STEPS INVOLVED IN A RESEARCH PROCESS

By: Shriya Gupta Snabhi Kohli Subject: Advanced Research Methodology Course no. 208

Research: An Introduction
The systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions. Reading a factual book of any sort is a kind of research. Surfing the internet or watching the news is also a type of research.

Steps Involved in a Research:

There are eight steps in scientific research or scientific method of investigation: 1. Define/select the problem. 2. Review literature. 3. Formulate the hypotheses. 4. Plan the research design. 5. Collect the data. 6. Analyze the data. 7. Draw conclusion. 8. Replicate the study (when necessary).

1. Define/select the problem:

Probably the most common sources of research ideas are the experience of practical problems in the field. Another source of research ideas is the literature in ones specific field. Many researchers get the ideas for research by reading the literature and thinking of ways to extend or refine previous research. Once a basic research idea has been chosen, the next step is to ensure that the topic has merit.

2. Review literature:

Researchers who conduct studies under the guidelines of scientific research never begin a research project without first consulting available literature to learn what has been done, how it was done, and what results were generated. It not only allows the researchers to learn from previous research but also save time, effort, and money.

Review literature (contd.):

Before attempting any project, researchers should ask these questions: What type of research has been done in the area? What has been found in the previous studies? What suggestions do other researchers make for further study? What has not been investigated? What research methods were used in previous studies?

3.Formulate the hypotheses:

A hypothesis is an assumption about relations between variables. It is a tentative explanation of the research problem or a guess about the research outcome which can be empirically verified. Ex: Non-working women enjoy lower social status than working women.

Here the variables are: womans work and social status.

4. Plan the Research Design:

Research design is the detailed strategy to conduct a research. It plans as to: What is to be observed How is to be observed When/where is to be observed Why is to be observed How to record observations How to analyze/interpret observations How to generalize

5. Collect the data:

Data for research purposes can be divided into two types: 1. Primary 2. Secondary Primary: The primary data are those which are collected afresh and for the first time, and thus happen to be original in character.

Secondary: The secondary data, on the other hand, are those which have already been collected by someone else and which have already been passed through the statistical

Collect the data (contd.):

Collection of primary data: Primary data can be collected either through experiment or survey. Collection of secondary data: Secondary data can be either published data or unpublished data. Published data can be collected from Books, magazines and newspapers; Reports and publications of various associations. The sources of unpublished data may be Diaries, letters, unpublished biographies and autobiographies.

6. Analyze the data:

In this stage, the researcher analyses the data, prepares tables, and interprets the facts. After collecting data, the method of converting raw data into meaningful statement; includes data processing, data analysis, and data interpretation and presentation.

Analyze the data (contd.):

Data reduction or processing mainly involves various manipulations necessary for preparing the data for analysis. The process (of manipulation) could be manual or electronic. It involves editing, categorizing the open-ended questions, coding, computerization and preparation of tables and diagrams.

7. Draw conclusion:

Logical conclusions are drawn based on the analysis of data and suggestions for future research are given.

8. Replicate the study:

The above research project is replicated in different places, if we want to generalize the findings of the research.

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