What is your research question (RQ)?

 

When presenting their dissertation, most students present a long list of their activities. After hearing the presentation like a project progress presentation, I have no choice but to ask, "What is your research question (RQ)?" The answer comes: "It is the development of something." Isn't that a topic, not an RQ? The reason why it is difficult to recognizea good thesis, even if you have delivered excellent results, is because the critical research question is missing.

 

Why is it difficult to differentiate between research topics and the RQ? The same applies to our students. During the lab seminars, they present theresults that were obtained this month, so they will do this and that next month. Period. Do we go to KAIST to work? Of course, we have to achieve the goals set by the project, so we have to do it well. However, if work is all about going to graduate school, it's better to get a job and get paid for a career. Because we don't go to KAIST to get paid through projects. The projects are only a means of research.

 

Will the RQ level increase if we become an experienced doctoral student? NOPE! The RQ level does not increase because of the long research period. In the case of language and sports skills, you should practice hard to improve your level a little bit. So is the level of research.

 

Brilliant students can actually create a plausible RQ. But is that your real research question? In other words, do you want to be remembered as the person who solved the RQ? We may say this is my RQ, but that is still about research topics. The possible reason for this seems to be that your mission has not yet been established. If your mission is not clear, it is difficult to create an RQ. Mission sounds like a too high level expression, but in other words, it is easy to understand “mission” with this question. What kind of person do you want to be in a few years? It can be a year later for some people, or 3 or 5 years later for those who look far away.

 

You might be reluctant to think about your mission seriously because you don't know what to do tomorrow in this uncertain world. But it's not about creating and keeping a detailed plan, it's about setting your lifetime direction. Once you have a mission statement, it can serve as the basis for the regular assessment and realignment of your life, as well as the basis for your choice at a crossroads. Of course, mission statements can also be revised over time.

 

For example, here is the mission statement of our laboratory. Please read once and think about what our laboratory will look like three years later.

 

Our research area is the development of new nuclear engineering materials and aims to develop nuclear fuels, fusion reactor materials and radioactive waste materials through research and development of new compositions, microstructures and processes that have never been reported. Currently, the development of next generation nuclear reactors, fusion reactors and radioactive waste disposal systems is progressing slowly due to the lack of "extreme environmental materials". Accelerate the implementation of future energy systems by developing new materials for extreme environments that can overcome these limitations to solve energy and environmental problems. In particular, "microstructure engineering", which examines the effect of the control of microstructures at the atomic or nanoscale level on the performance of new materials, is used in the field of nuclear engineering. Since the infinite combination of new hybrid materials is possible through the hybridizing metals, ceramics and polymers, we intend to develop new materials for nuclear fuels, fusion reactor materials and radioactive waste with innovative performance by using the "heterogeneity and complexity" of microstructure.