Your research question decides everything that follows. If it is too broad, you will drift. If it is too narrow, you will not reach your page count. And if it can be answered with yes or no, it is not a research question yet.
Enter it here and get an honest assessment before you spend weeks writing in the wrong direction.
Question settled? Next comes the hard part: structure, schedule and a clear thread through your chapters.
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Examiners look at the same points almost every time. Check your question against them.
“The role of AI in small businesses” is a topic, not a question. A research question starts with How, Why, To what extent or Which, and ends with a question mark.
“Do companies use AI?” is answered in one word. Questions that ask how, why or how far can carry an entire paper.
A 15-page term paper carries a narrower question than an 80-page master's thesis. If you need more than three sub-aspects, it is usually too broad for a term paper.
A question that needs 200 interviews with board members cannot be answered in four weeks. Check where your material will come from first.
The same idea, once unusable and once solid.
“What impact does digitalisation have on companies?”
“How does the introduction of ERP systems change lead times in mid-sized machine-building companies?”
“Is remote work good for employee satisfaction?”
“Which factors determine whether remote work has a positive effect on employee satisfaction?”
“Sustainability in retail”
“How do grocery retailers justify their choice of sustainability indicators to customers?”
A good research question is the start. Two things help after that.
Your question becomes an outline with chapter goals and a realistic schedule up to the deadline. As a PDF, one-off €4.99.
Before you submit, check chapter by chapter which passages read like AI, with concrete hints on what to rewrite.
It is phrased as a real question, answerable within the scope of your paper, neither too broad nor too narrow, and cannot be answered with yes or no. It is also concrete enough to make clear what you investigate and with what.
That depends on the length. A 15-page term paper carries a much narrower question than an 80-page master's thesis. As a rule of thumb: if you need more than three sub-aspects to answer it, the question is usually too broad for a term paper.
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