How to Craft Strong Research Questions in the AI Era: A Practical Guide for Academics & PhD Students

Emmaon a month ago

Introduction In academic research, the bedrock of any solid study is a clear, measurable research question. Whether you're conducting a survey, performing experiments, or engaging in big-data analysis, your research question defines your direction, your variables, and your design. According to research guides, poorly framed questions often lead to vague results, wasted effort, and unreliable conclusions. But today, in a world where AI is increasingly used to find references, propose hypotheses, or even draft papers, the challenge is two-fold:

  1. How do you craft a strong research question in the first place?
  2. How do you verify that your question is based on real, credible sources and leads into a trustworthy study? Enter Citely — an AI-powered reference finder and citation checker that supports both sides of your research workflow: generating ideas and verifying them. In this guide we’ll walk through:
  • Why well-written research questions matter
  • The main types of quantitative research questions
  • Real-world examples across disciplines
  • A step-by-step process to write your own
  • How Citely can support you at each stage

Why good research questions matter Every study begins with a question. But not all questions are created equal. A strong research question:

  • Focuses the scope of the study, preventing you from straying into overly broad or unmanageable territory.
  • Determines your research design, methodology, data collection, and analysis.
  • Ensures your findings are credible, replicable and meaningful. In the modern academic landscape, where tools claim to “find references” or “give you sources”, you must ask: Are my sources real? Is my question grounded in actual literature? Typography and framing matter—but so does verification. That’s where Citely’s citation-checking capabilities come into play.

Types of Quantitative Research Questions Following the pattern used in the Sourcely guide, quantitative research questions can generally be categorised into three types: descriptive, comparative, and relational.

  1. Descriptive questions These ask “what is” or “how much/how many” about a single variable in a specified population. They don’t compare groups or investigate relationships. Example: “What is the average weekly screen time among undergraduate psychology majors at University X?” Key characteristic: one variable, defined population, measurable outcome.
  2. Comparative questions These examine differences between two or more groups or conditions. Example: “Do students who participate in online tutorials perform better on final exams compared with those who don’t?” Key characteristic: clearly defined groups; outcome variable; comparison.
  3. Relational (or correlational) questions These explore the relationship or association between two (or more) variables. Example: “What is the relationship between daily social media use and reported anxiety levels among postgraduate students?” Key characteristic: two or more variables; words like relationship, correlation, association; requires statistical design.

Real-world Examples Across Disciplines Here are some illustrative examples showing how each type is applied in different fields:

These examples show how the same structural logic (type + variable + population) can work across domains. The key is clarity in defining your variables and context.

Step-by-Step: How to Write Your Research Question Here’s a process adapted from academic literature and the Sourcely guide—tailored for today’s AI-driven environment. Step 1: Choose your question type Decide: Are you describing a phenomenon? Comparing groups? Or investigating a relationship? Step 2: Define your variables & population

  • Specify the independent and/or dependent variables.
  • Define your population: who, where, when?
  • Avoid vague terms like “students” or “young people”. Be focused: “full-time first-year PhD students in STEM disciplines, 2023-24”. Step 3: Use the appropriate structure
  • Descriptive: “What is…”, “How many…”, “To what extent…”
  • Comparative: “What is the difference between…”, “How does X compare to Y…”
  • Relational: “What is the relationship between…”, “How does X affect Y…” Step 4: Write & refine
  • Make sure your question is clear, measurable, feasible. Scribbr
  • Ask: Can I collect data? Can I analyse it? Will it lead to meaningful insight?
  • Use feedback, peer review, and – if available – tools like Citely to check the literature base. Step 5: Verification & iteration – NEW in AI era Because many researchers now rely on AI for sourcing or drafting questions, you must verify:
  • Are there enough credible studies on this topic?
  • Are the sources you plan to cite real and traceable? Use an AI citation checker (such as Citely) to validate your literature foundation and ensure you are not building on fabricated references.

How Citely Helps You at Every Stage Let’s map how Citely integrates into this workflow:

  • Idea generation: Use Citely to discover peer-reviewed articles, identify research gaps, and support your initial question-type decision.
  • Variable/population definition: Citely’s “source finder” can help you see what populations and variables have been studied – enabling you to refine your scope.
  • Citation verification: After drafting your question and planning your study, run your list of references through Citely’s AI citation checker to flag any sources that are fake, incomplete or unverifiable.
  • Export & bibliography: Citely supports export in APA, MLA, Chicago (and more) and integrates with Zotero/Mendeley—so you finish with a clean, credible reference list. If you’re an “intense first year PhD” student with tight deadlines, Citely ensures you spend less time chasing phantom papers and more time focused on your study’s insight.

Bonus: Tips for First-Year PhD Researchers

  • Keep your question manageable—Don’t try to cover everything in one study.
  • Maintain a “verified source” log—Use Citely to mark which articles you’ve confirmed.
  • Link question, method and analysis—Your question should map into how you’ll collect data and what you’ll analyse.
  • Use sub-questions if needed—but ensure each aligns with your main research question. Scribbr
  • Stay flexible—If your literature check (via Citely) shows a gap or too little research, refine your question before diving into data collection.

Final Thoughts Writing the right research question is more than an academic exercise—it defines your study’s trajectory and credibility. In the modern research landscape, you must merge traditional rigor (clear variables, defined population, proper structure) with new-age verification (ensuring your sources are valid and believable). With tools like Citely, you can confidently move from “find references” to “verify references”, crafting questions that are not only well formed—but built on a foundation you can trust. Ready to elevate your research game? Visit Citely.ai and start building questions you can confidently answer—with verified sources behind them.