J. R. Thomas, J. K. Nelson, and S. J. Silverman indicated that the aims of the sciences are to describe, explain, predict, and control the objects and phenomena that we encounter. Inexperienced graduate students tend to be fascinated by sophisticated statistical methods but forget that the first priority when conducting research is to address fundamental considerations inherent in the research questions-this is the error of "focusing on the superficial but neglecting the essential." The objectives of this essay are to discuss this bias, highlight the nature of research methods, and offer some examples in which methods are appropriately matched to research questions. These illustrate a fundamental tenet underlying research: research questions decide methods, not vice versa. Last, this essay provides some strategies for generating research questions in sports science.