Inquiry Question Development
What a Strong Inquiry Question Does
A Student Directed Inquiry (SDI) begins with a question the student genuinely owns. A workable question is focused (narrow enough to investigate within the available time and resources), researchable (answerable with evidence the student can realistically gather), significant (connected to a real concept or problem, not trivia), and open (invites analysis rather than a yes/no lookup). Learn to distinguish a topic ("urban heat islands") from a question ("How does tree canopy coverage relate to afternoon surface temperature on our campus?") from a thesis (a claim you will defend with evidence).
Concepts to Know
- Independent vs. dependent variables named inside the question.
- Scope control: population, place, and time frame specified.
- Sub-questions that break the main question into investigable parts.
- Feasibility and ethics screening before committing.
Traps in Questions
- Questions that are too broad ("How does pollution affect the world?").
- Questions answerable by a single fact ("What is the boiling point of water?").
- Questions that smuggle in the answer or a value judgment ("Why is our school's recycling program clearly the best?").
- Questions requiring equipment, permissions, or time the student lacks.
- Confusing a hypothesis with a question.
Worked Example / Rule of Thumb
Rule of thumb: Can I name the evidence I would collect and the comparison I would make? If not, narrow the question. Example revision: "Does music affect studying?" becomes "How does listening to instrumental music versus silence affect the number of practice problems a student completes correctly in 20 minutes?" - now variables, a comparison, and a measurement are visible.