“To settle a question, it must be answerable, and you must be clear about it and understand what is needed to answer it adequately.” - Richard Paul and Linda Elder, Critical Thinking

It is important to fully ingest the Research Criteria. Before commencing research, wrap your mind around the request to envision what information gives the client value.

Ingesting the question (i.e. the Research Criteria) consists of two aspects:

• Break down the question into more manageable, smaller steps
• Considering what an ideal response will look like

1. Break Down The Request Criteria

You can dissect the assignment by breaking it down into smaller steps. Research Managers (RM) have already broken down the central question in a request into sub-questions to answer (i.e., the Research Criteria). However, if the Research Outline is still complex, break it down into simpler, answerable sub-questions.

If the Research Criteria are simple, this is unnecessary (ex. “Provide the founding date of a company”).

If the Research Criteriaares complex (ex. “Provide the company’s EBITDA”), take note of the complexities. In this example, there is an underlying assumption. The Research Criteria assumes that the company is a public company and publishes its financial reports. Here’s how to break down this Research Criteria into the sub-questions:

• Is this a public company?
• If so, what is the EBITDA?
• If not, what information can I provide that is similar to the EBITDA?

Another way to clarify the criteria is to extract the question from the Research Criteria. Sometimes there is a lot of information in the Research Criteria. While useful, it can sometimes distract from what the direct assignment details. Extract the question from the Research Criteria and take note of the additional information so you don’t forget what’s needed. Below is an example of how to extract the question.

Example

To access the example, click on the arrow to the left. This will expand the text.