A Guide to Start Research Process – Meaning, Procedure and Tips

Research Process  is basically a systematic study on specific subjects which include different activities such as data collection, data analysis, and interpretation. It basically includes searching for information on a specific topic or subject. Research activity mainly includes discovering facts or
figures about the phenomenon. The main objective of investigation is to increase knowledge about a particular field. Another purpose of the investigation is to search for possible solutions to a particular problem.

Example: An organization is facing the issue of continuous decline in sales and profit. Management in an organization is high level of concern about the problem. Manager ask research and development team to perform the investigation for identifying the root cause of problem.

Research Process – Step By Step

Before beginning with the investigation you need to decide whether you want to perform primary and secondary research.

Step 1st – Primary research

It is the type of investigation where  you need to collect information yourself. Such type of research which you are performing for addressing specific issue then there is a requirement of performing detail analysis. In such type of investigation, the techniques which you can apply for the collection of facts include survey, interview, observation, etc.

Step 2nd – Secondary research

In such types of studies, the investigator mainly uses the information which is already present. Secondary research includes synthesis, collation, and summary of existing study which other researcher has perform.

For example : Suppose, researcher has perform study for identifying the number of person died due to cancer .Your collection of the information about the same can access the record of patients by management team on hospital. It is phase where you can make choice of type of study which you need to perform. You can make such choice on the basis of three factors these are aim, objective and nature of problem.

Step 3rd – Identification of the issue

It is the stage where you need to clearly define the issue. At this stage, where you are need to clearly address those people who have got highly influence by a particular issue. In addition to this, you need to provide an explanation about the way investigation which you are performing will help in dealing with a specific type of problem.

Step 4th – Designing of research questions

This is a stage where you need to create the research question on the basis of objectives and problem statement. All the questions  which you have design  need to be specific. It is a stage where two or three questions are sufficient. In the last question, you should ask for suggestions for dealing with a specific problem. In the context of Quantitative research, you need to formulate the hypothesis for testing.

Example: Researcher is conducting for analyzing the effect of globalization on business activities. Some of research questions which  researcher can design are :

• What challenges the organization is facing because of globalization?
• Importance of globalization for companies?
• What techniques firms can be apply for dealing with global issues?

Selection of  design

Research design is basically a strategy which researcher adopts for getting answer to their questions. At this stage, you need to determine the type of information you intend to collect by performing the investigation on a particular research topic. This is a phase where you need to clearly define the techniques which you have applied for accumulating facts related to the topic or subjecting

 Writing the research proposal

After establishing aims and objectives, designing of research question after that you need to write a research proposal. The research proposal consists of detail about the background, plan, and purpose of research. It is the section in the dissertation that also includes objectives, aim, research questions and statement of the problem. You also have to include the literature review part in

Tips for starting research

Execution of investigation in a systematic manner is very much essential for accomplishing desired objectives :

• Before the beginning of the investigation, you should develop a proper plan . You also need to make a proper arrangement of resources. It is a technique which will help you in eliminating the barriers in study.
• While selecting the topic for performing study, you should consider the different types of issues such as ethical or legal issues associated with the execution of investigation .
• Ethical issues are basically the kind of problem in which you will require to make a balance between different alternates. When you do not follow the laws and regulations while performing investigation than such types of an issue might arise.
• Before beginning the investigation, you need to develop an in-depth understanding of the subject or topic. After the selection of the topic, you will require to establish aim And Objectives. As these are two important elements of research that will help you in determining the activities you need to perform.
• You should clearly define the problem statement.
• The other advice is that after selecting the topic you should have a discussion about the same with your supervisor or teammates at the time of first meeting with Thesis supervisor.
• Selection of appropriate research design is very much important for accomplishing desired aims and objective
• While selecting the topic you should seek support from your supervisor etc.