Make sure you have a research problem worth investigating before you build the study around it.

This guide helps you move from a broad topic to a real research problem, stress-test the question, work out what an answer would actually require, and only then decide which method makes sense.

Inside:

→ The difference between a topic, a problem, a gap, and a research question
→ Bad, mediocre, and strong examples, with an explanation of what changes between them
→ The Research Spine, a seven-part way to check whether your study holds together before you start
→ A nine-question Research Question Stress Test
→ A Method-Last Test to stop you choosing methods because they are familiar, fashionable, or available
→ Worked cases from experimental, computational, and people-based research
→ A one-page Research Readiness Check you can use before writing a proposal or starting data collection
→ A short section on using AI without handing over the thinking that makes you a researcher