Take a moment to practice identifying a single, researchable question for the following issues:

a. A company ships its widgets to a customer on December 31 but has not yet collected payment from the customer. The customer has promised to pay within 30 days but has never purchased good with this company before. Researchable question?
b. A customer is suing the local grocery store for a slip-and-fall incident. The grocery store believes the lawsuit will likely be considered frivolous and rejected by the court. The grocery store must decide whether to record or disclose this matter. Researchable question?

A good research question should be specifically focused on a single issue or some closely related ideas. This will ensure the generation of a good thesis statement. A research question that is too general or is not focused on one topic makes it difficult to carry out the research. The only solution will be to narrow down the topic to a single researchable issue. A good research question provides a clear direction. It should provide the basis for meaningful understanding of an issue through investigation.