3.2: The Research Process

The academic research process is a series of steps that help scholars and students investigate questions, solve problems, and create new knowledge. Whether you're writing a high school research paper, working on a college project, or conducting a scientific study, the research process is a structured approach that helps ensure your findings are accurate, reliable, and meaningful.

The research process involves several key stages, each building on the previous one to guide researchers from initial curiosity to clear conclusions. Here’s a breakdown of the main steps in this process:

[The Scientific Method (simple) by Thebiologyprimer, licensed CC0]

1. Identify a Research Topic or Problem

The first step in the research process is to choose a topic or identify a problem to study. This could come from an area of interest, a gap in existing research, or a real-world issue that needs a solution. A good research question is specific, focused, and achievable within the scope of your project. For example, a broad topic like "climate change" can be narrowed down to "the impact of climate change on polar bear populations in the Arctic."

2. Conducting Background Research

Once you have a topic, it’s essential to understand what has already been discovered about it. You can look up information that explains the background of a topic or issue. One formal method for this is the literature review. A literature review involves reading and analyzing existing research on your topic, such as journal articles, books, and credible websites. This step helps you avoid duplicating work that’s already been done and provides context for your study. Reviewing the literature also reveals gaps in knowledge that your research could fill, guiding your approach and helping refine your research questions.

3. Formulate a Research Question or Hypothesis

Based on what you’ve learned, you can now develop a research question or hypothesis. A research question is a clear, focused question that your study will try to answer, while a hypothesis is a statement predicting an outcome that can be tested. For example, if your topic is "the effect of exercise on mental health," your research question might be, "How does daily exercise influence anxiety levels in teenagers?" If you’re using a hypothesis, it might be, "Teenagers who exercise daily will report lower levels of anxiety than those who do not."

4. Choose a Research Method

The next step is to decide how you’ll gather the data needed to answer your question. This choice depends on the nature of your question and whether your research will be quantitative (focusing on numbers and measurable data) or qualitative (focusing on words, meanings, and experiences). Common methods include surveys, experiments, interviews, observations, or analyzing existing data. For instance, if you want to measure the anxiety levels of teens before and after exercise, you might use surveys and interviews.

5. Collect Data

With a method in place, it’s time to gather data. During this stage, researchers follow ethical guidelines, ensuring that all participants are treated fairly and respectfully, and that their information is kept confidential. Collecting data may take time, especially if it involves tracking changes over weeks or months. Depending on your method, you could be analyzing documents, conducting interviews, or gathering responses from a survey.

6. Analyze Data

After collecting your data, you’ll need to examine it to draw conclusions. As a researcher, you will look for trends in your findings. Do multiple sources agree? Are there any particular findings that disagree with others?

7. Interpret Results and Draw Conclusions

Once your analysis is complete, you can interpret your findings and draw conclusions. This step involves explaining what the data means in relation to your research questions. Do the results support or contradict your hypothesis? What are the possible reasons for your findings? Are there any limitations to your study? For example, if your study shows that exercise reduces anxiety in teenagers, you might conclude that promoting exercise could help improve mental health in this age group.

8. Communicate Your Findings

The final step in the research process is sharing what you’ve learned. This can take the form of a research paper, presentation, or report. When communicating your findings, it’s essential to explain your methods, present your data clearly, discuss your results, and acknowledge any limitations of your study. This way, others can understand your work and potentially build upon it in future research.

Scholarship as Conversation  

Communities of scholars, researchers, professionals, and students engage in a continual discussion to build knowledge in a subject area. Through each work of research and scholarship (including journal articles, presentations, and teaching), knowledge is built up and further developed with new insights and findings. Sometimes, researchers will repeat other people's studies to confirm or refute their findings. This creates an ongoing "conversation" that continually builds on what we know (ACRL Board).

Summary

The academic research process is a powerful tool for answering questions, solving problems, and advancing knowledge. By following these steps—identifying a topic, conducting a literature review, forming a research question, choosing a method, collecting and analyzing data, interpreting results, and sharing your findings—you ensure that your research is systematic, thorough, and credible. Each step is crucial to building a solid foundation for understanding and making discoveries that others can trust and learn from.

 

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Sources

• ACRL Board. "Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education." Association of College & Research Libraries. 11 Jan. 2016. https://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/ilframework