Sharpen a vague idea into a researchable question

Turn a broad topic into a focused research question with scope, variables, methods and feasibility checks.

Change note: Initial version

Prompt

I have a broad idea for a {{project_type}}: {{idea}}. My field: {{field}}. Time and resources: {{resources}}.

Help me turn it into a strong research question:
1. Ask me up to three clarifying questions ONLY if the idea is too vague to proceed; otherwise proceed with stated assumptions.
2. Offer five candidate research questions of increasing narrowness, each labeled as descriptive, comparative, relational or causal.
3. For the best two, spell out: key concepts and how they could be measured, the population or sample, a suitable method, what a good answer would look like, and the main risk.
4. Run a feasibility check against my time and resources, and a "so what" check (who benefits from the answer).
5. Recommend one question, with a one-sentence version I can put at the top of a proposal.
6. List the three most important existing-knowledge areas I should read first, as topics, not as specific papers.

Do not cite specific studies unless you are certain they exist. If you are unsure about a fact, say so plainly. Never invent citations, quotes, statistics or URLs.

Variables

• {{project_type}}Project typeselectrequired

  Options: undergraduate thesis, master's thesis, class paper, work report, personal curiosity

  Default: undergraduate thesis

• {{idea}}Your idealongrequired

  Default: I want to study how social media affects teenagers' sleep.

• {{field}}Fieldtextrequired

  Default: psychology

• {{resources}}Time and resourcestext

  Default: 6 months, no budget, access to one school

Example output

**Assumptions:** 6 months, one school, survey-based methods.

**Candidates**
1. How do teenagers use social media at night? (descriptive)
2. How does bedtime phone use differ between weekdays and weekends? (comparative)
3. Is evening social media time associated with sleep duration in 15-17-year-olds? (relational)
4. Is the association stronger for passive scrolling than for messaging? (relational)
5. Does a phone-free hour before bed improve sleep? (causal)

**Best two**
- Q3: measure time via self-report or screen logs, sleep via a validated questionnaire; sample 150 students; correlational survey. Risk: self-report error.
- Q5: needs an intervention; too heavy for 6 months and no budget.

**Feasibility:** Q3-Q4 fit; Q5 does not. **So what:** schools and parents.

**Recommendation:** "Among 15-17-year-olds at one school, is evening passive social media use more strongly associated with shorter sleep than evening messaging?"

**Read first:** adolescent sleep needs; screen-use measurement; confounds like homework and caffeine.

Notes

Offering a ladder of questions shows you the trade-off between interesting and doable. Share your supervisor's feedback and ask for a revision.