How to Develop a Research Question
Research is a continuous process of asking questions, finding answers, and asking more questions. You should develop questions to guide your research on your topic.
You don't want to investigate the entirety of your subject area, you want to focus on one or two areas only. For example, if you are writing on the topic of the growth of antisemitism in Germany post World War I, some potential questions might be the following:
- How did dissatisfaction in the economy and hyperinflation during the period of the Weimar Republic contribute to the rise of the Nazi Party?
- How did Hitler use the Depression to foster antisemitism?
Historian Robert C. Williams suggests that a research question might:
- "ask how or why an event happened (causation, explanation)"
- "ask what the consequences were of a particular event"
- "discuss the intellectual origins of a particular idea"
- "ask what the cultural context of an event was";
- "ask whether or not an individual was responsible for a certain act"
- "ask about the social history of a political event"
- "quantify broad trends in a society at a particular time" (52)
Source: Williams, Robert C. The Historian's Toolbox: A Student's Guide to the Theory and Craft of History. Second ed. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe, 2007.
Watch the video above about how to develop a good research question for history (the video uses the term "inquiry question", but it's the same idea).
The video mentions "historical knowledge skills". Here are some examples of historical knowledge skills:
| Historical Knowledge Skill | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Causes | What things led to or caused the historical event? |
| Change | What was different as a result of this event or person? |
| Consequence | What happened as a result of the historical event or person |
| Contestability | How have people interpreted this event or person differently over time? |
| Continuity | What continued unchanged, or stayed the same? |
| Motive | The reasons people provided for their actions |
| Significance | Why is it important? |
From: History Skills
The Essential Guide to Writing History Essays
The Essential Guide to Writing History Essays by Call Number: ebookISBN: 9780190271152Publication Date: 2020The Essential Guide to Writing History Essays is a step-by-step guide to the typical assignments of any undergraduate or master's-level history program in North America. Effective writing is a process of discovery, achieved through the continual act of making choices - what to include orexclude, how to order elements, and which style to choose - each according to the author's goals and the intended audience. The book integrates reading and specialized vocabulary with writing and revision and addresses the evolving nature of digital media while teaching the terms and logic oftraditional sources and the reasons for citation as well as the styles. This approach to writing not only helps students produce an effective final product and build from writing simple, short essays to completing a full research thesis, it also teaches students why and how an essay is effective,empowering them to approach new writing challenges with the freedom to find their own voice.
See chapter 3.1.: "Questions Historians Ask"