5.2: Planning and Conducting Research

Planning & Conducting Research

The 4 Parts of Planning & Conducting Research Covered Here:

1. Formulating a Research Question
2. Basic Research Process & Conducting Literature Reviews
3. Research Design & Methodology
4. Data Collection Methods

Part 1: Where do I start with Research Planning?

Research can be an overwhelming process, and many students do not know where to start. In academics we often suggest you start with something that interests you, or something you feel passionately about. If you don't have any idea, there are brainstorming activities such as free writing, free association, mind mapping, talking with your peers, reviewing case studies, picking a topic from a lecture, or perusing current events. One topic might lead you to another, so you can start big and narrow down. The research process should be as neutral and unbiased as you can make it, and then you'll take all your critical thinking skills discussed in this book, and put them into action!

Figure: Chart of how to start picking a research topic, created in Canva By Rachel Fleming. CC BY NC

Developing an Unbiased "Good" Research Question

Research planning is a crucial initial step in the academic research process. It involves outlining the objectives, methods, and timeline for a study to ensure systematic and organized investigation. A well-structured research plan serves as a roadmap, guiding the researcher through various stages of the project, from literature review to data collection and analysis.

Central to effective research planning is the formulation of a "good" research question. A good research question is clear, focused, and researchable within the constraints of the given resources. It sets the direction for the study and defines the scope of the research. Importantly, it must be unbiased, meaning it should not lead the researcher to a predetermined conclusion but rather open avenues for objective exploration and analysis. Even if you are writing an opinion paper or argumentative paper, the research question must be unbiased for ethical research.

Steps to Develop a Good Research Question

1. Identify a Broad Topic: Start with a general area of interest that aligns with your academic or professional goals. For instance, if you are interested in public health, you might begin with a broad topic like the impact of nutrition on health.
2. Conduct Preliminary Research: Review existing literature to understand the current state of knowledge and identify gaps or unanswered questions. This step helps refine the broad topic into a more specific area of inquiry. You could Google some key terms and see what comes up, and how you might want to start narrowing your focus.
3. Narrow Down the Focus: Based on your preliminary research, narrow your focus to a specific aspect of the topic. For example, you might focus on the effects of a particular diet on cardiovascular health.
4. Ensure Clarity and Specificity: A good research question should be clear and specific, avoiding vague or ambiguous terms. It should specify the population, variables, and context of the study.
5. Assess Feasibility: Ensure that the research question is feasible, considering the time, resources, and methods available. It should be researchable within the constraints of your project. Some research questions are so big they would take years to fully evaluate, so think about what is manageable within your timeline.
6. Check for Unbiased Wording: The question should be framed in a neutral manner, avoiding any language that implies a preconceived answer. For instance, instead of asking, "Why does diet X improve cardiovascular health?" a more unbiased question would be, "What are the effects of diet X on cardiovascular health?" If you go to a library and ask them to help you find research to back up your opinion or belief, that is an unethical research approach. The intital quesion needs to be neutral so your research aggregated will be comprehensive and not biased.
7. Seek Feedback: Consult with peers, mentors, or advisors to refine your research question. Their insights can help identify potential biases and improve the clarity and focus of the question.

Example of "Good" & "Poor" Research Question \(\PageIndex{1}\)

Example of a "Good" Research Question

Consider the current event of remote work becoming widespread due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Example of a well-formulated neutral research question in this context might be: "What are the impacts of remote work on employee productivity and well-being in the tech industry during the COVID-19 pandemic?"

This question is specific (focusing on the tech industry and the time frame of the pandemic), clear (defining what impacts are being studied), and unbiased (not assuming whether the impacts are positive or negative).

Example of a "Poor" Biased Research Question

• Example of a biased poor research question related to this topic: "What are the negative impacts of employee productivity to remote work durring the COVID-19 pandemic?" This assumes the impacts were negative, and will aggregate only research related to negative impacts, however this is not an assumption one can make when beginning research and leads to biased unethical research results.

Importance of Developing an Unbiased Research Question

An unbiased research question is critical because it:

• Promotes Objectivity: Ensures that the research process is objective, not influenced by the researcher's assumptions or desires.
• Enhances Credibility: Adds credibility to the study by allowing for a fair investigation of the evidence.
• Facilitates Valid Results: Increases the likelihood of obtaining valid and reliable results that accurately reflect the reality of the research problem. Research aggregation is based on the keywords you use, if your keywords are biased, then your results will be biased.

Seeing how easy it is to get biased research results based on your research question try typing these two questions into Google:

Topic: Caffeine Consumption and Health

Poor Biased Research Question: "Why is caffeine harmful to my health?"

Well Written Neutral Research Question: "What are the effects of caffeine consumption on health?"

Results: When you use a biased research question, you get biased skewed results. When you use a neutral research question, your results will be more neutral and then you use your critical thinking skills to analyze and form your own opinions. Try typing in "Why is caffeine good for me?" and see how the results skew the other way! This is why unbiased research questions matter.

By following these steps and considerations, researchers can develop robust research questions that lay the foundation for meaningful and impactful academic research.

Part 2: Basic Research & Literature Reviews

"Literature Review" by Caro Wallis is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Now that you have your neutral research question and have narrowed down your topic, it's time to begin the basic research process. This includes learning how to use Boolean operators, developing effective search strategies, and identifying the right keywords to find relevant literature. Understanding these foundational skills will help you conduct a thorough and efficient literature review.

1. Understanding the Basic Research Process:

The basic research process involves several key steps:

1. Formulating a Research Question: Start with a clear, neutral question that guides your inquiry.
2. Conducting Preliminary Research: Use various sources to gather initial information about your topic.
3. Identifying Keywords: Extract key terms from your research question to use in searches. We recommend making a list of your keywords to use in multiple academic databases.
4. Using Boolean Operators: Learn to use AND, OR, and NOT to refine your search results.
5. Evaluating Sources: Critically assess the credibility and relevance of the information you find.
6. Organizing Information: Keep track of sources and notes systematically.

2. Search Strategies and Keywords:

• Keywords: Identify the main concepts of your research question. For example, if your research question is "What are the effects of caffeine consumption on health?" your keywords might be "caffeine," "consumption," "effects," and "health."
• Boolean Operators: Use AND to combine keywords and narrow your search, OR to expand your search by including synonyms or related terms, and NOT to exclude unwanted terms.
  • Example: "caffeine AND health" narrows the search to include both terms.
  • "caffeine OR coffee" expands the search to include either term.
  • "caffeine NOT energy drinks" excludes results containing "energy drinks."
• Search Techniques: Use quotation marks for exact phrases ("caffeine consumption") and truncation (caffein*) to search for multiple word endings (caffeine, caffeinated).

3. Conducting a Literature Review:

A literature review involves summarizing and synthesizing the existing research on your topic. It helps you understand the current state of knowledge, identify gaps, and establish the context for your research.

• Steps in a Literature Review:
  1. Search for Literature: Use academic databases, libraries, and search engines to find scholarly articles, books, and credible websites.
  2. Evaluate Sources: Assess the relevance, quality, and credibility of each source. Look for peer-reviewed articles and authoritative authors.
  3. Take Notes: Summarize key points, methodologies, findings, and conclusions from each source.
  4. Organize Information: Group similar studies together, highlighting trends, patterns, and conflicting findings.
  5. Write the Review: Synthesize the information to provide an overview of the current understanding of your topic, noting where your research will fit in.

Practical Application:

Let’s say your research question is, "What are the effects of caffeine consumption on health?" Begin by identifying keywords: caffeine, consumption, health, effects. Use Boolean operators to refine your search: "caffeine AND health AND effects." Evaluate sources by checking for peer-reviewed articles and reputable journals. Summarize and synthesize the findings to understand the various impacts of caffeine on health, such as benefits for alertness and potential risks for heart health.

By mastering these research strategies, you’ll be able to conduct a thorough literature review, forming a solid foundation for your research project.

Feeling overwhelmed? Visit your local school library, most colleges have an academic library with academic databases and a librarian who would love to walk you through this process.

Part 3: Critical Thinking Reading & Writing: Understanding Research Designs, Methodologies, and Data Collection Methods

Understanding Research Designs, Methodologies, and Data Collection Methods

As you embark on your next phases of your research journey, it is essential to have a clear understanding of the various research designs, methodologies, and data collection methods at your disposal as you are evaluating sources. This foundational knowledge will not only guide your research planning but also enhance your ability to critically evaluate the sources you gather. Critical thinking, reading, and writing play a crucial role in this process, ensuring that your research is robust, credible, and impactful. In the next section we'll cover the three main types of research designs, four types of research methodologies, data collection methods and how to evaluate your sources.

Understanding fundamental aspects of research will enable you to not only design robust studies but also critically evaluate the sources you encounter during your literature review. As you move forward, this knowledge will serve as a critical tool in your academic and professional endeavors, ensuring that your research is both credible and impactful.

This preface sets the stage for the upcoming section on evaluating sources for credibility, helping you understand what to look for as you scrutinize the research designs, methodologies, and data collection methods employed in the sources you gather. With a firm grasp of these concepts, you will be well-equipped to assess the quality and reliability of the information you incorporate into your work, ultimately enhancing the rigor and persuasiveness of your arguments.

Guiding Questions While You Are Reading:

As you take notes and reading over what you've pulled - you should be having a conversation with the text - this is called "talking to the text" and it will help you better understand what you're reading. This is also a time to pick out those pieces of the source that are going to help answer your research question or support your thesis.

Reading critically means you are analyzing the logic of the article and/or chapter or section of a book. We'll be getting more into logical arguments next week. For now, here are some questions or prompts you can use to analyze logic while talking to the text:

1. What is the main purpose of this article or chapter/section?
2. What are the key questions the author is addressing?
3. What is the most important information in this article or chapter/section and how can I use this to support my research and thesis?
4. What are the main conclusions in this article or chapter/section? Can I use them to support my thesis?

Attributions:

The content above was assisted by ChatGPT in outlining and organizing information. The final material was curated, edited, authored, and arranged through human creativity, originality, and subject expertise of the Coalinga College English Department and the Coalinga College Library Learning Resource Center and is therefore under the CC BY NC SA license when applicable. To see resources on AI and copyright please see the United States Copyright Office 2023 Statement and the following case study on using AI assistance but curating and creating with human originality and creativity.

Images without specific attribution were generated with the assistance of ChatGPT 2024 and are not subject to any copyright restrictions, in accordance with the United States Copyright Office 2023 Statement.

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