Huvudfrågor

Huvudfrågor is a term used in Swedish to denote the central or overarching questions that guide inquiry, analysis, or planning. The word combines huvud (main, head) with frågor (questions). In practice, huvudfrågor define the focus of a project, study or discussion and help determine its scope, methods and intended outcomes.

Used across disciplines, huvudfrågor appear in research design, policy analysis, journalism, education and business strategy. In research, they articulate the primary aims and are typically supported by subfrågor that break the topic into answerable components. The main questions can be open-ended to explore phenomena or structured to obtain specific data.

Formulating huvudfrågor involves starting with a clear problem statement and the desired conclusions. Questions should be answerable with the planned methods, and there is value in keeping the number small—often one to three huvudfrågor, each paired with subfrågor. It is important to ensure alignment with aims, stakeholders and ethical considerations, and to test the formulation with colleagues or intended respondents to identify ambiguity or bias.

Example: A study of transit policy might pose huvudfrågor such as: What are the main effects of a city-wide bus rapid transit program on travel times and emissions? How do different populations experience access to transit, and what conditions improve equity? Subfrågor would cover data sources, methods, temporal scope, and implementation context.