refining a question means testing it against all four features: clarity, measurability, feasibility and originality → Checklist: Clear? Measurable? Feasible? Original?

Rewriting a vague question replaces unclear words with measurable data, such as hours of sleep per night → How many hours do Year 11 students sleep on school nights?

Research question: "What are the effects of technology on every person in the world?" → Too big, so it is not feasible: the group is the whole world and 'technology' is far too broad. It must be narrowed to a specific group and topic.

Research question: "Do students like our canteen?" Checked: all four features pass. → Wrong check: 'like' is vague and cannot be measured, so it fails clarity and measurability. It should be rewritten, such as 'How do students rate canteen food from 1 to 5?'

Section C: Definitions

Refine a research question — Test a weak question against clarity, measurability, feasibility and originality, then rewrite it: make vague words specific and narrow it down.

Section D: Fill in the Blanks

Weak: Do students use phones a lot?
Check: clarity - 'a lot' is vague

Q: How many hours do Year 12s sleep?
Data can be counted, so it is measurable

Too big: Survey every school in Australia
Feature failed: feasibility (time, cost)

Q: What is the population of Victoria?
Already answered online: not original

Step 1: test against the 4 features
Step 2: rewrite the weak question
Step 3: test the new version again

Section E: Spot the Error

B — A vague word like 'bad' is a clarity problem, not a feasibility problem. The line should read: Fails clarity: 'bad' is vague.

A — The checklist has four features: clarity, measurability, feasibility and originality. The first line should say checks = 4 features.

D — Narrowing a too-big question means adding limits. 'All schools, all years' makes it bigger. It should be: Limit: one school, one term.

C — How students feel is an opinion and is hard to measure. To make 'help' measurable, use data such as the change in test scores.

B — A question that has already been answered fails originality, not feasibility. The line should be: Fails originality: answered.