About Steps in formulating research question 1. Choose a topic 2. Literature review 3. Conceive the conceptual hypothesis (broad idea) 4. Identify the specific objective of the study 5. Decide the study population and setting 6. Consider the feasibility (time , resources) 7. Decide on the study design & methodology Requisites of a Good Research Question ✓ Feasible ✓ Interesting to the investigator ✓ Novel o Confirms or refutes previous findings, o Extends previous findings, o Provides new findings ✓ Ethical ✓ Relevant o To scientific knowledge, o To clinical and health policy o To future research directions RESEARCH QUESTION – Check List 1. Does your question reflect a sound rationale? Yes/No 2. Does your question specify the study population? Yes/No 3. Does your question refer to the exposure variable? Yes/No 4. Does your question reflect the outcome of interest? Yes/No 5. Does your question specify the nature of comparisons to be made? Yes/No 6. Does your question provides sufficient information to suggest Yes/No the study design? 7. Is your study relevant? Yes/No 8. Is your study feasible? Yes/No 9. Is your study ethical? Yes/No If the answer to any question is ‘NO’ it needs further clarification Repeat the process till all questions yield “YES” Fully refined Research Question The fully research question should indicate the objective of the study. Specify the major outcome and predictive variables. The setting and the intended study subjects. The implied biological rationale and study design should be explicit in the research question.