Sociology

Here are some considerations - is your Research Question:

• Focused -- what problem do you want to address? what question are you asking? how will you engage the reader?  is your question the central focus of your paper? (unless you are writing a dissertation or thesis, or other book-length work, it is best to focus on a single question)

• Researchable -- are terms in your question clearly defined? do you need qualitative or quantitative data, or both? do research data/studies exist to answer your question or will you gather the data yourself? will you use primary and/or secondary sources? is there literature to support the question/problem you are trying to address? what do other scholars have to say about the topic? can you identify gaps in the literature or a data need?  (this is where your preliminary reading and eventual literature review are critically important)

• Feasible -- is there time to explore your question in depth? do you have access to the needed data or survey datasets? if you are conducting a survey, do you have time to collect survey responses and analyze the data before writing your paper?

• Specific -- is it on a topic that is neither too broad nor too narrow? ("The Goldilocks Principle"); would it take a book(s) or a dissertation or thesis to adequately cover the topic? (consider limiting the scope of your topic in this case)

• Complex -- avoid questions with a Yes/No answer, those that require value judgments or implicit assumptions, or an area that has already been studied/analyzed heavily; does your question encompass multiple possible perspectives and/or interpretations? what is the theoretical foundation of your paper?

• Original -- can you say something new or bring a new perspective to a well-researched topic? what did you find in your preliminary reading? did you identify gaps in the literature you could address? do you have a different perspective to offer the reader?

• Relevant -- how does your question relate to your assignment/course/field of study; what are the benefits of doing the study/paper? 

• Significant -- what is the significance of your question? what importance does the research have to the field and theoretical approaches addressed, what benefits are to be gained from the study/paper (i.e., the "So What?" Factor)