research-questions

# Qualitative Research Questions Qualitative research questions invite **meaning, process, and context**. They should be **open-ended**, non-leading, and aligned with what your methodology can actually deliver. ## What makes a good qualitative RQ - Explores **how/why/what** in a situated way (wording depends on tradition). - Avoids pre-judging mechanisms or imposing variables. - Matches **data access** and ethics (what you can actually observe/ask). - Is **focused** enough to bound the study yet **flexible** enough to learn. ## Grounded theory: area of interest vs forced questions Classic GT often begins with a broad **area of interest** rather than a tight hypothesis. Questions should not telegraph expected categories. As theory emerges, questions in later interviews become **theoretically sampled** to fill analytic gaps. ## Phenomenology Central question form often resembles: **“What is the lived experience of X?”** Follow with probes about essence, embodiment, time, and relationality—aligned with your phenomenological variant (descriptive, interpretive, hermeneutic). ## Ethnography Ask **cultural/process** questions: What meanings, practices, and norms constitute membership? How is everyday life organized in this setting? How do insiders explain their actions? ## Case study Yin-style case studies often ask **how/why** about a bounded system. Questions should clarify **case boundaries** (unit of analysis) and the theoretical proposition the case illuminates—without smuggling quantitative causality claims. ## Avoiding quantitative framing Steer away from “How much?”, “How many?”, or “Does X cause Y?” unless you truly have measurement designs. If magnitudes matter, consider mixed methods rather than forcing a qualitative core question into a survey frame. ## Evolving RQs in GT It is legitimate to **revise** the research question as the core category emerges. Document the evolution in your audit trail (“initial focus → refined focus after selective coding”). Proposals can present **staging**: initial orienting question + plan to refine. ## From RQ to interview guide Translate the RQ into **topic areas** and **open prompts**, not a litany of micro-questions that exhaust participants. ## Evaluation rubric (quick) - Open? - Non-leading? - Feasible? - Ethical? - Method-aligned? - Single-bounded phenomenon (not ten dissertations in one)? ## Checklist - [ ] RQ matches methodology (GT/phenomenology/ethnography/case). - [ ] Process/meaning central; quantification not smuggled in. - [ ] GT: openness preserved; theoretical sampling plan noted. - [ ] Case/ethnography: boundaries defined. - [ ] Evolution pathway documented where emergent designs apply. ## References (starting points) - Maxwell, J. A. *Qualitative research design: An interactive approach* (3rd ed.). - Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. *Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches* (4th ed.). - Glaser, B. G. *Doing Grounded Theory* — emergent question evolution.