ABSTRACT
The research question is the central focus of your investigation. It must be clear, unambiguous and genuine i.e. not something obvious that can be answered ‘yes’ or ‘no’; and if possible, concise! No wonder Dillon (1985) wrote, ‘By the time of advanced graduate study, students have answered thousands upon thousands of questions, only to have a time of it thinking up a single question for their thesis.' Composing a good research question is tricky; it is not likely to spring to mind without considerable thought, reworking, rephrasing and piloting on willing friends to see if their interpretation matches your own.
