The research question.
When the seeds of a research idea begin to germinate, researchers use a systematic and rational process to develop the idea into a refined research question and then determine the appropriate study design. Knowledge of the characteristics of a good research question helps researchers formulate a valid statement of the problem under study and then narrow it to a researchable question. A simple visual mechanism simplifies conceptualization of the study area. Finally, a building-block approach helps researchers organize knowledge from the existing research literature, so as to refine the question and select the appropriate level of testing. At the end of this phase, researchers have refined the initial research idea to an explicit statement, ready for testing.