process /steps of research

Process of research

Research is often conducted using the hourglass model structure of research. The hourglass model starts with a broad spectrum for research, focusing in on the required information through the method of the project (like the neck of the hourglass) narrowing down to focus on one specific aspect, then expands the research in the form of discussion, conclusion and results. The major steps in conducting research are:

§  Identification of research problem

§  Literature review

§  Specifying the purpose of research

§  Determine specific research questions or hypotheses

§  Data collection

§  Analyzing and interpreting the data

§  Reporting and evaluating research

 Step 1: Identify the Problem

The first step in the process is to identify a problem or develop a research question. The research problem may be something the agency identifies as a problem, some knowledge or information that is needed by the agency, or the desire to identify a hypothesis.

Step 2: Review the Literature

Now that the problem has been identified, the researcher must learn more about the topic under investigation. To do this, the researcher must review the literature related to the research problem. This step provides foundational knowledge about the problem area. The review of literature also educates the researcher about what studies have been conducted in the past, how these studies were conducted, and the conclusions in the problem area.

Step 3: Generate a Research Hypothesis

After choosing a research question, the next step is to formulate a research hypothesis (plural: hypotheses). A research hypothesis is a tentative answer to the research question. That is, after reading previous research studies, researchers predict in advance what they think the outcome of a research study will be. Researchers form hypotheses "tentative answers for a research question" because the hypothesis will influence how the research study is conducted. Which method a researcher chooses will also depend on the hypothesis, i.e. the answer a researcher aims to find. Several criteria determine whether a hypothesis is testable (i.e., can be investigated in a research study). First, the concepts addressed by the hypothesis must be clearly defined and measurable.

After reading research studies related to your research question, you may consider whether your personal experiences match what is described by the theories and past research. You may also "brainstorm" to think of "exceptions to the rule." That is, a theory or past research may describe only specific situations; you may think of conditions in which the theory may not apply. As you continue to read research articles, you will find inconsistencies or disagreements among researchers.

In all of these situations, you may think of explanations for the discrepancies among previous research articles, and why the theories and research may differ from your own experience. These explanations become fruitful research hypotheses.

Step 4: Designing research

The process of how the research should be conducted is planned in this step. A proper step by step analyze needs to be done to attain conclusion on time and right. Data can be collected in the form of words on a survey, with a questionnaire, through observations, or from the literature.

Step 5: Collect Data

Once the instrumentation plan is completed, the actual study begins with the collection of data. The collection of data is a critical step in providing the information needed to answer the research question. Every study includes the collection of some type of data—whether it is from the literature or from subjects—to answer the research question. The programmers will be collecting data on the defined variables.

Step 6: Analyze the Data

All the time, effort, and resources dedicated to steps 1 through 7 of the research process culminate in this final step. The researcher finally has data to analyze so that the research question can be answered. In the instrumentation plan, the researcher specified how the data will be analyzed. The researcher now analyzes the data according to the plan. The results of this analysis are then reviewed and summarized in a manner directly related to the research questions.

 These two sets of data will be analyzed to determine if there was a difference between the first measurement and the second measurement for each individual in the program. Then, the data will be analyzed to determine if the differences are statistically significant.

Step 7: Reporting and evaluating the research

After analyzing the data, we get to know if the hypothesis were true or false. Filing the report is the last step.

We have to probably conclude, conducting studies using the seven steps of the scientific research process requires you to dedicate time and effort to the planning process. You cannot conduct a study using the scientific research process when time is limited or the study is done at the last minute. Researchers who do this conduct studies that result in either false conclusions or conclusions that are not of any value to the organization.