Research Question Refiner
Asking the AI to explain its reasoning transforms this from a question-writing service into a research methods lesson.
I'm working on a research paper for {{course_name}} and need help refining my research question.\n\nBroad topic area: {{broad_topic}}\nMy initial question: {{initial_question}}\nAssignment requirements: {{assignment_requirements}}\nWord/page limit: {{length_limit}}\n\nHelp me by:\n1. Evaluating my initial question (too broad? too narrow? testable?)\n2. Suggesting 3 refined versions that are specific and arguable\n3. For each refined version, identify:\n - The type of evidence I'd need\n - Potential sources to look for\n - The likely counterargument\n4. Recommend which question is most feasible given my page limit\n\nExplain your reasoning so I learn to evaluate research questions myself.
Variables to customize
Why this prompt works
Asking the AI to explain its reasoning transforms this from a question-writing service into a research methods lesson.
Save this prompt to your library
Organize, version, and access your best prompts across ChatGPT, Claude, and Cursor.
Related prompts
Forcing the agent to plan before acting prevents premature execution and wasted steps. Explicit dependency mapping enables parallel execution and catches logical gaps early.
Tool Selection AgentThe ReAct pattern (Reason + Act) creates an explicit reasoning trace that improves tool selection accuracy. The error-handling rule prevents infinite retry loops.
Prompt CompressorExplicitly requiring all functional requirements to be preserved prevents the model from over-compressing and losing critical instructions.
Memory Management AgentExplicit memory read/write instructions create agents that improve over time. Categorization keeps memories organized, and the deduplication rule prevents context bloat.