The Research Process

Research process
• a systematic manner in which the researcher
approaches his/her area of study to produce
knowledge that the community will consider
to be worthwhile within the field (Rao, 2017).
Understanding such process is an important
step towards executing any study.
Five phases of the research process along with their definition
(Whittemore & Melkus, 2008)
Significant steps in
conducting a study
Rao (2017)
 
1. Define the research problem.
• To begin your research, you must
look at a significant real-life problem.
Factors like area of interest,
availability of fund, socio-economic
significance of the study, and the
safety measures to be undertaken
should be considered in finding and
defining the research problem.
Example
• The researcher identifies English
language proficiency as a
problem of aspiring maritime
students in qualifying for
admission to prestigious
maritime institutions.
2. Review the literature.
• Read various publications or surf the
internet to become aware of the
previous works already done about
the chosen topic. You may utilize
different resources like science
books, magazines, journals,
newspapers, or even in the internet.
Example

• The researcher reviews previous

studies conducted about English
language proficiency and the
experienced difficulties of
aspiring maritime students.
3. Formulate hypothesis.
• A hypothesis is a theoretical
statement in solving a logical
relationship between
variables. It should be based
on the problem being solved.
Example
• The researcher hypothesizes that
the implementation of English-
Only Policy (EOP) in the
classroom can improve the
English language proficiency of
Pre-Baccalaureate Maritime
students.
4. Prepare the research design.
• Identify what is the best
means to collect and analyze
data in the study to clarify and
improve the research problem,
purpose, and questions.
Example

• The researcher uses an

experimental design on exploring
the experiences of the students
in implementing EOP.
5. Collect data.
• Use an appropriate data
collection method to elicit
the needed information.
Example

• The researcher collects data

through interview and focus
group discussion.
6. Analyze data.
• Utilize strategies and
methods that make sense
of the data to answer the
research problem.
Example

• The researcher analyzes the

data by drawing patterns and
themes from the generated
data.
7. Interpret and report the findings.

• Put the information in

perspective and present the
solution to the proposed
problem based on the findings of
the investigation.
Example

• The researcher interprets and

reports the findings based on
the collected and analyzed
data to solve the research
problem .
Schematic diagram of the research process: