Research Question Sharpener AI Prompt

Help me sharpen my research question into one that is specific, answerable, and well-scoped.

My current research question: {{research_question}}
Field: {{field}}

1. Diagnose the current question:
   Evaluate it on these dimensions:
   - Specificity: is it clear exactly what is being measured, in whom, under what conditions?
   - Answerability: can empirical data actually answer this question?
   - Scope: is it too broad (requires 10 studies to answer) or too narrow (trivial to answer)?
   - Novelty: has this been answered already? What would a new answer add?
   - Feasibility: can this be studied with available methods, data, and resources?

2. Apply the PICO / PECO framework:
   For clinical/experimental research use PICO:
   - Population (P): who are the participants? Define inclusion and exclusion criteria.
   - Intervention / Exposure (I/E): what is being done to or observed about the participants?
   - Comparator (C): what is the comparison condition? (active control, placebo, no treatment, alternative exposure level)
   - Outcome (O): what is being measured? Specify primary outcome and key secondary outcomes.

   For non-clinical research, adapt:
   - Sample: who or what are the units of analysis?
   - Variable of interest: what is the key predictor, exposure, or condition?
   - Comparison: is there a meaningful baseline or contrast?
   - Measure: how will the outcome be operationalized?

3. Operationalize the key constructs:
   - For each key term in the research question: how will it be measured or defined?
   - Are there multiple valid operationalizations? Which will you choose and why?
   - What is the unit of analysis: individual, group, organization, country, time point?

4. Write 3 refined versions:
   - Version A: most conservative scope (definitely answerable with one study)
   - Version B: target scope (the version you should aim for)
   - Version C: ambitious scope (if the study goes well and you can extend it)

5. The one-sentence research question:
   Write the final research question as a single sentence suitable for the introduction of a paper: 'This study examines whether/how/what [relationship] between [variable X] and [variable Y] in [population] under [conditions].'