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When we want to improve our explanation of a research question, it can be helpful to take it apart and examine our question piece by piece. Several frameworks exist that are specific to certain types of research. Here, we take a generalizable approach, using Who, What, Why, and How to break things down.
The “Who” of a research question describes the subject. Depending on the study, this may be a population, a cell type, or even a dataset.
The “What” describes the characteristic(s) of interest and will vary tremendously depending on study design. If your study has an intervention or an independent variable, this belongs in your “What.”
The “Why” is the outcome of your study. This category may include both proximate outcomes – often a dependent variable – as well as the ultimate purpose.
A well-defined “Who,” “What,” and “Why” should all be optimized to relate to each other. Together, they dictate the “How”: the methodology, study type, and analytical approach of your study.
CALLOUT: Is something missing? Were you expecting “Where” and “When” to make an appearance? These features are certainly important in some studies, but they best describe the Who, What, Why, or How when they matter. For example, the “Who” might be specified by its location, or the “Why” might be specific to a time window.
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When working with Who, What, Why, and How, it is important to keep a clear goal in mind. Our goal is to apply this framework as a tool to elaborate a research question, separating the question into components to make that process easier. Our aim is not “correct” classification of each element! With our examples as a guide, YOU can decide on the most useful ways to interpret each category for your own study.
As a process, we suggest the following:
- Break down your question into parts.
- Ask questions about each part.
- Add answers to improve the elaboration of your question.
- Repeat!
CALLOUT: Evaluate lightly for now. You might also find yourself evaluating the quality of the idea during this phase. This is fine, and you might want to write some notes down for later. At this stage, however, our primary concern is improving the explanation of the idea. We will get to evaluating the idea itself in the next lesson!
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