On this page
- Start with a recurring management problem
- Separate the problem from its possible causes
- Narrow the issue to a manageable focus
- Turn the focus into a question that invites evidence
- Check whether the question is feasible and responsible
- Use literature and academic guidance to refine it
- A quick question-quality check
- Frequently asked questions
Start with a recurring management problem
A useful DBA research question begins with a specific management problem that matters in an organization or professional field. Instead of starting with a broad subject such as leadership or employee engagement, describe a recurring situation: a team struggles to retain experienced staff, a service unit faces repeated delays, or a change initiative is not being adopted as expected.
Keep the first description grounded in what you have observed. What is happening? Who is affected? Where and when does it occur? What makes it important to understand? These details help separate a researchable management concern from a general interest area.
Separate the problem from its possible causes
An observed problem is not yet an explanation. For example, a manager may notice that project handoffs are often late, but the cause could involve unclear responsibilities, competing priorities, incomplete information, a process design issue, or several factors together.
Write down what you know, what you have assumed and what you do not know. This distinction helps prevent a research question from quietly presuming its answer. A study can then investigate the situation rather than simply confirm a preferred explanation.
Narrow the issue to a manageable focus
A focused research question sets boundaries around the people, setting, process and period you want to examine. You might move from “Why do organizations struggle with change?” to a question about how employees in a particular type of organization experience one defined change process.
Try this narrowing sequence: name the management issue; identify the organizational context; specify the group or process involved; and decide what aspect you want to understand. You are not required to use every boundary in the final question, but thinking through them reveals whether the project is too broad for the time and evidence available.
Turn the focus into a question that invites evidence
A research question should make clear what you want to learn and leave room for evidence to shape the answer. Questions such as “How do department managers describe the factors that affect adoption of a new reporting process?” or “What relationship exists between onboarding practices and early employee retention in a defined setting?” give a study a clearer direction than “How can the company improve?”
The wording should match the kind of inquiry you intend to conduct. A question about experiences may call for interviews or other qualitative evidence; a question about patterns or relationships may call for quantitative evidence. The final design depends on the research purpose, literature, access to data, ethics and academic guidance.
Check whether the question is feasible and responsible
Before becoming attached to a question, check whether you can investigate it. Consider whether relevant data or participants are accessible, whether the study can be completed within the available scope, and whether the topic raises privacy, confidentiality or conflicts-of-interest concerns.
If the organization is your own workplace, make a plan for handling sensitive information and for distinguishing your professional role from your researcher role. Follow the university’s current research ethics and review requirements before collecting data. Do not assume that access to internal information automatically means it is appropriate to use.
Use literature and academic guidance to refine it
Reading credible research helps you understand how others have defined the problem, what is already known and where a useful question may remain. A literature review can also expose terms that need clearer definition and methods that may or may not fit your setting.
Treat the first wording as a working version. Discuss it with a research advisor, revise it as you learn more, and check that it aligns with the study’s purpose, method and evidence. At UBIS, the DBA program describes management-connected research, research-methods coursework and faculty guidance for dissertation work; confirm current requirements with the university.
Review the UBIS DBA program and research overviewA quick question-quality check
Before moving ahead, ask: Can I explain the management problem in a few sentences? Does the question identify a clear focus? Could evidence meaningfully answer it? Is the scope manageable? Have I avoided building my preferred conclusion into the wording? What ethical or access questions need to be resolved?
If one answer is unclear, that is a useful signal to revise or gather more context. The goal is not to make the question sound complicated. It is to make the inquiry focused enough to guide rigorous research and relevant enough to matter to management practice.
Frequently asked questions
Can my DBA research question come from a problem at my workplace?
A workplace issue can be a starting point when it is relevant to management and can be investigated responsibly. Confirm data access, confidentiality, ethics and academic fit with your research advisor before collecting information.
Does my first DBA research question need to be final?
No. Treat it as a working question. Literature review, feasibility checks, methods planning and advisor feedback may lead you to refine its focus and wording.