## Formulating a research question

Have you formed a clear picture of your topic? Then formulate a research question. Your research question serves as your starting point. This question precisely describes what you want to know and guides the search process.

Example: You are concerned about climate change and wonder what needs to be done to address its effects.

From this interest, you can think about how to narrow down and specify the topic.

A good research question answers questions such as who, what, where, when, and why.

Question | Answer
--- | ---
Who? | Citizens, governments, companies?
What? | Adaptations to climate change
Where? | World, Netherlands, city/town, household?
When? | In the past, present, or future?
Why? | The effects of climate change pose a threat to our future

After answering these questions, you can make the research question more specific:

Due to climate change, Amsterdam is experiencing more extremely hot days in the summer and more frequent heavy rainstorms. What measures should the municipality take to protect its residents?

Once you have a (preliminary) research question, proceed to the next step: determining your search terms and formulating a search query.