Updated: 4 November 2026

Sharpen your research question

This prompt reviews your research question and points out what is unclear or too broad, asks three clarifying questions and then suggests refined versions.

text-research-question-refiner — chatgpt — 49 words

Help me refine my research question.

Topic: [TOPIC]
My current question: [QUESTION]
Field and level: [FIELD AND LEVEL]

Tell me what is unclear or too broad, ask three clarifying questions, then suggest five sharper versions with the type of evidence each would need and its feasibility for [TIME AVAILABLE].

Edit in the builder Copy & open ChatGPT ↗Copy & open Gemini ↗Copy & open Claude ↗

A good research question can be answered with evidence you can realistically collect.

Get a better result

What you will get

A diagnosis of why your question is unclear or too broad, three clarifying questions and five sharper versions, each with the evidence it needs and how realistic it is in the time you have.

Common mistake

Your current question is a topic, not a question.

Fix: Write it as a sentence ending in a question mark, even a rough one. The AI can then say exactly what is unclear.

Also watch for

You pick the most interesting version and ignore feasibility. Check the evidence line for each. If you cannot get the data in the time you have, choose a narrower version.
You skip the three clarifying questions. Answer them in a few lines. Your answers decide which of the five versions suits you.

Try a variation: supervisor meeting

Ask for “three questions I should bring to my supervisor about this research question, and one risk I should mention”.

Still not right? Reply with this

Take the second version and write a one-paragraph plan with the method, the data source and the biggest risk.