Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-45l2p Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-25T14:09:59.873Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

9 - Identifying a Research Question

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 September 2019

Joanna M. Setchell
Affiliation:
Durham University
Get access

Summary

A clearly formulated research question is vital in science because it determines the data we need to collect, the methods we use, and, ultimately, the success of a project. Developing a research question is an iterative process of reading and thinking, as we define a problem and specify the contribution we hope to make to resolving it. This is not easy, and we learn through experience, and (if we’re lucky) from our mentors. In this chapter I first explain research questions and the case studies we use to address them, then look at where questions come from. I examine what makes a good research question and end with why reading is essential to the development of research ideas

Type
Chapter
Information
Studying Primates
How to Design, Conduct and Report Primatological Research
, pp. 127 - 136
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2019

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

9.8 Further Reading

Arnold, C, Nunn, CL. 2010. Phylogenetic targeting of research effort in evolutionary biology. The American Naturalist 176: 601612. https://doi.org/10.1086/656490. Explains how to select target species for comparative study.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hailman, JP, Strier, KB. 2006. Planning, Proposing, and Presenting Science Effectively. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Chapter 1 covers finding a problem.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Karban, R, Huntzonger, M, Pearse, IS. 2014. How to Do Ecology: A Concise Handbook. 2nd edn. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University. Chapter 3 covers picking and developing a research question.Google Scholar
Stamp, Dawkins M. 2007. Observing Animal Behaviour: Design and Analysis of Quantitative Data. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Chapter 2 covers asking the right question, with a specific focus on observational studies of animal behaviour.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×