---
title: "Framing Research Questions"
description: "Frame a compelling research question around the important ideas of a field: judge whether it can be answered with available evidence, sharpen it when it is too broad or too narrow, and design supporti"
canonical: https://lightmysky.com/learn/learning-to-learn/framing-research-questions-mt_ngkBCLLMYu
source: https://lightmysky.com/learn/learning-to-learn/framing-research-questions-mt_ngkBCLLMYu.md
retrieved: 2026-11-12
---

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# Framing Research Questions

Frame a compelling research question around the important ideas of a field: judge whether it can be answered with available evidence, sharpen it when it is too broad or too narrow, and design supporting questions that carry the inquiry forward

Subject: Learning to Learn · Area: Learning to Learn · Ages 11 to 13
Page: https://lightmysky.com/learn/learning-to-learn/framing-research-questions-mt_ngkBCLLMYu

## Ready when they can

- Draft a research question, check whether its scope fits the project and accessible evidence, and revise it when needed.
- Explain how a question connects to a bigger idea in the subject without assuming what the evidence will show.
- Plan supporting questions and identify evidence needed to answer each one.

## Lesson: Getting the Question Right

Choose a question that fits your project, time and available evidence. A question covering many places or long periods may be too broad. For a project asking you to explain or compare, a one-fact question may be too narrow. It can still be useful as a supporting question.

**Example.** 'Was the Industrial Revolution good?' needs a clearer meaning for 'good' and a smaller scope. Evidence can help compare benefits and harms. Try: 'How did factory work affect family life in one town from 1850 to 1870?' Search a library catalogue using the town, dates and 'factory work', or ask a librarian. Check that records and accounts cover that place and period and are accessible. If none fit, revise the question. A place and dates do not guarantee evidence.

*(drawing: A focused question still needs evidence you can access.)*

Explain what bigger idea your question explores. Research about factory work and family life can explore how changes in work affect daily life. This connection explains the investigation's purpose. It does not decide the answer before you examine evidence.

Supporting questions ask for one part of the main answer. For the factory question, ask how hours changed, using work records, or how families described routines, using their accounts. Match people, place and period. Check what sources show on their own: daily counts can show variation, but cannot alone explain causes or effects on animals. Production totals alone cannot show workers' treatment. Evidence from only one period cannot show change over time.

**Recap.** Choose a question that fits the project and accessible evidence. Explain its bigger idea, then match supporting questions to evidence.

*Lesson, questions and flashcards written for this learning dataset.*

## Practice

8 questions on this page, each with its working shown.

## Needs first

- [Big Questions and Supporting Questions](https://lightmysky.com/learn/learning-to-learn/big-questions-and-supporting-questions-mt_JUHStYGUel)

## Optional connections

- [Finding knowledge gaps](https://lightmysky.com/learn/learning-to-learn/finding-knowledge-gaps-mt_2uHYdoxD0H)

## Opens up

- [Sorting and Filtering a Table to Answer a Question](https://lightmysky.com/learn/computing/sorting-and-filtering-a-table-to-answer-a-question-mt_6-UzZXVWwV)
- [Running a long project without losing the thread](https://lightmysky.com/learn/learning-to-learn/running-a-long-project-without-losing-the-thread-mt_73LjxFuEul)