Before you start looking for literature, it is important to ask yourself "What exactly do I want to know?". A good search query can save you a lot of work later because it focuses your search for material.
Example: you are concerned about climate change and wonder what should be done to deal with the consequences of climate change.
From this interest, you can think about how to narrow and concretize this topic.
A good problem formulation gives answers to the questions starting with 'W',
| Question |
Answer |
| Who? |
Citizens, politicians, policy makers, businesses |
| What? |
Adaptation to climate change |
| Where? |
World, Netherlands, city/village, household |
| When? |
Past, present, future |
| Why? |
Effects of climate change threaten our future
|
Once these questions have been answered, you can make the problem statement more specific.
Climate change is causing more extreme hot days in the summer and more frequent extreme rainfall in Amsterdam. What measures should the municipality take to protect its citizens?
Using the research question, you can formulate your key concepts.
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