Dear Sanaullah,

I think two of the best techniques for a good research question is first reading works, or research projects in the related field. Second is asking the people that have worked on the topic, that is authorities in the field, techers and researchers who have somehow tackled the issue. I always advice my students to ask other teachers about a research problem, especially to those who sometimes we know they work in the area at hand.

My five cents

Jorge 

Dear Dr. Jorge E. Benavides B., thank you very much for your answer. ;) 

reading books or research papers that are related to your field and you can also search for some online courses MOOCs like coursera- edx.org, MIT, futurelearn

Dear Mai Fathy Muhammad El-Sagheer, thank you for adding your answer. 

I agree, reading books on the topic, and also not on the specific topic. In my experience, the problem came out when I read philosophy, literary studies, also socio-cultural studies, they provide you a different kind of perspective. Also, is very helpful think the literature in context, not as an isolate novel or author. Good look!

Dear Marina Fucito, thank you very much for  your feedback. 

I too agree with the above said views. Conferences and seminars will provide the researchers with research ideas. Reading and understanding of critical theories also enable one to have a new reading of a known text. Abstracts of the Theses(Ph. D/M.Phil) would give scope for further research. Some journal articles also provoke the critical thinking and lead to give a contrast perspective.

I too agree, the above answers. In my research, I found we should discuss with fellow researchers and interdisciplinary researchers too, to find out the differences in their research. Brainstorming with other researchers really helped me to find myself.  Especially Literature is a very wide area with so many interdisciplinary connections. So I find Judith Sophia rightly answered. Best Wishes.

According to my personal experience, I think that the first thing to be done is to select an area of interest and start narrowing down the scope of research. Then you can draft a list of topics and questions and start reading articles and attending conferences accordingly and see which subject hasn't been explored.

The quest for knowledge then is the basic idea behind research. Research has been defined differently by different people. It is perhaps best understood through a clear description of its key characteristics. Research is a systematic, formal, rigorous and precise process employed to gain solutions to problems or to discover and interpret new facts and relationships. Applied research is increasingly gaining favor  as it is helps to address the problems facing the world today such as overpopulation, pollution, depletion of natural resources, drought, floods, declining moral standards and disease. Action research is a unique form of applied research. It is a reflective process of progressive problem solving. It is also called "practitioner research" because of the involvement of the actual practitioner in real life.

Dear Ms. Judith Sophia, Ms. Vasishta Bhargavi, Ms. Ines Belkahla and Ms. Kiran Grover !! Thank you very much for adding your answers to my query.