Student Worksheet: Developing Research Questions Using the

Funnel Strategy

Objective:

This worksheet will guide you fin applying the Funnel strategy to narrow a broad research topic into specific,

actionable research questions. You winl explore different types of research questions $($descriptive$,$ comparative,

causal, exploratory, predictive, interpretive, and relationship$-$based$)$ and how to apply them to your research in

Computer Science $($CS$),$ Data Analytics $($DA$),$ or cybersecurity $($CY$).$

Step $1$: Identifying Your Broad Research Area

Goal:

Choose a broad area of interest in CS$,$ DA$,$ or CY$.$

Instructions:

Select one broad area of research that you are interested in$.$

Example in CS: "Machine learning for image recognition."

Example in DA: "Big data analytics for predictive modelling."

Example in cy: "cybersecurity vulnerabilities in healthcare systems."

Write down your chosen area below:

Broad Research Area:

Step $2$: Reviewing the Literature to Identify Gaps

Goal:

Identify the knowledge gaps in your chosen research area by reviewing relevant literature.

Instructions:

Conduct a brief literature review on your topic. Use journals, books, conference papers, and industry

reports to find relevant studies.

Identify at least one gap or underexplored area in the literature. This can be an area that hasn't been

researched in depth or where conflicting results exist.

Knowledge Gap$($s$)$ Identified:

Based on the identified gaps, write a preliminary research problem that addresses this gap.

Preliminary Research Problem:

Step $3$: Narrowing Down the Research Problem

Goal:

Use the Funnel Strategy to narrow down your broad research topic into a more specific research problem.

Instructions:

Start by breaking down your broad topic into subtopics that focus on more specific areas of the problem.

I Use the following prompts to help:

What specific issue in your broad topic intrigues you the most?

What are the variables involved?

Who or what is affected?

What is the context or environment $($e$.$g$.,$ industry, technology, region$)?$

Fill out the funnel below:

Step $4$: Formulating Different Types of Research Questions

Goal:

Develop research questions based on your narrowed research problem using different question types $($descriptive$,$

comparative, causal, exploratory, predictive, interpretive, and relationship$-$based$).$

Instructions:

Based on your narrowed research problem, formulate one research question for each of the following types:

Descriptive Question:

What are you trying to describe?

Example: CS $-$ "What are the key challenges in developing quantum computing algorithms?"

Your Descriptive Question:

Comparative Question:

What are you comparing $($e$.$g$.,$ methods, variables, techniques$)?$

Example: DA $-$ "How do different clustering algorithms compare in terms of processing speed?"

Your Comparative Question:

Causal Question:

What cause$-$effect relationship are you investigating?

P Example: Cy $-$ "What is the impact of encryption protocols on the speed of secure transactions?"

Your Causal Question:

Exploratory Question:

D What unknown area are you exploring?

o Example: CS $-$ "What are the emerging ethical challenges in the development of autonomous

systems?"

Your Exploratory Question:

Predictive Question:

What future outcomes are you trying to predict?

P Example: DA $-$ "How accurately can customer purchasing behavior be predicted using social media

data?"

Your Predictive Question:

Interpretive Question:

o What meanings or interpretations are you seeking to understand?

Example: CY $-$ "How do employees interpret cybersecurity training and its relevance to their daily

tasks?"

Your Interpretive Question:

Relationship$-$Based Question:

What relationship between variables are you investigating?

Example: DA $-$ "What is the relationship between data quality and the accuracy of machine learning

models?"

Your Relationship$-$Based Question:

Step $5$: Peer Review and Reflection

Goal:

Review your research questions to ensure they are clear, focused, and aligned with your research problem.

Instructions:

Swap your questions wying poy find hik them to cevaluate:

Are the questions chen mond forusi?

Do the question atern with the teriondiproblem?

Are the guntion amwherath Hym ovfhahtrenourcerand time?

Based on peer feedhack riving any qumbopm that mav hegd darification or refinement.

Reflection:

What challenges did you luee why numowing downy youn rewerch topic using the funnel Strategy?

How did the literature neview hile youmentify a sperific researd problem?

Which type of research question wies mon, dhallenging for you to formulate? Why?

Conclusion

OK well done, this is quite a task and completing thes workheet you should now have a set of clear$($er$),$ more

focused research questions that are aligned with your ohosen topic and knowledge gaps in the literature. Keep

refining your questions to ensure they are spectic and fasibly and as your literature review moves forward be

prepared to CHANGE THE QUESTIONS.