What is a Bad Research Question?

Guidance on Writing Academic Papers in the Business Administration Field

Abstract

This essay examines bad research questions in academic writing in the business administration field. First, we investigate a research question that is not suitable for academic papers but more likely business reports. Second, we brief through three kinds of research questions which are academic but still not good; (1) an ‘unlearned’ research question that prior studies have already answered though the researcher is unaware of due to lack of knowledge; (2) an ‘unanswerable’ research question owing to its nature or lack of researcher’s capability and resources; (3) an ‘unfit’ research question which cannot be answered because the data collected is unsuitable. Further, we discuss how to avoid such bad research questions.