How to Develop your Research Question

Without a determined problem no objective, without an objective no research question – without a research question no achievement of the objective and no solution to the problem!

Each semester it becomes clear how difficult it is for students to design clear formulations for these basic elements of a scientific paper and to develop a logical, comprehensible approach.

Therefore, this guide uses examples from mentoring in webinars to show how to develop a goal-oriented research question and what role the basic elements preceding it play: the problem and the objective.

In addition to each example, a sketch is given of what the further structure of the research project could look like.

The e-book links directly to suitable places for further information, e.g. to FAQ pages and instructional videos at learn2research.net.

Martin Gertler earned his doctorate in 1999 from the University of Nijmegen (Netherlands) because of an interdisciplinary study on the reception of a TV series.

In 2002, he became professor for media design (especially audio visual and interactive media), media production, media theories and reception research in the media department of the Rheinische Fachhochschule Köln.

In 2008 he was appointed founding rector of a new continuing education university in Berlin and as a university professor of Communication Sciences.

Since 2011 he is visiting professor for doctoral supervision and promotor in the part-time graduate college of the University of Humanistic Studies / Universiteit voor Humanistiek, Utrecht (Netherlands).