You would like to find the answer to the following question: “How can you improve the spread of tourists in Amsterdam?”. To answer this question, you need to search for information.
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Exploration
It is very important to know what exactly you will be researching. To start with, it means exploring the subject. As you begin, your subject will very likely be much too broad to research. In the video, you will see how to narrow down a subject into a clearly defined one.
To find the information you need, you should formulate your subject in terms of a main question. This question describes exactly what it is you would like to know about and is a way of giving direction to your search. How do you formulate a good main question?
You have thought up the following main question:
“Should the infrastructure be modified to deal with the growing number of tourists and which possible adaptations exist?”
There is great scope for improving this main question. Work out what is not very good about it and what you could do differently. If necessary, write down your suggestions for improvement!
How do you establish a good main question?
While exploring the subject, you transformed your research problem into a subject: “Modifications to public transport to ease congestion in relation to the growing number of tourists in Amsterdam.”
How do you now come to a good main question now?
Below, you can see how a question can be improved, step by step.
This question does not represent a logical next step from the research problem to the subject. That is because you are researching the infrastructure in Amsterdam, not the city’s economy. A better question would be:
A good main question consists of one single question, and no more. Your main question is now:
Another thing to remember is that a main question should be open-ended, not one that only requires a yes or no answer. Therefore:
This question is still somewhat vague - what do you mean by “deal with”? Make your question more specific:
Make sure your main question is not too broad, and not too narrow. In your subject, you had already opted for “public transport” rather than “infrastructure”. This should feature in your main question. Your main question now ends up as:
Importance of your research population
Many degree programmes expect your research population to form part of your main question. A research population is the group of people or objects to which a research project applies and about which a statement is made. Some examples:
for research into the prevention of dementia among women aged thirty, your research population is “women aged thirty”.
for research into the quality of pharmacies in Amsterdam, your research population is “pharmacies in Amsterdam”.
Including the research population in your main question provides the right focus and a clear definition.
It also prevents you from making up answers yourself; for market research, for example, you would like to know what your group of customers (research population) thinks of a particular product. For social studies, you may wish to learn the opinions of a specific section of the population (research population) on the theme of discrimination, for example.
Sub-questions
Often a main question is too complex to be answered in one go. That is why you split it into sub-questions. It makes the main question easier to manage.
Sub-questions always answer a specific part of the main question. Collectively, the sub-questions answer the main question. Questions that do not contribute towards answering the main question are not relevant.
Example
Your main question is:
“Which modifications to public transport are needed to ensure that the growing number of tourists in Amsterdam can move around more efficiently?”
You have now thought up a number of sub-questions:
Which modifications have been made to the infrastructure in Amsterdam in the last five years?
How many tourists come to The Netherlands?
Does the ease with which tourists can move around Amsterdam compare well to other Dutch cities?
Which modifications have been made to public transport in the last five years?
These sub-questions certainly have their flaws. What is wrong with these sub-questions, and what would you do differently? If necessary, write down your suggestions!
What are good sub-questions?
It is important that there is a direct relationship between the sub-questions and the main question. For the main question,
“Which modifications to the infrastructure are needed to ensure that the growing number of tourists in Amsterdam can move around more efficiently?”
The sub-questions could be:
What have been the effects of the growth in the number of tourists in Amsterdam on traffic flow in the last five years?
How large is the expected growth in the number of tourists in Amsterdam for the next five years?
Which are the main traffic bottlenecks?
What is the design of the infrastructure at the main bottleneck locations?
Which are the main criteria for effective traffic flow?
Which measures relating to infrastructure have been taken in similar cities in order to make it easier for tourists to move around?
Sometimes, you can make your sub-questions even more specific, in the form of search questions. Search questions for the last sub-question could be:
Which measures relating to infrastructure have been taken in Berlin in order to make it easier for tourists to move around?
Which measures relating to infrastructure have been taken in Barcelona in order to make it easier for tourists to move around?
Summary
You have learned to:
clarify your question and to define your assignment
explore a subject in different ways
divide up your main question into sub-questions
formulate main and sub-questions
Search Logbook
You can use the search logbook to keep a record of how you have conducted searches during your own project. This is useful and saves time, although it is not a compulsory part of the course, unless your degree programme has stated otherwise.
Now note down your hypothesis, your research question and sub-questions in your logbook.
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