Starting The Research Process, Things You Must Consider

Starting the research process is always tiring as you have a lot of confusion about which area of research you should choose, and your topic as well. Starting is always confusing and tiring, but you can make it easier by adopting some structured steps. This article presents all that you should consider before starting the research process as you start writing a dissertation. These aspects are highlighted as follows;

Identify a Topic

The first and foremost step is the choice of a topic. For choosing the topic, you have to come up with ideas. It would help if you thought about general areas and fields in which you’re interested. Identify if you already have specific research interests based on the classes you’ve taken. It would be best to consider what your research topic would be based on your future study plan. For this you have to consider your topic. If you consider applying to a graduate school, you’ll need to write a statement of purpose.

After getting the big picture of your idea, you have to narrow it down. You will need to read widely for building background knowledge that will aid in this context. Collect some data from the past authentic sources and make notes. Identify problems, questions, debates, contradictions, and gaps within your research area. You should aim to narrow these aspects from a broad area of interest to a specific topic. When deciding your topic, you have to take many things into account, and have to answers many questions as well. What amount of time do you have for completing your research? Are the sources of research easily accessible? It would be best to discuss your topic with your supervisor before you go for it. This is because supervisors are capable of helping you in this domain.

Identify a Problem

Now that you’ve selected your research topic, the next thing to do is creating a problem statement. Suppose you have selected your research area and topic. But what will your research investigate, and why does it matter? To give your project focus and purpose, you must define a research problem. This research problem may be a practical issue like a practice that is not working well. The organisation performance might be getting affected by this practice. It can also be a difficulty that people of a society might be facing. You have to write a problem statement to link the problem with your research’s context. It is also used for the setting of your objectives. You have to analyse why the research is needed as well. Who is affected by the problem under discussion? You will have to evidently showcase how your research project will solve this problem too.

Formulate the Research Questions

Next you have to formulate research questions based on the problem statement. You have to write three or more research questions. These questions will exactly present what you want to find, and discuss through the research. They may focus on evaluating, comparing, describing, and explaining your research problem. The research questions should be complex, which need a detailed investigation, arguments, as well as analysis. These questions should be specific too. They should be relevant enough to answer the research problem thoroughly, using appropriate qualitative, or quantitative research methods.

Create a Research Design

The most significant part of a research is the choice of research design. It is the practical framework that you’ll use for answering your research questions. It is also related to making decisions about the type of data you’ll be needing. It guides you about the methods to collect, and analyse data with as well. It also fixes the location, and timescale of your problem statement.

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There are several ways through which you can select the answer for your research questions. The decisions you make will be based on your research requirements. You have to decide whether you want to use primary, or secondary data aspects. You have to see if the research method will be qualitative, or quantitative. At this stage, you have to determine the specific tools, as well as processes. You also have to locate the materials for collecting and analysing your data. You have to select the criteria for selecting participants, and sources for your research at this stage as well.

Choice of Storage

In the last step, you have to decide on the aspect regarding selection of storage. You will have to decide where to save all research-related data and information. For this you have to choose a safe place. This is because research process takes a lot of time, and if data is lost, you’ll have to start all over again.