Asking Better Research Questions

The Right Question Changes Everything

Albert Einstein reportedly said, “If I had an hour to solve a problem, I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about solutions.”

Whether he actually said it is debatable (always verify quotes!), but the principle is gold: the quality of your answers depends entirely on the quality of your questions.

This is especially true with AI. A vague question gets vague fluff. A precise, well-framed question gets insights that feel like having a brilliant tutor beside you.

By the end of this lesson, you’ll be able to:

• Transform vague research needs into specific, powerful questions
• Use the “question funnel” to explore any topic systematically
• Leverage AI to discover questions you didn’t know to ask
• Frame research questions for different purposes (academic, professional, personal)

Recall: The Trust Spectrum

Remember from Lesson 1–AI’s outputs need different levels of verification depending on the type of information. Keep this in mind as you formulate questions: the more specific and factual your question, the more carefully you should verify the answer.

The Question Funnel

Most people jump straight to specific questions without understanding the landscape. This leads to narrow research with blind spots. Instead, use the funnel approach:

Level 1: The Landscape Question

Start by mapping the territory.

“Give me an overview of [topic]. What are the major sub-topics, key debates, and most important concepts someone should understand? Organize this as a structured outline.”

This gives you a mental map. You can’t ask good specific questions about a topic you don’t understand broadly.

Level 2: The Angle Questions

Now pick the areas that matter most for your purpose.

“I’m researching [topic] specifically for [purpose/audience]. Based on the overview you provided, which 3-4 sub-topics are most relevant to my goals? For each, what are the key questions I should investigate?”

This narrows your focus based on your actual needs.

Level 3: The Deep-Dive Questions

Now go deep on specific areas.

“Explain [specific sub-topic] in detail. Cover:

• The current consensus among experts
• Areas of active debate or disagreement
• The strongest evidence on each side
• Practical implications
• What I should read next for authoritative information on this”

Level 4: The Synthesis Question

Finally, connect everything together.

“Based on everything we’ve discussed about [topic], help me synthesize the key findings into a coherent narrative. What are the 3-5 most important takeaways, and how do they relate to each other?”

Example: The Funnel in Action

Let’s say you need to research remote work productivity for a company policy recommendation.

Level 1: “Give me an overview of research on remote work productivity.” Level 2: “I’m writing a policy recommendation for a 200-person tech company. Which aspects of remote work productivity are most relevant?” Level 3: “Explain the research on hybrid vs. fully remote productivity outcomes. What do the Stanford and Microsoft studies show? Where do experts disagree?” Level 4: “Synthesize the key findings into 3 policy recommendations for my company, with supporting evidence for each.”

Each level builds on the previous one. By the time you reach Level 4, you have a well-informed, nuanced understanding.

Quick Check

Pick your research topic for this course. Write one question for each level of the funnel. Notice how each level gets more specific and useful.

The “Question Behind the Question”

Often, the question you ask isn’t really the question you need answered. Finding the deeper question leads to much better research.

The Digging Prompt

When you’re not sure what you really need to know, try this:

“I think I want to research [surface topic]. But I’m not sure I’m asking the right question. My actual situation is [describe your context, goal, and constraints]. Help me identify what I really need to research. What are the better questions I should be asking?”

This is surprisingly powerful. AI can reframe your question in ways that lead to much more actionable research.

Questioning Techniques for Different Purposes

For Academic Research

“I’m writing an academic paper on [topic] for [course/publication]. Help me develop a research question that is:

• Specific enough to address in [word count/page limit]
• Debatable (not a simple factual question)
• Relevant to current scholarly conversation
• Answerable with available evidence

Suggest 3 possible research questions with a brief rationale for each.”

For Professional Decision-Making

“I need to make a decision about [business/professional question]. The stakeholders are [who]. The timeline is [when]. The constraints are [what].

Help me identify:

1. The 5 most important questions I need to answer before deciding
2. For each question, what type of evidence would be most persuasive
3. Any blind spots or considerations I might be missing”

For Personal Learning

“I want to genuinely understand [topic], not just know surface facts. I’m a complete beginner. Design a learning path:

1. What foundational concepts do I need first?
2. What order should I learn things in?
3. What are the most common misconceptions?
4. What’s one question that, if I could answer it well, would prove I really understand this topic?”

The Power of Follow-Up Questions

Great researchers don’t stop at the first answer. They probe deeper. Here are follow-up questions that consistently unlock better insights:

Challenging the answer:

“What’s the strongest counterargument to what you just said?”

Seeking nuance:

“You said [X]. Is that always true, or are there important exceptions?”

Testing understanding:

“Explain this to me as if I were a smart 12-year-old. What am I getting wrong if I think [common misconception]?”

Finding gaps:

“What did you leave out of that explanation that an expert would consider important?”

Connecting to reality:

“Give me a concrete, real-world example of how this plays out in practice.”

These follow-ups turn a surface-level AI response into a deep, nuanced exploration.

Quick Check

Take the first AI response you got from a Level 1 question earlier. Ask two follow-up questions from the list above. How much richer does the conversation become?

Building Your Research Question Bank

As you practice, you’ll develop go-to questions for different situations. Start building a personal question bank:

“Help me create a research question template library for my field of [field/interest]. For each of these research scenarios, give me 2-3 template questions I can adapt:

1. Understanding a new concept
2. Comparing two approaches
3. Evaluating evidence for a claim
4. Making a decision with incomplete information
5. Predicting future trends”

Save these templates. They’ll speed up your research process significantly.

Key Takeaways

• The quality of your research depends on the quality of your questions
• Use the question funnel: landscape → angle → deep dive → synthesis
• Find the question behind the question–your real underlying need
• Follow-up questions transform surface answers into deep understanding
• Different purposes (academic, professional, personal) need different question frames
• Build a personal question bank for research scenarios you encounter often

Up Next

In Lesson 3, you’ll tackle one of the most important skills in the AI age: evaluating sources and spotting misinformation. You’ll learn how to fact-check AI outputs, distinguish reliable sources from unreliable ones, and develop a skeptic’s toolkit that serves you everywhere.