A research question is the focused question that guides a paper, project, experiment, or study. It tells the researcher what they are trying to find out and helps keep the work organized.
What a good research question does
A good research question is clear, narrow enough to answer, open enough to investigate, and connected to available evidence. It should not be so broad that the paper has no direction.
Research question and hypothesis
In some projects, a hypothesis predicts the answer to the research question. In other projects, the question leads to analysis rather than a testable prediction.
A good research question saves time because it tells you which sources, data, and arguments actually matter.