---
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: 2026-10-19
---

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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, judge it too broad, too narrow, or unanswerable, and revise it (e.g., 'Was the Industrial Revolution good?' becomes 'How did factory work change family life in one town?')
- Explain why a question matters — what bigger idea in the subject it connects to
- Plan a set of supporting questions and say what evidence would be needed to answer each one

## Lesson: Getting the Question Right

Every good research project starts with one question. But not just any question works. A strong research question is narrow enough to answer with real evidence, and important enough to teach you something worth knowing.

**Example.** Try researching 'Was the Industrial Revolution good?' You can't answer that with evidence. 'Good' means different things to different people, and the topic covers a hundred years and dozens of countries. Narrow it: 'How did factory work change family life in one town?' Now you can find records, letters, and reports that actually answer it.

*(drawing: Keep sharpening your question until you land on one you can actually investigate.)*

A sharp question also has to matter. Ask yourself what bigger idea it connects to. 'How did factory work change family life in one town?' connects to the big idea that industrialization reshaped daily life, not just factories and machines.

**Tip.** Once your question is sharp, break it into smaller supporting questions. For each one, ask what evidence would answer it: old newspapers, interviews, photographs. That is how one big question becomes a real research plan.

**Recap.** A strong research question is narrow enough to answer with evidence, connects to a bigger idea, and breaks into supporting questions that point you to the evidence you need.

## Practice

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

## Needs first

- [Finding knowledge gaps](https://lightmysky.com/learn/learning-to-learn/finding-knowledge-gaps-mt_2uHYdoxD0H)
- [Big Questions and Supporting Questions](https://lightmysky.com/learn/learning-to-learn/big-questions-and-supporting-questions-mt_JUHStYGUel)

## 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)