Turn a broad global topic into a researchable issue
Move from a broad theme to a focused issue, a clear question and a reason to investigate it.
Exam scope and assessment notes
This lesson uses original StudyForA explanations and fictional practice scenarios; it is not Cambridge text or an official assessment. The current syllabus for the learner's exam year and their centre instructions take precedence. All 22 broad themes are optional issue contexts, not 22 bodies of facts to memorise: Cambridge says topic knowledge is not assessed and candidates are not expected to experience every theme. Candidates select relevant themes with their teacher. Paper 1 / Component 1 is externally assessed. Component 2 is internally set and externally marked; use centre guidance for topic choice and submission. Component 3 is internally assessed and externally moderated; it requires a real team of two to five and centre assessment. StudyForA practice is original self-check support, not Cambridge material, an official mark scheme, an authenticated report, assessed team evidence or a predicted grade. Private candidates cannot enter for 0457; confirm the exam year, series and centre arrangements.
Before you begin
- Read the question and identify the issue, source or assessment component it concerns.
Work on paper. Try each question before revealing help, and explain why your method works.
Quick readiness check
Which question is most suitable for a small, ethical school investigation?
What you will learn
- Frame an important global issue and its causes or consequences
- Develop a focused research question
- Identify evidence that could inform a course of action
A topic is a starting point, not a conclusion
A broad theme such as transport or education contains many different issues. A useful enquiry identifies a specific problem, who is affected, where it occurs and why it matters. Cambridge does not assess prior factual knowledge of the topic; sources and research provide the evidence for a particular enquiry.
Make the question answerable
A focused question names a relationship or decision that evidence could help examine. Avoid questions that assume a cause, demand a yes-or-no opinion, or cover the whole world at once. Check that reliable, contrasting evidence can be found ethically and within the project time.
Sources for this lesson
Pause and explain
What should be checked before committing to a research question?
Worked example
A class is interested in food waste. Refine that theme into a question that could be investigated at one school.
Show the worked solution
- Name a local setting and a specific aspect of food waste.
- Avoid assuming why waste occurs or which solution must work.
- Choose evidence that can be gathered safely and compared.
Answer A focused question could be: ‘How do the portion sizes offered at one school cafeteria relate to the amount of edible food left after lunch?’ It defines a setting and a measurable relationship; it does not assume a cause or prove that the same result applies elsewhere.
Try a topic test
Choose Easy, Normal or Difficult. Save your answers and open worked review after finishing.
Test this topic →From guided practice to a new situation
Write your answer and reasoning first. Use a hint only if you are stuck. The model solution is for self-checking; your written work is not automatically marked.
A learner chooses the theme ‘digital world’. Write a focused research question about one local issue and name two kinds of evidence that could answer it.
Give me a hint
Specify the group, setting, issue and outcome; use more than personal opinion.
Compare my reasoning
- Choose one local group and a concrete digital-world issue.
- Phrase a neutral, answerable question with a defined outcome.
- Name two suitable evidence types and explain what each could show.
Example: ‘How does a school’s optional phone-free study period affect the number of interruptions learners report during one week?’ Evidence could include an anonymous, voluntary interruption log and a short questionnaire before and after the period. This would be a small local study, not proof of a universal effect.
Look for these in your work
- Defines a local setting and outcome
- Uses neutral wording
- Names evidence and a limit
A group asks, ‘Should every city ban cars?’ Improve the question for a local investigation and explain one limit.
Give me a hint
Narrow the place, the travel setting and the effect you can observe.
Compare my reasoning
- Choose a defined area or journey.
- Focus on an effect that can be observed or researched.
- State what the smaller study cannot establish.
One option is: ‘How might a timed vehicle-free street outside one school affect travel choices and access during the morning arrival period?’ The group could compare counts and interview willing users. One school entrance cannot establish the effects of a permanent ban across every city.
Look for these in your work
- Narrows the context
- Chooses an observable question
- Qualifies generalisation
A draft asks whether ‘social media destroys wellbeing’. Identify two problems and rewrite it as an answerable question.
Give me a hint
Avoid a loaded causal claim and define a population, measure and timeframe.
Compare my reasoning
- Identify the loaded wording and assumed causal relationship.
- Select a defined population and a measurable experience.
- Rewrite as a question that permits more than one result.
‘Destroys’ is emotive and the question assumes causation. A more researchable version is: ‘What association do students in one year group report between evening social-media use and their self-rated sleep duration over one week?’ Self-report and a short timeframe would limit conclusions, and an association would not prove that use caused sleep changes.
Look for these in your work
- Identifies bias in wording
- Defines a population and measure
- Separates association from causation
Common mistakes
- Treating a theme as if it were already a research question
- Building a preferred answer into the wording
- Choosing an issue without checking whether evidence can be gathered
What can you explain now?
Which question is most suitable for a small, ethical school investigation?
Compare with the explanation
How does offering two portion sizes affect uneaten food in one cafeteria over two comparable weeks?
It identifies a local setting, a testable change and an observable outcome.
After trying it yourself, choose your next review. This is your self-assessment.
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Make it stick
State the difference between a broad topic, a global issue and a focused research question.
If you needed the solution, close it and solve the problem again from a blank page. A correct answer is stronger when you can explain the reason for each step.