A vague research question is the single most common reason a project proposal gets sent back -- and it's also usually the easiest thing to fix once you know what "specific enough" actually looks like.
The four main types of research questions
- Descriptive -- what is the current state of X? ("What is the current level of mobile banking adoption among university students in Lagos?")
- Comparative -- how does X differ between groups or conditions? ("How does mobile banking adoption differ between urban and rural university students?")
- Relational/correlational -- is there a relationship between X and Y? ("Is there a relationship between trust in fintech platforms and adoption frequency?")
- Causal/experimental -- does X cause a change in Y? ("Does exposure to a financial literacy programme increase mobile banking adoption?")
Identifying which type you're actually asking clarifies your methodology -- a causal question needs an experimental or quasi-experimental design; a descriptive one might just need a well-designed survey.
Turning a broad topic into a specific question
A broad topic is missing three things: a specific population, a specific variable or relationship, and a boundary (where or when). Compare:
Broad topic: "Technology in education."
Specific question: "Does the use of a specific mobile learning tool improve quiz scores among 100 secondary school students in Lagos State over one academic term?"
The specific version names the population (secondary school students in Lagos State), the variable (a specific tool's effect on quiz scores), and the boundary (one academic term).
Objectives should follow the same pattern
Once your main research question is specific, your objectives (the smaller steps toward answering it) should be equally specific and, ideally, individually testable -- a reader should be able to tell, after reading your results, whether each objective was met.
A quick check before finalizing
Read your question or objective back and ask: could a stranger tell exactly what would count as answering this? If the answer is unclear, it likely needs one more round of narrowing.
Where UniDraft fits in
UniDraft builds your project's introduction and objectives around your actual, confirmed topic and scope -- helping keep them specific and consistent with what your methodology and results chapters can actually support.
