Generative AI tools might also be considered as your developing and refining a research question. GenAI can be especially useful during these early stages of the research process.
Generative AI would be a great source for background information on the topic you're researching! It provides you with just enough information fo you to understand the basics of the topic but will leave you with questions that should entice the writer to do further research.
A research question should be clear, focused, and concise to guide your investigation. Your research question should inform the structure and contents of your project and everything you cite should be related to your research question in some way.
Clear guidelines on what is expected out of the writer's research question. It's important to note that the question should not be just a 'yes' or 'no' kind of question. A more simple way to understand this: your thesis should be able to answer your research question by backing up, or negating, the claim using at least 3-5 sources of credible information.
Knowing what types of information you need will help you be more efficient and successful in your research.
Before college, when I was assigned a research project about a specific topic, I used to google the topic and select the top search results as reliable sources. However, looking back on it, I believe understanding exactly what kind of evidence or information is needed about said topic will significantly help the reader out in not only presenting the research, but better understanding the topic as well.