01/09/2026
🎓 Starting Your Research Project? Answer These 5 Questions First
You have a research topic. You have ideas. You may even have a deadline.
But then you open a blank document and wonder:
“Where do I even start?”
Before writing page after page, stop and answer these five questions:
1️⃣ WHAT is the problem?
What specific issue, gap or challenge do you want to investigate?
2️⃣ WHY does it matter?
Who is affected, and why is this worth researching?
3️⃣ WHAT is already known?
What have other researchers discovered about your topic?
4️⃣ WHAT is missing?
What knowledge gap, unanswered question or unresolved issue will your study address?
5️⃣ WHAT will your study contribute?
What new understanding, evidence or practical solution could emerge from your research?
💡 Your research proposal becomes much easier to write when you are clear about these answers.
Don't let the pressure of your thesis or research project convince you that you aren't capable. Sometimes, you don't need more information, you need clarity, structure and the right guidance to turn what you already know into a coherent research direction.
🎓 Starting your research project? Start with clarity.
👉 Save this post and share it with a student beginning research.
📩 And if you have a research idea but don't know how to structure it, DM Techinva Kenya.