Turning good questions into good science (answers)

Well begun is half done

                                                  --Buddhism

It happens to me many times that I struggle to come up with a so called “good question.” It is not that I cannot distinguish between regular questions and good questions. I have encountered good questions asked by my classmates for thousand times. Every time I hear a good question, I am always amazed by the thought of that question and ask myself why I cannot come up with similar questions. I believe it is the definition of a “good question” that I don’t understand which leaves me in such frustrating situation. The level of questions that I asked always seems to be shallow, not good enough so that it will make people to think. I’m good at asking questions that requires only yes or no answers, which does not give much thinking to the question. In my opinion, a good question does not have to be complicated, but should be more like a scenario question extended from a basic concept. For example, instead of asking “is animal abuse a problem in the society?” this question should be better, “in the context of human-animal bond, how does domestic violence, school bullying, and the society as three environmental factors interpret the animal abuse phenomenon?”

Let’s go to today’s topic, “turning good questions into good science (answers).” In my opinion, this topic is actually adapted from what I mentioned above, and presented in a more macroscopic way. Dr. Zuidhof spent a whole class helping us to generate good questions. I’ve learned new aspects about how to ask a good question. According to Zuidhof, there are many criteria for generating a good question. The two that I think will be the most important are a) does it trigger any interest? B) will you get an answer? (is your hypothesis testable?)

For a), I believe it is the interest that drives me to ask the question and the subsequent motivation that makes me try to figure out the solution and to solve the problem. If a question does not trigger any interest at least in the person who asks this question, it is definitely not worth of answering.

For b), it is equally important to a). The question has to be testable and feasible in order to generate a convincible conclusion or answer. In my opinion, a good question requires at least half of the whole contribution you put on a project. It should be a well-educated question that contains potential of generating a good answer.