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A proper research question forms the backbone of every scholarly study. In principle each research question originates from a specific question you want to ask concerning a certain phenomenon or process in reality and an idea of what the answer to your question could be, a hypothesis. Your interest in the phenomenon, the formulation of the research question and the hypothesis form the source for developing a scholarly research question. Therefore, it is advisable to write down your provisional research question and hypothesis at the beginning of your research process, and after that you specify your definitive research question based on the following five principle guidelines.