MECM90038 Chap.5 Formulating a Feasible Media Research Question
Formulating a Feasible Media Research Question
This chapter turns a scoped problem into a research question that can carry a semester of work. It starts from the Week 3 definition of a research question as a clear, concise and focused query that guides the literature inquiry, the design and the analysis, then shows how a primary question can be supported by sub-questions.
It sets out four qualities the lecture expects, the three musts for a question in media and communications, and the five-point checklist that closes the lecture. A counter-example clinic shows how to diagnose and rebuild a weak draft.
The material matters directly for Assignment 1, whose literature review must end with a question informed by the preceding discussion and feasible within the study period, and it shapes every later task.
What this chapter covers
- 01
Defining a research question as a clear, concise and focused query
- 02
Building one primary question with supporting sub-questions
- 03
Four qualities: openness, depth, visible scope and fit with method
- 04
Three musts for a principal question in media and communications
- 05
Running the five-point checklist on a draft question
- 06
Diagnosing and rebuilding presumptive or closed questions step by step
Worked example · free
Repairing a closed question about YouTube and politics
- 1Identify the closed form: the draft opens with “has”, so it can only be answered yes or no.
- 1Flag the presumption: “made … more interested” assumes that YouTube causes a change in interest.
- 1Note the data problem: interest sits in teenagers’ minds, which would need surveys or interviews, outside the subject’s desktop rule.
- 1Rebuild with media at the centre, an issue, a group, a place and a period, ending with a question mark.
Key terms
- Research question
- A focused query that names the specific issue a study investigates. It steers the literature search, the design and the analysis, and it sets the study’s boundaries.
- Sub-question
- A secondary question that answers one part of the primary question. Together, sub-questions build toward the main answer without adding new topics.
- Presumptive wording
- Phrasing that assumes a cause or an outcome before any evidence is gathered. Verbs such as caused or led to are the usual signal.
- Closed question
- A question that can only be answered yes or no, often opening with is, are, has or will. It verifies a claim rather than exploring a phenomenon.
- Research scope
- The set of boundaries for an investigation, chosen through place, population, medium, environment and period. It limits what the conclusions may claim.
Formulating a Feasible Media Research Question FAQ
Can a media research question start with why?
The Week 3 checklist advises against it. Why-questions tend to become very broad, such as asking why people use a platform, or they carry a hidden assumption, such as asking why people love it. Opening with how usually works better, and every improved example in the lecture does so, but a how-question still needs a named medium, an issue and a feasible scope.
Do I need sub-questions as well as a main research question?
Not necessarily. The lecture shows one health study with a primary question and two secondary questions, then asks whether that type suits your own project. In a 1,000-word literature review, a single well-scoped principal question is often clearer; add sub-questions only when each one answers part of the main question. Check expectations with your tutor if unsure.
What makes a research question count as media and communications research?
Media or communication must appear in the question and must drive it. The lecture rejects a question about phone use on trains and commuter safety because safety, not media, is doing the work. The question should also connect the medium to a social or cultural issue, and it may name a particular social group as well.
How specific should the scope of my research question be?
Specific enough for you to complete this semester. The Week 2 lecture lists dimensions you can fix, including geographical unit, population, medium, environment and historical period, and treats only the discipline as compulsory. It ties scope to your own expertise, resources and time, and the desktop-only rule removes any design that needs interviews or surveys.
Assessment move
Write three versions of your question before choosing one. Run each through the five checks: not yes or no, not opening with why, media plus an issue, a feasible scope, a final question mark. Circle every verb and replace any that presumes a cause. List your scope on one line, naming place, group, medium, environment and period, then delete anything that would need interviews or surveys.
Read the two Booth, Colomb and Williams chapters the lecture recommends while revising. Finally, check that the last paragraph of your literature review leads naturally to the question, and reword the question if your reading has moved on.
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