Research Process

Steps in a Research Process

Step 1: Decide on a topic

Deciding on a topic is the first step you should focus on. Here are some important step-wise strategies

1. Look into the subject area and most advanced fields of the subject being conducted in this process. For Example, If your main subject of research is "Education" Then, First Look for the most advanced form of Education using google scholar, ProQuest or any search engine you may come across, new ideas and topics:

My research showed me 3 options:

Interactive Learning
Online Learning
Self Learning

I find "Online Learning" as most suitable depending on my Current course need, so the topic has been identified to the subject area level:

2. The next step is to state the research problem, and formulate a research question accordingly

For example: in the current example: problems identified for Online Education are less interaction with teachers, time bounded, no self-support, need for internet etc.

You may pick any of these problems and either try to find a knowledge gap in the area or solve this problem depending on the research method you adopt for your thesis writing.

Download this File and answer the questions to Easily Formulate the

research Idea

Step 2: Develop an overview of the topic

This step is most often ignored but is imperative for the success of the research process. It will help you to:

gather background information
refine your topic
develop a general bibliography
identify additional keywords related to your topic, useful when searching for additional topic-related information.
Working from "general" to "specific" is most effective:
get an overview of the topic by referring to general encyclopedias, such as the online Encyclopedia Britannica to learn more about the topic
begin to browse the library's catalogue to find sources held by the library that relates to your topic
browse subject-based encyclopedias, handbooks and directories to begin to refine your topic
review the footnotes, endnotes, and bibliographies from the end of subject-based encyclopedia and handbook articles to identify related sources. Also, refer to bibliographies in course textbooks and reserve readings
browse subject-related, indexed sources on the World Wide Web to find sources that relate to your topic:

Step 3: Determine the information requirements

In this step, you determine the information requirements for the research question --
where will you find the information you need?
Learn what specific resources are available concerning your topic:
• meet with a reference librarian
• find books using keyword or subject searching in the library's catalogue
• use indexes and abstracts to find journal/periodical articles
- choose appropriate indexes for the subject you are researching. For example, you
should not use an index of business resources to search for information concerning
European history.
• find resources via the World Wide Web

Step 4: Organize the information

Know when to stop searching for information and start thinking about what your
compiled information means. This is also one of the most important steps for ethically using the information and avoiding plagiarism.

make sure you write down where you found any information in case you have to review it again. You will also need this information for references and your list of works cited.
format your citations using standard formats
print out what you find and write down the date you found it as well websites the complete Web address (the URL)
think over the ideas you read from the sources used, and write them down in your own words. This is called paraphrasing, and it will help keep you away from plagiarizing
Do you have enough information to complete your research? If not, you may have to repeat several of the previous steps and/or extend the research process

Step 5: Analyse and evaluate the information

Relate the information you have found and compiled, and your ideas from reading and thinking about the information, to your topic.

• analyze your notes

- break down your notes into topic themes or categories
- decide how these themes or categories relate to your topic

• discard notes that do not relate to your thesis
• look for holes in your thesis statement support and go back to find the information you are missing

- do you have enough information to complete your research? If not, you may have to repeat several of the previous steps and/or extend the research process

Step 6: Synthesize the information

• refine your thesis based on the information compiled, read, and considered outline your project
• begin to write your paper

Step 7: Communicate/present the research

• Communicate your research in the format required by your professor
• Properly use citations to avoid plagiarism