Example 1: Good Research Questions

• For our first example, let's say you want to look at sports and grades. Based on looking at other research and what you can study, you decide that you want to study participation in sports and GPA in college.
• An example of a research question that ties those two concepts together is: "How does collegiate participation in varsity sports affect grades in the classroom?"
• This question:
  • Is empirically testable - you can find or get statistics on both.
  • Has specific topics which are well defined.
  • Links the variables ("affect").
  • Is descriptive - it seeks to describe the relationship between the two variables.