BEDER

INTERNATIONAL
UNIVERSITY-BORAMA
Mr. Mohamed A. Abdirahman
CHAPTER TWO
RESEARCH PROCESS
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AGENDA
RESEARCH TOPIC

METHOD OF SELECTING
RESEARCH TOPIC
CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD
RESEARCH TOPIC
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WHAT IS
RESEARCH
TOPIC??!!!
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RESEARCH TOPIC

» A research topic is a subject or issue that a researcher

is interested in when conducting research.
» A well-defined research topic is the starting point of
every successful research project.
» Choosing a topic is an ongoing process by which
researchers explore, define, and refine their ideas.
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The research topic

» The subject of subject matter of a proposed study.

⋄ Describe in a few words
⋄ The central idea you want to learn about
» The topic can be researched if
⋄ You have access to participants
⋄ You have resource to collect and analyze information
» The topic should be researched if
⋄ The research will add to the literature about the topic
information
⋄ Scholars will be interested in the topic
⋄ A study of it will be advance your personal goals
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Methods of selecting research

topic
There are four steps for defining a research
topic.
» Getting Ideas
» Choose a Topic
» Making It a Research Question
» Refining the Research Question
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Step 1. Getting Idea

» Students may encounter two problems:
⋄ Too many ideas
⋄ No idea at all
» The purpose of the research project should be
understood: Is the research for a class assignment or
are for publication?
» A topic for a class assignment will be different from a
topic for a peer-reviewed journal submission.
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Getting Idea, Consideration!!!

» The purpose of research
» Requirement of research
» Time to complete
» Paper long
» how many reference
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Identifying research topic idea

» Identify the broad problem area related to
interest area to determine the research
problem.
⋄ E.G. Economic growth
» Seek out specific research problem within
these broad areas.
» Clarify research topic and research area
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Continue……………
» Research area is a broad issue of concern which has not
specific area of investigation (what the study about?)
» Research topis is a focused area which has selected target
population (what are the variables of the study)
» Research area: Economic Growth
» Research topic: Effect of Small business on economic
growth in Borama Town, Somaliland.
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Step 2. Choose a topic

After getting some ideas, the next step is choosing a
topic.
» An idea is usually very general whereas a
research topic is more focused.
» A good research topic is interesting, manageable,
and valuable.
» When choosing a topic, one should select a topic
that interests him or her personally.
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Continue……
Topic must be interesting
» Interests in the topic and curiosity to find an answer can
provide motivations and make the research process fun.
» One should also choose a topic that one can relate to.
Make sure that the scope of the topic is manageable.
» a topic like global warming or the history of the Internet
is not likely to encourage a thorough research project
because the topic is too broad and cannot be analyzed in
depth within a few.
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Continue…
The topic should have values and add something new to
the discipline.
» Jason S. Wrench and colleagues indicated that a
valuable topic can fill a “gap.”
⋄ Context gap
⋄ Sample gap
⋄ Update Information gap
⋄ Conceptual gap
⋄ Theoretical gap
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Step 3: Making It a Research Question

» The next step is to narrow the topic to formulate a specific
research question. 
» Developing a specific research question helps keep the
research focused and channel one’s energies into a
productive purpose.
» A good research question identifies a theme that will help
one to navigate available research and provide the
guidance on how to add or eliminate literature.
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Do's and Don’ts when making
topis as question
Do Don’t
» A good research question Should be avoided
is a question that ⋄ Questions that are too
⋄ Clear ⋄ complicated,
⋄ Concise ⋄ Fuzzy
⋄ Can be answered. ⋄ Not possible to answer
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Step 4: Refining the Research
Question
To refine the research question. 
» Searches previous studies to see whether the question
is too board or too narrow, or whether it has already
been answered.
» This literature helps one assess the status of
published research and information about the
research question and provides an overview of the
research question.
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Source of Research topic

» Personal Experience: A topic can be suggested from

every day experience for which they are not scientific
justification.
» Need assessment: identifying the significant of needs
and procedure of satisfying the area is needed to make
a research.
» Existing theory: a theory is well-substained
explanation of some aspect of the natural world.
» Existing literature: Source of information which can be
retrieved from analysis.
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Characteristics of good
research
» Summarize the main idea of the research
simply and with a style.
» Explanatory on its own.
» Avoid word redundance
» Avoid abbreviations
» Must be between 12 to 18 words
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END
THANKS FOR YOUR
ATTENTION