Introduction to Research Context, Problem and Research Question

1.

Astana IT University
Department of General Education Disciplines
Academic Writing
Week 3
Lecture 1: Introduction to Research Context, Problem
and Research Question
Lecture 2: Defining Research Aim and Objectives
Seminar 1: Practice: Formulating
Research aims and questions
Seminar 2: Developing Research Context
Seminar 3: Language focus: Paraphrasing and
Summarizing

2.

Seminar Objectives
Formulating research
problem, aim and
questions;
Identifying good
research questions.

3.

Group task 1
Identify Ineffective Research Questions
You have to decide if each of the following Research Questions is effective. If it is not
effective, you have to discuss why it is not. Then, rewrite the question into an
effective question based on the criteria of good research questions. You have to
be prepared to discuss.
• 1st group - Why are social networking sites harmful?
• 2nd group - Does the United States have a good cybersecurity system?
• 3rd group - What is the effect on the quality of education from Chat GPT?
• 4th group - Should regulations on online privacy be tougher?
• 5th group -Should campus safety be a concern for college students?

4.

Checklist for Research Questions:
Focused on a single
problem or issue
Researchable using
primary and/or
secondary sources
Feasible to answer
within the timeframe
and practical
Specific enough to
answer thoroughly
McCombes, 2023

5.

Group task 2
Work on establishing your Research aim and questions
In groups, fill in the blank spaces of the template by following the given steps and using language
chunks. Submit your work to Moodle. Note: This assignment is not assessed.
Step 1.
Identify the main subject area
• Example: Social
media addiction
Step 2. Dissect into sub-areas
• Example: -profile of addicted
to social media;
• -the causes of social media
addiction;
• -the effects of social media
overuse on academic
performance;
• -the effects of social media
overuse on body image;
• -the relationship between
Step 3. Select sub-area of your
interest
• Example: The
effects of social
media overuse on
the body image of
teenagers

6.

Group task 2
Work on establishing your Research aim and questions
Language chunks for presenting Research questions
Step 4. Raise questions
• Example: To guide our investigation, the
following research questions are posed:
• 1. How does social media overuse impact the
body image of teenagers?
• What are the psychological effects of
excessive social media use on the body image
perception of teenagers?
The central research question of this study is...
This research seeks to answer the following questions:
The primary focus of inquiry in this study revolves around
the question:
Key questions addressed in this research include:
To guide our investigation, the following research questions
are posed:
The overarching inquiry of this study can be encapsulated
by the question:
This research endeavors to shed light on the following
questions:
The central queries explored in this study are as follows:"
To address the research gap, this study poses the following
questions:
Through a series of research questions, this study aims to
explore...

7.

Group task 2
Work on establishing your
Research aim and questions
Language chunks for presenting aims and objectives
This study set out to
Step 5. Formulate objectives
• Example:
• Aim: this study sets out to find out the effects of
social media overuse on body image of teenagers.
• The main objectives of this research are to explore
the potential moderating factors that may mitigate the
effects of social media overuse on the body image and
to investigate the possible psychological effects of
explore …
determine whether …
try and establish what
better understand the …
find a new method for …
evaluate how effective …
assess the feasibility of …
test the hypothesis that …
explore the influence of …
The main objectives of this research are to...
This research aims to achieve the following objectives:
The overarching goal of this study is to...
To address the research gap, this study aims to...
The specific objectives of this research include...
This research endeavors to...
To contribute to the existing literature, this study aims to...
By the end of this research, we aim to have achieved the
following objectives:

8.

Group task 2
Work on establishing your Research aim and questions
Step 6. Make sure
Assess these objectives in the light of:
Step 7. Double-check
•that you are really interested in the study
the time available to you
your (and your research supervisor's) technical
expertise in the area
Adapted from Kumar (2010)
•that you agree with the objectives

9.

REFERENCES
Kumar, R. (2010). Research Methodology: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners. United Kingdom: SAGE Publications.

10.

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QUESTIONS LEFT?
Thank you for your participation!
4/4/2025
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