Identifying and defining research questions

Khodabux, Raouf

Raouf Khodabux is senior lecturer, module leader for Approaches to Health and Social Care Research, Middlesex University, London

5 key points

1 Students must complete an independent learning project as part of their nursing degree

2 Before conducting research, students must have some knowledge of research process and methodologies

3 Many issues encountered in clinical practice form the basis of research projects

4 Once a broad topic has been selected, it should be narrowed down until a specific research question has been framed

5 Research models can help generate relevant search terms from a research question

Nursing Times 112(4):p 16-19, January 27, 2016.

This article has been double-blind peer reviewed

Successful clinical research depends on a properly constructed research question on a topic that is relevant for study. Discover the best process of developing one

In this article…

How to choose the subject of your research

Deciding on a relevant research question

Generating applicable search terms and key words

Research is vital to improving nursing practice and patient outcomes, and therefore a key aspect of nursing degree programmes. All student nurses must show they can undertake an independent learning project before they can graduate and become registered nurses. This article outlines processes that can be followed to select a research area and narrow it down to generate a specific research question. Methodologies and models can then be used to compile a list of search terms that can be used to get the research underway.