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Jun 25, 2026

Research Question Builder

The Question Builder helps you turn a rough research idea into a structured, versioned Research Design Brief, one per project, before you start collecting sources in depth. It is part of the Research OS workflow (Stage 2: refine the question).

Where to find it

Open a research project, then go to the Question Builder for that project at /research/question-builder/{projectId}. Each project has its own brief.

The Research Design Brief

The brief captures the design of your study in named fields:

  • Broad topic - the general area of interest.
  • Problem statement - the specific problem or tension you are addressing.
  • Research gap - what is currently unknown, and why it matters.
  • Primary research question - the single, answerable question at the centre.
  • Secondary questions - supporting questions (one per line).
  • Hypothesis / expected answer - optional; your provisional answer for testable designs.
  • Scope and boundaries - temporal, geographic, population, or evidence limits.
  • Key definitions - the central terms, so the question is operationalised.
  • Assumptions - assumptions about evidence availability and access.
  • Bias and risks - known biases, sensitivities, or risks to the design.

Versioning

Every time you save, the Question Builder creates a new version of the brief rather than overwriting the previous one. You are asked for a short reason for the change with each save (for example, "Narrowed scope to 1960-1980 after supervisor feedback"). This builds an audit trail of how your question evolved.

Use Version history to see every saved version newest-first, the reason recorded for each, and the full field values at that point. Earlier versions are kept and cannot be edited.

Diagnosis panel

The diagnosis panel runs quick checks on your brief and flags common design weaknesses:

  • Possibly too broad - the question reads broadly and scope limits are thin.
  • Possibly too narrow - the question is highly specific with no sub-questions.
  • Gap not stated - no research gap recorded, so the question may already be answered.
  • Method scaffolding thin - no hypothesis and no key definitions.
  • Ethically sensitive - the brief touches subjects that often require ethics review, consent, or cultural protocols.
  • Evidence assumptions unrecorded - no assumptions or bias risks recorded.
  • Looks publishable - a positive signal when the brief is well formed.

Click Run diagnosis to re-check the values currently in the form (before saving).

AI assist (optional)

If your installation has AI configured, you can switch on Use AI assist to add a short AI-written review alongside the heuristic checks. AI output is clearly labelled and is produced through the AHG AI gateway. The panel works fully without AI - the heuristic checks never depend on it.

Tips

  • Fill in the research gap and scope boundaries early; they unlock the most useful diagnostic feedback.
  • Save often. Because each save is a new version, you never lose an earlier framing of the question.