What's the research question?

I was recently asked for help with research on knowledge management. The researcher left a brief message stating:

"I'm doing research on knowledge management and developing a questionnaire. Can you help to provide me with research and questionnaires on knowledge management?"

My reply went along the lines of "what is your research question?" which is something of a mantra for me when students and faculty ask for help. You can't do research effectively without having a clearly stated research question. And you certainly can't develop a questionnaire without having a specific problem to investigate. You'll find a bit more help on developing research questions here on our website, under the free resources [1] menu for undergraduate research [2]. I'll be very happy to help with your research needs, but remember, my first statement to you is likely to be "what's the research question?"