Overview of the research

process
T.TARUGARIRA
This module gives you a solid foundation
for carrying out and compiling your final
research project before graduation as well
as prepare you for any other research
work that you may wish to undertake
outside your current academic studies..”

T.TARUGARIRA
The Research Process
Anything you write involves organization and a logical flow of ideas.

Therefore, understanding the logic of the research process before beginning to write is essential.

In this brief introductory module, we’ll review the major steps in the research process.

It is conceptualized here as a series of steps within a circle, with each step dependent on the previous
one.

The circle depicts the recursive nature of the process; that is, once the process has been completed,
the researcher may begin again by refining or expanding on the initial approach, or even pioneering a
completely new approach to solving the problem
Research process
Research processes
STAGE 1- PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
You identify a research problem by first selecting a general topic that’s interesting to you and to the interests
and specialties of your research advisor.
Once identified, you’ll need to narrow it. For example, if teenage pregnancy is your general topic area, your
specific topic could be effects of teenage pregnancy in rural and urban set-ups.

STAGE 2-LITERATURE REVIEW

Find out what’s being asked or what’s already been done in the area by other researchers by doing some
exploratory reading.
Discuss the topic with your advisor to gain additional insights, explore novel approaches, and begin to develop
your research question, purpose statement, and hypothesis(es), if applicable.
Determine The Research Question

A good research question is one that poses a problem worth solving.

 A good question should:

Be clear i.e it must be understandable to you and to others.

Be researchable i.e it should be capable of developing into a manageable research design, so that data
may be collected in relation to it.
Connect with established theory and research. There should be a literature on which you can draw
to illuminate how your research question(s) should be approached.
Be neither too broad nor too narrow.
Stage 4: Develop Research Methods

 Once you’ve finalized your research question, purpose statement, and

hypothesis(es), you’ll need to write your research proposal.
 A research proposal is a detailed management plan for your research project.
 The proposal is as essential to successful research as an architect’s plans are to
the construction of a building.
 It’s basically a marketing tool to financiers who might want to fund your
research and outlines issues such as the scope, justification, feasibility, budget
and timelines of your research.
Stage 5 :Collect & Analyze Data

In Practical Research–Planning and Design (2005, 8th Edition), Leedy and Ormrod provide excellent
advice for what the researcher does at this stage in the research process.
The researcher now

1. collects data that potentially relate to the problem,

2. arranges the data into a logical organizational structure,

3. analyzes and interprets the data to determine their meaning,

4. determines if the data resolves the research problem or not, and

5. determines if the data support the hypothesis or not.

Stage 6: Document the Work

Understand that when you embark on research, you aren’t embearking on a journey tha hasnot been
done before.
You will need to make citations and make reference to what other authors/researchers have published.

Research reports differ by discipline, therefore the most effective way for you to understand

formatting and citations is to examine reports from others in your department or field.
The library’s electronic databases provide a wealth of examples illustrating how others in your field
document their research.
Be cautious and avoid plagiarism at this stage is it will discredit you as an ethical scholar.
Stage 7: Communicate Your Research

Talk with your advisor about potential local, regional, or national venues to present your findings.

And don’t sell yourself short: Consider publishing your research in related books or journals.

Stage 8: Refine/Expand, Pioneer

Earlier, we emphasized the fact that the research process, rather than being linear, is recursive—the
reason we conceptualized the process as a series of steps within a circle.

At this stage, you may need to revisit your research problem in the context of your findings. You
might also investigate the implications of your work and identify new problems or refine your
previous approach.

The process then begins anew . . . and you’ll once again move through the series of steps in the
circle