Writing Qualitative Research Questions

(information excerpted from Creswell, J. (2005). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and
evaluating quantitative and qualitative research. New Jersey: Prentiss Hall. pp.136-141

Research questions in qualitative research help narrow the purpose of the study into
specific questions. Qualitative research questions are open-ended, general questions
that the researcher would like answered during the study.
Qualitative research questions use neutral, exploratory language and refrain from
conveying an expected direction (or nondirectional outcome). For example, use action
verbs such as generate, discover, understand, describe, or explore instead of words
conveying cause-effect relationships, such as affect, relate, compare, determine, cause,
or influence.
There are two types of qualitative research questions: the central question and the
subquestions.
The Central Question is the overarching question you explore in a research study. To
arrive at this question, consider stating the most general question you can ask. The
intent of this approach is to open up the research for participants to provide their
perspectives and not to narrow the study to your perspective. When designing and
writing this central question, several strategies may be helpful:

Begin with the words "how" or "what" rather than "why" so that you don't suggest
a probable cause-effect relationship as in quantitative research
Specify the central phenomenon you plan to explore
Identify the participants in the study
Mention the research site for the study

A sample script for the central research question that combines these elements is:
What is (the central phenomenon) for (participants) at (research site)?
Subquestions refine the central question into subquestions/components to be
addressed in the research. These subquestions contain the same elements as central
questions (open ended, emerging, neutral in language, and few in number), but they
provide greater specificity.
Issue Subquestions are questions that narrow the focus of the central question into
specific questions (or issues) the researcher seeks to learn from participants in a study.
A script for an issue subquestion would be:
What is (the subquestion issue) for (participants-this is optional) at (research siteoptional info).

For example:
What is self-esteem for high school students? (central question)
What is self-esteem as seen through friends? (subquestion)
What is self-esteem for the participant's family? (subquestion)
What is self-esteem as experienced in extracurricular activities in school? (subquestion)
Procedural Subquestions indicate the steps to used in analyzing the data in a qualitative
study. Researchers used this form of writing subquestions less frequently than issue
questions, because the procedures for a qualitative study will evolve during the study.
To write them, the researcher needs to know what these steps of analysis will be.
However, if the researcher knows the general steps to be taken later in the analysis,
procedural subquestions can be written. They provide those reviewing a study with a
more precise understanding of the steps than do issue subquestions. A sample script
for writing procedural subquestions is:
To study this central question, the following questions will be addressed in order in this
study:
(What question will be answered first?)
(What question will be answered second?)
(What question will be answered third?)
For example:
What are students' experiences with weapons in high school? (central question)
What are the categories of experiences of students? (subquestion)
What process occurs that reflects these experiences? (subquestion)
Problems Typically Found in Central Questions (pg 138)
Problems
Poor Example
Better Example
Too General
What's going on here?
What is the process being
used by the general
education committee at the
liberal arts school?
Too Focused
How did the committee
What is the process of the
make a curriculum decision curriculum committee in
about a course on the
making decisions about
environment?
courses?
Too laden with
How did the curriculum
What was the role of the
assumptions
committee address its
college administration in the
alienations from the college curriculum committee's
administration?
deliberations?

Types of Subquestions (pg. 139)

Issue Subquestions
Intent
To subdivide the central
question into detailed
questions.
Example
Central Question:
What does it mean to be a
professional teacher?
Issue Subquestions:
What do professional
teachers do?
What is difficult/easy about
being a professional
teacher?
When die the teacher first
become aware of being a
professional?

Procedural Subquestions
To subdivide the central
question into steps for data
collection during the study.
Central Question:
What is the change process
in the revision of a general
education curriculum on a
college campus?
Procedural Subquestions
How did the process
unfold?
Who were the people
involved?
What events occurred?
What was the outcome?