From Vague Topic to Real Research Question

What it does

You tell it what you have — a vague interest, a narrowed topic, a draft question — and it tells you exactly where you are on the path to a research question, what's missing, and what to do next.

How it works

Diagnoses your stage on a five-stage path: vague interest → narrowed topic → identified puzzle → draft question → testable research question. If you have a draft question, runs it against six assessment criteria: is it actually a question, does it presuppose its own answer, is it answerable, is it specific enough, is it worth answering, is it already answered. Gives you two to four specific, actionable moves to get to the next stage.

What you get back

Where you are (one sentence, plainly). What you have (honest characterisation). What's missing (the specific gap). The moves (concrete steps, not generic advice). If a draft question exists, a criterion-by-criterion assessment.

The caliber, in one example

Instead of "great topic, maybe narrow it a bit," it says: "Your question presupposes the relationship it claims to investigate. 'How do students use fashion to construct their subjectivity' assumes fashion constructs subjectivity and asks only for the details. Break the fused claim apart: study how students engage with fashion first, then ask what role, if any, it plays — and replace 'subjectivity' with what you actually mean."

Two patterns it catches that students almost never see

The answer baked into the question. "How do students use fashion to construct their subjectivity" assumes the relationship before the research begins. The skill identifies the presupposition and shows you how to break the fused claim apart.

Borrowed concepts that don't travel. "Soft power" used to mean domestic political influence. "Hegemony" used to mean dominance. "Performativity" used to mean performance. A thesis built on a misapplied concept will be dismantled in the first question of the defense.

What it won't do

Generate a research question for you. That's your intellectual work. The skill diagnoses and directs; you form the question.

Scope

Undergraduate and postgraduate theses in the qualitative human and social sciences. Not for PhD research design, quantitative research questions, or writing the thesis itself.