"Identify research topic Focus and clarify your researchquestion(s)• Research is judged on whether and how faryou achieve what you said you intended todo, so it is vital to clearly define yourresearch question, aims and objectives. It is not enough to say ‘I’m interested inlooking at inequality’. • clarify what you mean by ‘inequality’ • clarify the aspects of inequality that youwant to investigate. Dr Nataliya Shiraz 2016/17 21For example, do you want to know: The extent of inequality? How inequality is distributed? The causes of inequality? The effects of inequality? About a particular type of inequality? About inequality over a particularperiod of time? 22 Dr Nataliya Shiraz 2016/17Avoid turning your research topic into a researchquestion that is too easy. For example:‘how many organisations have introduced a formaltraining scheme for volunteers to increase volunteermotivation?’question only requires a total number ofthose that have; lacks the standard of research for a degreelevel programme;does not enable generation of data foranalysis. Dr Nataliya Shiraz 2016/17 23A better question would be: ‘Has the introduction of formal training schemes forvolunteers increased volunteer motivation?’ This question generates further questions such as:What constitutes a ‘formal training scheme’? How is ‘motivation’ defined? How can motivation be ‘measured’? How will you know that reports of increased volunteermotivation can be attributed to the formal trainingscheme? Dr Nataliya Shiraz 2016/17 24Avoid developing a question that is toodifficultQuestion must be logical andunderstandable; Abstract ideas and concepts must beturned into researchable terms; Is the question researchable in the timeavailable; Is access available to relevant/necessary participants/sources of information? 25 Dr Nataliya Shiraz 2016/17"