they have set up a research project

How to Set Up a Research Project (in 6 Steps)

Written by Casey Scott-Songin

Research projects, 0 comment(s).

It can be really exciting to embark on a research project, but knowing where to start can feel overwhelming! Setting up a research project properly means that you will save yourself a lot of stress, worrying about whether you’ll collect useful information, and will save you time analysing results!

Before you even begin to think about what research method you should use or where to recruit participants , you need to think about the purpose, objectives, and key research questions for your project. Below are the six steps to starting a research project that you can be confident in!

1. Define your purpose

The first thing you need to do is have a clear understanding of the purpose of your project. If you had to summarise why you wanted to do this project in two to three sentences, what would they be?

These should include:

• what problem you are trying to solve
• the context for that problem
• the purpose of the project

The problem you are trying to solve

Think about how to summarise your main problem in one sentence.  Is it that your product is not selling? Are you not sure why some ads are more successful than others? Is it that you are struggling to grow you client list? Or maybe There is a high bounce rate on a particular page on your website. Whatever it is, clearly identify it in one sentence (okay, two sentences maximum). 

The context for that problem

This is the opportunity to think about what you already know. This should be a summary of what data or research you already have access to. This could include analytics from your website or social media pages, previous qualitative research you may have done, or sector or industry research you have access to. Basically, this is the data that has helped you realise you had a problem to begin with. Knowing where you are starting from will help you significantly when you finish your research because you’ll have a clear understanding of where you are coming from in order to define where you want to be in the future.

The purpose of the project

This should be a sentence about why you decided to do this research project in the first place. If you are working with stakeholders and will be using this to get research approved, this sentence should be your commitment that research can help solve the problem you have identified.

2. Clarify your Objectives

This section should focus on what the research will add to the overall project. It should clearly identify the goals you want to achieve by the end of the research project. Try to focus on one or two goals maximum. You will know you have succeeded at the end of the project if you have achieved these goals. 

For example, if the problem you have identified is that you have a high bounce rate on the main sales page on your website, your objectives of the research may be:

• To identify the key problems on the sales page that is resulting in a high number of users leaving without buying anything
• To understand which audiences are most likely to leave without purchasing anything

Finally, you should identify (if you can) what type of outcomes you want to have from this research project. Will you be writing a report? Will it result in a list of recommended changes to your website? Being very clear about what to expect at the end of the project helps stakeholders get on board and support research projects like these.

3. Define your Key Research Questions

A very important step in any research plan is to identify your key research questions. These are very useful and help you narrow the focus of your research project. They are also really useful when you are analysing your data! When you go to write your report, if you use the data to answer the questions you’ve asked for this project, you’ll know you will have done what you set out to do. 

These questions should be the key questions you are hoping to get an answer to. Try to keep to around five to ten questions. Being as specific as possible to help you focus your research project and get the answers you need to solve your problem. 

Key research questions should be as specific as possible to help you focus your research project and get the answers you need to solve your problem. 

These questions could fall into some of the below categories:

• Why is something happening? 
• Why are your customers behaving a certain way? 
• Why is something not being used?
• What are your audiences’ needs?
• What is motivating your users to do something?
• What specific questions do you have about the product or service?
• What questions do you have after looking into the data that is already available?

The questions you write should not be the questions you ask your audiences. These are often complex and overarching questions, and will most likely need to be broken down when asking your audiences in order to collect useful data. 

4. Write out your Hypotheses and Challenge your Assumptions

An often skipped step, but an important one nonetheless, is to think about any hypotheses you have. Do you expect to have any particular outcomes to the research? Go back to your research questions and write down what you think the answers might be. What do you expect your audiences to do, think or feel? These will entirely be your thoughts and don’t necessarily have to be based in data. To make sure it is clear, you should write these starting each sentence with  “I think….”. 

Now take a look at your research questions again. Have you made any assumptions when crafting your research questions? Did you leave anything out because you assumed you knew the answers? Did you assume something would be more important that something else?

In order to make sure your research is as objective as possible, you need to be aware of what biases you are bringing to the research.

Understanding your hypotheses and assumptions is a crucial step to making your research objective. In order to make sure your research is as objective as possible, you need to be aware of what biases you are bringing to the research. These biases will mean you will be more likely to hear some things over other things. This is called confirmation bias, and it can lead to you making some results more or less important than they actually are. 

It’s useful to document these so you can refer back to them throughout the research process. If you lay out all the things you think might inadvertently impact your interpretation of the results, it will help you from letting confirmation bias influence your research. 

5. Choose your Methodology 

Now that you have a good understanding of what your research project is trying to accomplish, it’s time to choose the right research method to get the information you are looking for!

There are two main types of research methods to choose from: quantitative research and qualitative research. 

Quantitative research identifies what your users are doing while qualitative research helps to understand why users do what they do.

Quantitative Research

Quantitative research helps to answer the question: What are your consumers/audiences/users doing? These methods can capture large data sets relatively quickly and give a basic understanding of audience behaviours. Having a large data set allows you to provide a strong confidence in findings relatively quickly. You’ll be able to quickly and easily see if any patterns are emerging. 

While quantitative research is very good at capturing what users are doing, it cannot easily capture what users’ underlying decision making processes are. Further, it does not allow you to follow up on unexpected findings, or have the flexibility to investigate different areas on inquiry. 

Qualitative Research

Qualitative research helps to answer the question: Why are users doing what they’re doing? These research methods can provide an in-depth understanding of user behaviours, attitudes and decision making processes. These methods also allow you to have the flexibility to explore unexpected results, which is often where important or insightful data lies. It usually results in much smaller data sets, but the data is often very rich and cn provide a deep dive into the research questions you are hoping to answer.

Qualitative research does not provide a large data set, and analysis can be time consuming. Further, it is often important to make sure you’re project setup is as objective as possible, as it is possible to accidentally skew your data with your own biases. 

Choosing your Research Method

When deciding on a research method, it can be useful to evaluate whether your key research questions fall into one of the following three categories:

If you are looking to collect breadth in data, you are most likely looking to answer questions around what a large group of people think. Some examples of research methods that can provide breadth in data are surveys, task analysis, or card sorting. These are research methods that work best when a wide range or a large quantity of people need to be reached in order to answer your question. They are useful because the methods themselves allow for data to be categorised relatively easily, which helps analyse quickly. These methods are most useful when testing a hypothesis rather than defining a problem. 

If you are looking to understand the context of something, you are most likely trying to get a better understanding of what problems might exist. Research methods that look for context are most useful when there isn’t much knowledge about the subject. They can often help define the questions as well. Context can be captured with qualitative or quantitative methods. Web or social analytics is a good example of understanding context using a quantitative research method.  Qualitative research methods that capture context include participant observations in natural or group settings. Overall, these methods are good at finding out people’s natural behaviours with little intervention – what they do vs. what they say they do. 

Looking for depth in your key research questions most likely means you’ll be using a qualitative research method, such as interviews or focus groups, to answer your questions. These types of research methods allow you to use open questions to dig deeper into answers and explore topics in greater depth. Depth methods allow you to most accurately define a problem you are hoping to solve with your service or product. Methods such as co-creation or participatory design allow for you to work closely with your audiences to design solutions you know they will like. 

If you’d like to learn more about choosing the right research methods, check out my post: How to Choose the Right Research Method for your Project

6. Recruit your Participants

Once you have chosen the research method that would be best for your project, it’s time to think about who you want to speak to, and how you are going to recruit their help to your project. This is often the most difficult task, but it is one of the most critical things to get correct.

How do you recruit participants for your research project?

The first thing you need to do is identify who you would like to speak to. It could be your entire audience, it could be a subset of people, or it could be people who currently don’t engage with you! 

Finding people from your audience

Once you have an idea of who you want to speak to, think about where you might find them. Maybe you have an email list so it’s as simple as reaching out to your current subscribers! If you don’t currently have anyone on your email list, think about where your audience might be. Would they be in a particular facebook group? Maybe they follow you on social media? Reaching out to your audiences on owned channels such as your social media accounts, via email, or even as a pop up on your website can be a really cheap and easy way to speak to your audiences. 

Finding people who don’t know who you are

And if you’re just starting out, or you want to speak to people who don’t currently follow you, you can always recruit through panels. Depending on how many people you’d like to speak to, you can recruit via panels for relatively low costs, and ensure you’ll get participants that will be relevant to your key research questions. Some survey tools (such as Survey Monkey) have panels you can use built right into their software, or you can search for panels in your country (or the country you’re interested in speaking to participants to) to find a company that would be a good partner for your project. 

How many participants is enough?

How many people is enough for your research project will depend entirely on the research method you choose and the complexity of the questions you are trying to answer. For me, I generally try to get at least 100 survey responses if I’m sending out a survey, and anywhere from six to twenty participants for qualitative research methods such as interviews, focus groups, or co-creation. 

Taking slightly more time to set up a research project has huge benefits and means that your results will be as useful as possible and findings and recommendations will come together much easier and quicker than they would otherwise. 

To find out more about a variety of elements that go into research projects in more detail, check out the other posts on my blog !

What steps do you take when starting research?

Let me know in the comments below if you have tried any of the above methods!

And don’t forget to sign up to my newsletter to recieve more on what research methods to choose, research best practice, and a variety of other relevant and informative content!

Share this:

• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

You May Also Like…

Presenting Research: Converting Difficult Stakeholders

Here are a few ways you can help stakeholders examine and accept your research findings.

Creative Methodologies: Pinterest Mood Boards

There are many research techniques that can be used to collect qualitative data in order to answer a research...

Why User Research Matters More Than Ever

In a world defined by COVID-19, it’s no question that what “normal” is in our day to day lives has changed. And I...

• PRO Courses Guides New Tech Help Pro Expert Videos About wikiHow Pro Upgrade Sign In
• EDIT Edit this Article
• EXPLORE Tech Help Pro About Us Random Article Quizzes Request a New Article Community Dashboard This Or That Game Forums Popular Categories Arts and Entertainment Artwork Books Movies Computers and Electronics Computers Phone Skills Technology Hacks Health Men's Health Mental Health Women's Health Relationships Dating Love Relationship Issues Hobbies and Crafts Crafts Drawing Games Education & Communication Communication Skills Personal Development Studying Personal Care and Style Fashion Hair Care Personal Hygiene Youth Personal Care School Stuff Dating All Categories Arts and Entertainment Finance and Business Home and Garden Relationship Quizzes Cars & Other Vehicles Food and Entertaining Personal Care and Style Sports and Fitness Computers and Electronics Health Pets and Animals Travel Education & Communication Hobbies and Crafts Philosophy and Religion Work World Family Life Holidays and Traditions Relationships Youth
• Browse Articles
• Learn Something New
• Quizzes Hot
• Happiness Hub
• This Or That Game
• Train Your Brain
• Explore More
• Support wikiHow
• About wikiHow
• Log in / Sign up
• Education and Communications

How to Get Started With a Research Project

Last Updated: October 3, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Chris Hadley, PhD . Chris Hadley, PhD is part of the wikiHow team and works on content strategy and data and analytics. Chris Hadley earned his PhD in Cognitive Psychology from UCLA in 2006. Chris' academic research has been published in numerous scientific journals. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 314,921 times.

You'll be required to undertake and complete research projects throughout your academic career and even, in many cases, as a member of the workforce. Don't worry if you feel stuck or intimidated by the idea of a research project, with care and dedication, you can get the project done well before the deadline!

Development and Foundation

• Don't hesitate while writing down ideas. You'll end up with some mental noise on the paper – silly or nonsensical phrases that your brain just pushes out. That's fine. Think of it as sweeping the cobwebs out of your attic. After a minute or two, better ideas will begin to form (and you might have a nice little laugh at your own expense in the meantime).

• Some instructors will even provide samples of previously successful topics if you ask for them. Just be careful that you don't end up stuck with an idea you want to do, but are afraid to do because you know someone else did it before.

• For example, if your research topic is “urban poverty,” you could look at that topic across ethnic or sexual lines, but you could also look into corporate wages, minimum wage laws, the cost of medical benefits, the loss of unskilled jobs in the urban core, and on and on. You could also try comparing and contrasting urban poverty with suburban or rural poverty, and examine things that might be different about both areas, such as diet and exercise levels, or air pollution.

• Think in terms of questions you want answered. A good research project should collect information for the purpose of answering (or at least attempting to answer) a question. As you review and interconnect topics, you'll think of questions that don't seem to have clear answers yet. These questions are your research topics.

• Don't limit yourself to libraries and online databases. Think in terms of outside resources as well: primary sources, government agencies, even educational TV programs. If you want to know about differences in animal population between public land and an Indian reservation, call the reservation and see if you can speak to their department of fish and wildlife.
• If you're planning to go ahead with original research, that's great – but those techniques aren't covered in this article. Instead, speak with qualified advisors and work with them to set up a thorough, controlled, repeatable process for gathering information.

• If your plan comes down to “researching the topic,” and there aren't any more specific things you can say about it, write down the types of sources you plan to use instead: books (library or private?), magazines (which ones?), interviews, and so on. Your preliminary research should have given you a solid idea of where to begin.

Expanding Your Idea with Research

• It's generally considered more convincing to source one item from three different authors who all agree on it than it is to rely too heavily on one book. Go for quantity at least as much as quality. Be sure to check citations, endnotes, and bibliographies to get more potential sources (and see whether or not all your authors are just quoting the same, older author).
• Writing down your sources and any other relevant details (such as context) around your pieces of information right now will save you lots of trouble in the future.

• Use many different queries to get the database results you want. If one phrasing or a particular set of words doesn't yield useful results, try rephrasing it or using synonymous terms. Online academic databases tend to be dumber than the sum of their parts, so you'll have to use tangentially related terms and inventive language to get all the results you want.

• If it's sensible, consider heading out into the field and speaking to ordinary people for their opinions. This isn't always appropriate (or welcomed) in a research project, but in some cases, it can provide you with some excellent perspective for your research.
• Review cultural artifacts as well. In many areas of study, there's useful information on attitudes, hopes, and/or concerns of people in a particular time and place contained within the art, music, and writing they produced. One has only to look at the woodblock prints of the later German Expressionists, for example, to understand that they lived in a world they felt was often dark, grotesque, and hopeless. Song lyrics and poetry can likewise express strong popular attitudes.

Expert Q&A

• Start early. The foundation of a great research project is the research, which takes time and patience to gather even if you aren't performing any original research of your own. Set aside time for it whenever you can, at least until your initial gathering phase is complete. Past that point, the project should practically come together on its own. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0
• When in doubt, write more, rather than less. It's easier to pare down and reorganize an overabundance of information than it is to puff up a flimsy core of facts and anecdotes. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0

• Respect the wishes of others. Unless you're a research journalist, it's vital that you yield to the wishes and requests of others before engaging in original research, even if it's technically ethical. Many older American Indians, for instance, harbor a great deal of cultural resentment towards social scientists who visit reservations for research, even those invited by tribal governments for important reasons such as language revitalization. Always tread softly whenever you're out of your element, and only work with those who want to work with you. Thanks Helpful 8 Not Helpful 2
• Be mindful of ethical concerns. Especially if you plan to use original research, there are very stringent ethical guidelines that must be followed for any credible academic body to accept it. Speak to an advisor (such as a professor) about what you plan to do and what steps you should take to verify that it will be ethical. Thanks Helpful 6 Not Helpful 2

You Might Also Like

• ↑ http://www.butte.edu/departments/cas/tipsheets/research/research_paper.html
• ↑ https://www.nhcc.edu/academics/library/doing-library-research/basic-steps-research-process
• ↑ https://library.sacredheart.edu/c.php?g=29803&p=185905
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/common_writing_assignments/research_papers/choosing_a_topic.html
• ↑ https://www.unr.edu/writing-speaking-center/student-resources/writing-speaking-resources/using-an-interview-in-a-research-paper
• ↑ https://www.science.org/content/article/how-review-paper

About This Article

The easiest way to get started with a research project is to use your notes and other materials to come up with topics that interest you. Research your favorite topic to see if it can be developed, and then refine it into a research question. Begin thoroughly researching, and collect notes and sources. To learn more about finding reliable and helpful sources while you're researching, continue reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

• Send fan mail to authors

Reader Success Stories

Jun 30, 2016

Did this article help you?

Maooz Asghar

Aug 14, 2016

Jun 27, 2016

Calvin Kiyondi

Apr 24, 2017

Nov 2, 2016

Featured Articles

Trending Articles

Watch Articles

• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• Do Not Sell or Share My Info
• Not Selling Info

Get all the best how-tos!

Sign up for wikiHow's weekly email newsletter

Illustration by James Round

How to plan a research project

Whether for a paper or a thesis, define your question, review the work of others – and leave yourself open to discovery.

by Brooke Harrington   + BIO

is professor of sociology at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. Her research has won international awards both for scholarly quality and impact on public life. She has published dozens of articles and three books, most recently the bestseller Capital without Borders (2016), now translated into five languages.

Edited by Sam Haselby

Need to know

‘When curiosity turns to serious matters, it’s called research.’ – From Aphorisms (1880-1905) by Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach

Planning research projects is a time-honoured intellectual exercise: one that requires both creativity and sharp analytical skills. The purpose of this Guide is to make the process systematic and easy to understand. While there is a great deal of freedom and discovery involved – from the topics you choose, to the data and methods you apply – there are also some norms and constraints that obtain, no matter what your academic level or field of study. For those in high school through to doctoral students, and from art history to archaeology, research planning involves broadly similar steps, including: formulating a question, developing an argument or predictions based on previous research, then selecting the information needed to answer your question.

Some of this might sound self-evident but, as you’ll find, research requires a different way of approaching and using information than most of us are accustomed to in everyday life. That is why I include orienting yourself to knowledge-creation as an initial step in the process. This is a crucial and underappreciated phase in education, akin to making the transition from salaried employment to entrepreneurship: suddenly, you’re on your own, and that requires a new way of thinking about your work.

What follows is a distillation of what I’ve learned about this process over 27 years as a professional social scientist. It reflects the skills that my own professors imparted in the sociology doctoral programme at Harvard, as well as what I learned later on as a research supervisor for Ivy League PhD and MA students, and then as the author of award-winning scholarly books and articles. It can be adapted to the demands of both short projects (such as course term papers) and long ones, such as a thesis.

At its simplest, research planning involves the four distinct steps outlined below: orienting yourself to knowledge-creation; defining your research question; reviewing previous research on your question; and then choosing relevant data to formulate your own answers. Because the focus of this Guide is on planning a research project, as opposed to conducting a research project, this section won’t delve into the details of data-collection or analysis; those steps happen after you plan the project. In addition, the topic is vast: year-long doctoral courses are devoted to data and analysis. Instead, the fourth part of this section will outline some basic strategies you could use in planning a data-selection and analysis process appropriate to your research question.

Step 1: Orient yourself

Planning and conducting research requires you to make a transition, from thinking like a consumer of information to thinking like a producer of information. That sounds simple, but it’s actually a complex task. As a practical matter, this means putting aside the mindset of a student, which treats knowledge as something created by other people. As students, we are often passive receivers of knowledge: asked to do a specified set of readings, then graded on how well we reproduce what we’ve read.

Researchers, however, must take on an active role as knowledge producers . Doing research requires more of you than reading and absorbing what other people have written: you have to engage in a dialogue with it. That includes arguing with previous knowledge and perhaps trying to show that ideas we have accepted as given are actually wrong or incomplete. For example, rather than simply taking in the claims of an author you read, you’ll need to draw out the implications of those claims: if what the author is saying is true, what else does that suggest must be true? What predictions could you make based on the author’s claims?

In other words, rather than treating a reading as a source of truth – even if it comes from a revered source, such as Plato or Marie Curie – this orientation step asks you to treat the claims you read as provisional and subject to interrogation. That is one of the great pieces of wisdom that science and philosophy can teach us: that the biggest advances in human understanding have been made not by being correct about trivial things, but by being wrong in an interesting way . For example, Albert Einstein was wrong about quantum mechanics, but his arguments about it with his fellow physicist Niels Bohr have led to some of the biggest breakthroughs in science, even a century later.

Step 2: Define your research question

Students often give this step cursory attention, but experienced researchers know that formulating a good question is sometimes the most difficult part of the research planning process. That is because the precise language of the question frames the rest of the project. It’s therefore important to pose the question carefully, in a way that’s both possible to answer and likely to yield interesting results. Of course, you must choose a question that interests you, but that’s only the beginning of what’s likely to be an iterative process: most researchers come back to this step repeatedly, modifying their questions in light of previous research, resource limitations and other considerations.

Researchers face limits in terms of time and money. They, like everyone else, have to pose research questions that they can plausibly answer given the constraints they face. For example, it would be inadvisable to frame a project around the question ‘What are the roots of the Arab-Israeli conflict?’ if you have only a week to develop an answer and no background on that topic. That’s not to limit your imagination: you can come up with any question you’d like. But it typically does require some creativity to frame a question that you can answer well – that is, by investigating thoroughly and providing new insights – within the limits you face.

In addition to being interesting to you, and feasible within your resource constraints, the third and most important characteristic of a ‘good’ research topic is whether it allows you to create new knowledge. It might turn out that your question has already been asked and answered to your satisfaction: if so, you’ll find out in the next step of this process. On the other hand, you might come up with a research question that hasn’t been addressed previously. Before you get too excited about breaking uncharted ground, consider this: a lot of potentially researchable questions haven’t been studied for good reason ; they might have answers that are trivial or of very limited interest. This could include questions such as ‘Why does the area of a circle equal π r²?’ or ‘Did winter conditions affect Napoleon’s plans to invade Russia?’ Of course, you might be able to make the argument that a seemingly trivial question is actually vitally important, but you must be prepared to back that up with convincing evidence. The exercise in the ‘Learn More’ section below will help you think through some of these issues.

Finally, scholarly research questions must in some way lead to new and distinctive insights. For example, lots of people have studied gender roles in sports teams; what can you ask that hasn’t been asked before? Reinventing the wheel is the number-one no-no in this endeavour. That’s why the next step is so important: reviewing previous research on your topic. Depending on what you find in that step, you might need to revise your research question; iterating between your question and the existing literature is a normal process. But don’t worry: it doesn’t go on forever. In fact, the iterations taper off – and your research question stabilises – as you develop a firm grasp of the current state of knowledge on your topic.

Step 3: Review previous research

In academic research, from articles to books, it’s common to find a section called a ‘literature review’. The purpose of that section is to describe the state of the art in knowledge on the research question that a project has posed. It demonstrates that researchers have thoroughly and systematically reviewed the relevant findings of previous studies on their topic, and that they have something novel to contribute.

Your own research project should include something like this, even if it’s a high-school term paper. In the research planning process, you’ll want to list at least half a dozen bullet points stating the major findings on your topic by other people. In relation to those findings, you should be able to specify where your project could provide new and necessary insights. There are two basic rhetorical positions one can take in framing the novelty-plus-importance argument required of academic research:

• Position 1 requires you to build on or extend a set of existing ideas; that means saying something like: ‘Person A has argued that X is true about gender; this implies Y, which has not yet been tested. My project will test Y, and if I find evidence to support it, that will change the way we understand gender.’
• Position 2 is to argue that there is a gap in existing knowledge, either because previous research has reached conflicting conclusions or has failed to consider something important. For example, one could say that research on middle schoolers and gender has been limited by being conducted primarily in coeducational environments, and that findings might differ dramatically if research were conducted in more schools where the student body was all-male or all-female.

Your overall goal in this step of the process is to show that your research will be part of a larger conversation: that is, how your project flows from what’s already known, and how it advances, extends or challenges that existing body of knowledge. That will be the contribution of your project, and it constitutes the motivation for your research.

Two things are worth mentioning about your search for sources of relevant previous research. First, you needn’t look only at studies on your precise topic. For example, if you want to study gender-identity formation in schools, you shouldn’t restrict yourself to studies of schools; the empirical setting (schools) is secondary to the larger social process that interests you (how people form gender identity). That process occurs in many different settings, so cast a wide net. Second, be sure to use legitimate sources – meaning publications that have been through some sort of vetting process, whether that involves peer review (as with academic journal articles you might find via Google Scholar) or editorial review (as you’d find in well-known mass media publications, such as The Economist or The Washington Post ). What you’ll want to avoid is using unvetted sources such as personal blogs or Wikipedia. Why? Because anybody can write anything in those forums, and there is no way to know – unless you’re already an expert – if the claims you find there are accurate. Often, they’re not.

Step 4: Choose your data and methods

Whatever your research question is, eventually you’ll need to consider which data source and analytical strategy are most likely to provide the answers you’re seeking. One starting point is to consider whether your question would be best addressed by qualitative data (such as interviews, observations or historical records), quantitative data (such as surveys or census records) or some combination of both. Your ideas about data sources will, in turn, suggest options for analytical methods.

You might need to collect your own data, or you might find everything you need readily available in an existing dataset someone else has created. A great place to start is with a research librarian: university libraries always have them and, at public universities, those librarians can work with the public, including people who aren’t affiliated with the university. If you don’t happen to have a public university and its library close at hand, an ordinary public library can still be a good place to start: the librarians are often well versed in accessing data sources that might be relevant to your study, such as the census, or historical archives, or the Survey of Consumer Finances.

Because your task at this point is to plan research, rather than conduct it, the purpose of this step is not to commit you irrevocably to a course of action. Instead, your goal here is to think through a feasible approach to answering your research question. You’ll need to find out, for example, whether the data you want exist; if not, do you have a realistic chance of gathering the data yourself, or would it be better to modify your research question? In terms of analysis, would your strategy require you to apply statistical methods? If so, do you have those skills? If not, do you have time to learn them, or money to hire a research assistant to run the analysis for you?

Please be aware that qualitative methods in particular are not the casual undertaking they might appear to be. Many people make the mistake of thinking that only quantitative data and methods are scientific and systematic, while qualitative methods are just a fancy way of saying: ‘I talked to some people, read some old newspapers, and drew my own conclusions.’ Nothing could be further from the truth. In the final section of this guide, you’ll find some links to resources that will provide more insight on standards and procedures governing qualitative research, but suffice it to say: there are rules about what constitutes legitimate evidence and valid analytical procedure for qualitative data, just as there are for quantitative data.

Circle back and consider revising your initial plans

As you work through these four steps in planning your project, it’s perfectly normal to circle back and revise. Research planning is rarely a linear process. It’s also common for new and unexpected avenues to suggest themselves. As the sociologist Thorstein Veblen wrote in 1908 : ‘The outcome of any serious research can only be to make two questions grow where only one grew before.’ That’s as true of research planning as it is of a completed project. Try to enjoy the horizons that open up for you in this process, rather than becoming overwhelmed; the four steps, along with the two exercises that follow, will help you focus your plan and make it manageable.

Key points – How to plan a research project

• Planning a research project is essential no matter your academic level or field of study. There is no one ‘best’ way to design research, but there are certain guidelines that can be helpfully applied across disciplines.
• Orient yourself to knowledge-creation. Make the shift from being a consumer of information to being a producer of information.
• Define your research question. Your question frames the rest of your project, sets the scope, and determines the kinds of answers you can find.
• Review previous research on your question. Survey the existing body of relevant knowledge to ensure that your research will be part of a larger conversation.
• Choose your data and methods. For instance, will you be collecting qualitative data, via interviews, or numerical data, via surveys?
• Circle back and consider revising your initial plans. Expect your research question in particular to undergo multiple rounds of refinement as you learn more about your topic.

Good research questions tend to beget more questions. This can be frustrating for those who want to get down to business right away. Try to make room for the unexpected: this is usually how knowledge advances. Many of the most significant discoveries in human history have been made by people who were looking for something else entirely. There are ways to structure your research planning process without over-constraining yourself; the two exercises below are a start, and you can find further methods in the Links and Books section.

The following exercise provides a structured process for advancing your research project planning. After completing it, you’ll be able to do the following:

• describe clearly and concisely the question you’ve chosen to study
• summarise the state of the art in knowledge about the question, and where your project could contribute new insight
• identify the best strategy for gathering and analysing relevant data

In other words, the following provides a systematic means to establish the building blocks of your research project.

Exercise 1: Definition of research question and sources

This exercise prompts you to select and clarify your general interest area, develop a research question, and investigate sources of information. The annotated bibliography will also help you refine your research question so that you can begin the second assignment, a description of the phenomenon you wish to study.

Jot down a few bullet points in response to these two questions, with the understanding that you’ll probably go back and modify your answers as you begin reading other studies relevant to your topic:

• What will be the general topic of your paper?
• What will be the specific topic of your paper?

b) Research question(s)

Use the following guidelines to frame a research question – or questions – that will drive your analysis. As with Part 1 above, you’ll probably find it necessary to change or refine your research question(s) as you complete future assignments.

• Your question should be phrased so that it can’t be answered with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
• Your question should have more than one plausible answer.
• Your question should draw relationships between two or more concepts; framing the question in terms of How? or What? often works better than asking Why ?

c) Annotated bibliography

Most or all of your background information should come from two sources: scholarly books and journals, or reputable mass media sources. You might be able to access journal articles electronically through your library, using search engines such as JSTOR and Google Scholar. This can save you a great deal of time compared with going to the library in person to search periodicals. General news sources, such as those accessible through LexisNexis, are acceptable, but should be cited sparingly, since they don’t carry the same level of credibility as scholarly sources. As discussed above, unvetted sources such as blogs and Wikipedia should be avoided, because the quality of the information they provide is unreliable and often misleading.

To create an annotated bibliography, provide the following information for at least 10 sources relevant to your specific topic, using the format suggested below.

Name of author(s):

Publication date:

Title of book, chapter, or article:

If a chapter or article, title of journal or book where they appear:

Brief description of this work, including main findings and methods ( c 75 words):

Summary of how this work contributes to your project ( c 75 words):

Brief description of the implications of this work ( c 25 words):

Identify any gap or controversy in knowledge this work points up, and how your project could address those problems ( c 50 words):

Exercise 2: Towards an analysis

Develop a short statement ( c 250 words) about the kind of data that would be useful to address your research question, and how you’d analyse it. Some questions to consider in writing this statement include:

• What are the central concepts or variables in your project? Offer a brief definition of each.
• Do any data sources exist on those concepts or variables, or would you need to collect data?
• Of the analytical strategies you could apply to that data, which would be the most appropriate to answer your question? Which would be the most feasible for you? Consider at least two methods, noting their advantages or disadvantages for your project.

Links & books

One of the best texts ever written about planning and executing research comes from a source that might be unexpected: a 60-year-old work on urban planning by a self-trained scholar. The classic book The Death and Life of Great American Cities (1961) by Jane Jacobs (available complete and free of charge via this link ) is worth reading in its entirety just for the pleasure of it. But the final 20 pages – a concluding chapter titled ‘The Kind of Problem a City Is’ – are really about the process of thinking through and investigating a problem. Highly recommended as a window into the craft of research.

Jacobs’s text references an essay on advancing human knowledge by the mathematician Warren Weaver. At the time, Weaver was director of the Rockefeller Foundation, in charge of funding basic research in the natural and medical sciences. Although the essay is titled ‘A Quarter Century in the Natural Sciences’ (1960) and appears at first blush to be merely a summation of one man’s career, it turns out to be something much bigger and more interesting: a meditation on the history of human beings seeking answers to big questions about the world. Weaver goes back to the 17th century to trace the origins of systematic research thinking, with enthusiasm and vivid anecdotes that make the process come alive. The essay is worth reading in its entirety, and is available free of charge via this link .

For those seeking a more in-depth, professional-level discussion of the logic of research design, the political scientist Harvey Starr provides insight in a compact format in the article ‘Cumulation from Proper Specification: Theory, Logic, Research Design, and “Nice” Laws’ (2005). Starr reviews the ‘research triad’, consisting of the interlinked considerations of formulating a question, selecting relevant theories and applying appropriate methods. The full text of the article, published in the scholarly journal Conflict Management and Peace Science , is available, free of charge, via this link .

Finally, the book Getting What You Came For (1992) by Robert Peters is not only an outstanding guide for anyone contemplating graduate school – from the application process onward – but it also includes several excellent chapters on planning and executing research, applicable across a wide variety of subject areas. It was an invaluable resource for me 25 years ago, and it remains in print with good reason; I recommend it to all my students, particularly Chapter 16 (‘The Thesis Topic: Finding It’), Chapter 17 (‘The Thesis Proposal’) and Chapter 18 (‘The Thesis: Writing It’).

How to think differently about love

Poets, philosophers and scientists all tell stories about the nature of romantic love. It can be liberating to critique them

by Arina Pismenny

Thinking and intelligence

How to see the humanity in anyone

Practising a form of ‘deep curiosity’ can help you connect with yourself and others, even if they’re on the ‘other side’

by Scott Shigeoka

Memory and nostalgia

How to get better at remembering

Frustrated by elusive names and misplaced phones? The science of memory reveals ways to improve your powers of recall

by Elizabeth Kensinger & Andrew Budson

How to Setup a Research

Defined in simplest terms, research is searching for and gathering information, usually to answer a particular question or problem. In the broadest sense of the word, the definition of research includes any gathering of data, information, and facts for the advancement of knowledge.

Ways to set up a research experiment When you are ready in conducting research work, you generally go through the steps described below, either formally or informally. Some of these are more important directly in designing the experiment to test the hypotheses required by the research work. The following steps are generally used in setting up research work.

1. Review pertinent literature A thesis or dissertation has an essential chapter named literature review, its purpose is to:

• Place each work in the context of its contribution to the understanding of the subject under review
• Describe the relationship of each work to the others under consideration
• Identify new ways to interpret, and shed light on any gaps in, previous research
• Resolve conflicts amongst seemingly contradictory previous studies
• Identify areas of prior scholarship to prevent duplication of effort
• Point the way forward for further research
• Place one’s original work (in the case of theses or dissertations) in the context of existing literature

Review related literature to learn what has been done in the field and to become familiar enough with the field to let you discuss it with others. The best ideas often cross disciplines and species, so a broad approach is important.

2. Define your objectives and the hypotheses Define your objectives and the hypotheses that you are going to test. You can’t be vague. You must be specific. A good hypothesis is:

• Clear enough to be tested
• Adequate to explain the phenomenon
• Good enough to permit further prediction
• As simple as possible

3. Selection of the right topic The ability to hit upon a good research topic is an important skill. An instructor may assign you a specific topic, but most often instructors require you to select your own topic of interest. There are a few things that you will need to do while deciding on a topic:

• Brainstorm for ideas
• Choose a topic that will enable you to read and understand the literature
• Ensure that the topic is manageable and that material is available
• Make a list of keywords
• Define your topic as a focused research question
• Research and read more about your topic
• Formulate a thesis statement
• Be flexible

Be aware that selecting a good topic may not be easy. It must be narrow and focused enough to be interesting, yet broad enough to find adequate information. Before selecting your topic, make sure you know what your final project should look like. Each class or instructor will likely require a different format or style of the research project.

4. Your research plan must be realistic Your topic could be the best in the field, but do you have enough resources to finish the project? Suppose your research project involves traveling halfway around the world to conduct a field investigation. The question you must be asking yourself is: can I afford that much time and money? If not, then no matter how brilliant your idea is, you need to think of something else. Save this one for when you receive a healthy research grant. In addition, research facilities, especially laboratories, research institutes, and collaboration of the research organization are more responsible to be realistic in your research work.

5. Research timeline Having a project timeline is everything. It keeps you on track all the time. You should have a timeline set out in the first week, stating targets that you must achieve throughout the duration of your research project. Things could go wrong here and there, and you can always adjust dates, but it is very important to have a schedule, ideally broken down further into weekly targets. Ask your supervisor about what kind of targets you should set and try to achieve these on a weekly basis. Doing this should help you avoid becoming overwhelmed.

6. Research procedure Selection of design: Selection of treatment design is very crucial and can make the difference between success and failure in achieving the objectives. Should seek the help of a statistical resource person (statistician) or of others more experienced in the field. Statistical help should be sought when planning an experiment rather than afterward when a statistician is expected to extract meaningful conclusions from a poorly designed experiment.

Selection of measurements to be taken: With the computer, it is now possible to analyze large quantities of data and thus the researcher can gain considerably more information about the crop, etc. than just the effects of the imposed variables on yield. In addition, selection of the unit of observation, i.e., the individual plant, one row, or a whole plot, etc.? One animal or a group of animals?

Make an outline of statistical analyses to be performed: Before you plant the first pot or plot or feed the first animal, you should have set up an outline of the statistical analysis of your experiment to determine whether or not you are able to test the factors you wish with the precision you desire.

7. An experiment installation Care should be taken in measuring treatment materials (fertilizers, herbicides, or other chemicals, food rations, etc.) and the application of treatments to the experimental units. Errors here can have disastrous effects on the experimental results. In field experiments, you should personally check the bags of fertilizer or seed of varieties which should be placed on each plot, to be certain that the correct fertilizers or variety will be applied to the correct plot before any fertilizer is applied or any seed planted. Once the fertilizer is applied to a plot, it generally cannot be removed easily. With laboratory experiments or preparation of various rations for feeding trials, check calculations and reagents or ingredients, etc., and set up a system of formulating the treatments to minimize the possibility of errors.

8. Data collection Careful measurements should be made with the appropriate instruments. It is better to collect too much data than not enough. Data should also be recorded properly in a permanent notebook.

9. Data analysis Be sure to have a plan of analysis, e.g., which analysis and in what order will they be done? Interpret the results in light of the experimental conditions and hypotheses tested. Statistics do not prove anything and there is always the possibility that your conclusions may be wrong. One must consider the consequences of drawing an incorrect conclusion and modify the interpretation accordingly. Do not jump to a conclusion just because an effect is significant. This is especially so if the conclusion doesn’t agree with previously established facts. The experimental data should be checked very carefully if this occurs, as the results must make sense!

10. Final report of the experiment This may be a report to the researcher. There is no such thing as a negative result. If the null hypothesis is not rejected, it is positive evidence that there may be no real difference among the treatments tested. The report may be presented through table and figure.

It is obviously more important to find out the right supervisor as having a supervisor makes research very comfortable and easy through his/ her guidance. This topic is written for Biological Science/Natural Science Research. For other domains, a little bit of change may occur in a different section of this topic.

| Journal | Instructions | Submission |

Our websites may use cookies to personalize and enhance your experience. By continuing without changing your cookie settings, you agree to this collection. For more information, please see our University Websites Privacy Notice .

Office of Undergraduate Research

Tips for starting an independent research project.

By Grace Vaidian, Peer Research Ambassador 

Here at UConn, a prevalent avenue for delving into research is to reach out to professors and join their existing projects. While the structure and guidance that this approach offers can be undeniably valuable (it’s how I obtained the research opportunities I’m currently working on!), there are students who feel like they have a brilliant research idea of their own but lack the know-how to bring these projects to life. I’m here to offer some tips on how to initiate and successfully navigate an independent research project.

Where to Begin: Identifying the Knowledge Gap

The first step in embarking on your independent research journey is to pinpoint a gap in knowledge. This is essentially an underexplored area that could greatly benefit from further research and discoveries. For some, this gap might be immediately apparent, but for others, including myself, it might require a bit more digging. One effective way to identify this gap is through a thorough literature review on a topic of interest. Most academic publications include insights into the unanswered questions and areas that warrant further investigation in the discussion or conclusion sections. This is a great starting point for coming up with your own research question. Additionally, this literature review process can give you ideas for a methodology to follow.

Finding a Mentor: A Valuable Guide on Your Journey

I know, the focus of this blog is how to do independent research, so why am I now suggesting finding a mentor? It’s important to recognize that even if you possess extensive knowledge on a particular topic, you’re still a student with much to learn. Having an expert to provide feedback and guidance on your project idea is invaluable and often mandatory to move a project forward. Once you’ve formulated a research question, you should collaborate with faculty or professionals willing to support your future steps. A case in point is a self-initiated project I worked on involving fentanyl overdose deaths. I realized that having open access to autopsy and toxicology reports would be impossible for a 16-year-old. However, by proposing my project idea to a local forensic pathologist and securing her mentorship, I was welcomed into the Medical Examiner’s Office and was able to review the necessary reports. A mentor can play a pivotal role in helping you secure the essential resources for your project.

Crafting Your Project: Defining Goals and Objectives

With your research question in place, it’s time to define your project’s goals. Do you want to be published? Create a product? Enter a competition? With your goals in mind, you can outline your objectives, methods, and create a timeline. At UConn, there are some great programs that support independent research, such as the Holster Scholar Program and the UConn IDEA Grant . As you explore these possibilities, remember to be realistic about the time and resources your project will require.

Taking the Leap: Go for It!

Independent research projects offer a unique opportunity to delve into your passions, build critical thinking skills, and contribute to new discoveries. The journey may be challenging, but the knowledge and skills you acquire are invaluable. Throughout the process, remember to enjoy the journey. I wish you the best of luck on your independent research adventure!

Grace is a senior double majoring in Molecular & Cell Biology and Drugs, Disease, and Illness (Individualized Major).  Click here  to learn more about Grace. 

• Jan 7 Finding Summer Research Opportunities 3:00 PM
• Jan 13 Finding Summer Research Opportunities (copy) 1:00 PM
• Jan 28 Undergraduate Fellowship Information Session Homer Babbidge Library 4:00 PM

Affiliate 💸

Get started free

Research Project Guide

6 Tips On How To Start A Research Project Successfully

Discover practical tips on how to start research project successfully and set yourself up for success from the very beginning!

Oct 21, 2024

Starting a research project can feel like standing at the base of a mountain, unsure where to begin the climb. Whether dealing with a tight deadline or aiming for efficiency, knowing how to start a research project is crucial. This guide will provide practical insights to help you conduct fast research and write efficiently to tackle your project confidently and quickly. One innovative tool to help you achieve these goals is Otio's AI research and writing partner, designed to streamline the research process and enhance your writing efficiency.

Table Of Contents

What is a research project, 9 best tools for research projects, tips for starting an independent research project, supercharge your researching ability with otio — try otio for free today.

A research project is a structured exploration to answer specific questions or achieve particular objectives. Picture it as a well-organized journey, with clear steps that guide you from start to finish. You’ll begin with a literature review to understand what’s already known. Then, you’ll design your study, gather and analyze data, and report your findings. These projects are crucial in addressing problems, forming hypotheses, and creating strategies based on available resources like staff and funding. 

The research must include a defined problem, a solid theoretical foundation, and a data collection and analysis process, regardless of the scientific field. According to UNESCO , there are roughly 7.8 million researchers worldwide, and scientific publications have surged by 23% since 2008.

Related Reading

• How to Find Academic Sources • How to Analyze Quantitative Data • Can Ai Write a Paper for Me • How Long Does It Take to Write a Research Paper • How to Create a Research Question • Research Methodology Types • How to Organize a Research Paper • Argumentative Essay Topics • Methods Section of Research Paper​

1. Streamline Your Research with Otio

Research today is a minefield of distractions. Content overload leaves you juggling bookmarks, notes, and read-it-later apps. Otio creates a streamlined workspace where you can gather everything from tweets to YouTube videos in one place. Its AI-generated notes transform your resources into usable information, and its chat-like interface lets you interact with your sources intuitively. Give Otio a shot and see how it speeds up your research process .

2. Finding the Right Supervisor

A good supervisor is your guide through the research process. They'll help you design your study, choose the proper methods, and interpret your data. Talk to faculty members, trusted professors, or colleagues to find your match. Once you have a list of potential advisors, email an introductory email and request a meeting.

3. Refining Your Research Topic

Once you've found a supervisor, they can help narrow down the topic. The more specific your focus, the better you can direct your research and dig deep into your subject matter. A refined topic will also save you time by keeping your scope manageable and ensuring that you're concentrating on the most relevant aspects.

4. Crafting a Strong Thesis

Your thesis is the backbone of your project, providing direction and focus. It allows you to collect and organize information more efficiently and guides your readers through your argument. A clear and concise thesis statement is essential for helping your audience understand your project's purpose.

5. Developing a Research Timeline

Creating a timeline helps you structure your project and stay on track. It ensures you're organized and accounted for every step, from research to writing to editing. A timeline can also keep you motivated and prevent you from getting sidetracked.

6. Organizing Your Research with an Outline

Outlines provide structure and clarity, allowing you to organize your thoughts logically. They serve as a roadmap for your research, keeping you focused on the critical points and helping you identify gaps in your research before you start writing.

1. Otio: Streamline Your Research Workflow

Otio provides a unified AI -powered workspace for researchers, allowing them to manage the overwhelming influx of data from bookmarks, tweets, and videos. It enables users to extract key insights and produce draft outputs swiftly .

2. Zotero: Your Research Assistant

Zotero is a tool designed to simplify research by allowing users to efficiently collect, organize, annotate, and share data. It integrates smoothly with browsers, allowing users to save articles and publications conveniently.

Pros  

User-friendly interface  

The free version includes all features and updates  

Plugin support for popular word processors  

Cons  

Limited free cloud storage  

No official Android app is available  

3. EndNote: Automate Your Citation Process

EndNote streamlines the referencing process by automatically formatting citations and creating a bibliography as you write. It’s a cloud-based tool that enables collaboration and smooth work across devices.

Compatible with library databases  

Supports various citation styles  

Efficiently imports multiple references  

Primarily desktop-focused with limited online features  

4. elink.io: Simplify Content Curation

elink.io is a bookmarking and curation tool that helps researchers save and organize web content effortlessly. It allows users to compile and share their collections with others, enhancing collaboration.

Easy to use with quick deployment  

Eye-catching graphics and custom uploads  

Smooth integration with SurveyMonkey  

Customer service issues reported  

Inconsistent pricing  

5. Grammarly: Enhance Your Writing Quality

Grammarly is an AI-powered typing assistant that identifies spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors and suggests replacements. It’s a free basic version with a premium upgrade for more advanced features.

Advanced features for fluency and consistency  

User-friendly interface  

Non-intrusive writing experience  

Inconsistent accuracy in context-dependent cases  

May unnecessarily lengthen sentences  

6. Asana: Manage Your Research Projects

 Asana is a task management platform that connects development, copywriting, design, research teams, and product managers. It offers many features, including time tracking and Jira integration.

Time-tracking capabilities  

Securely stores information about projects  

User-friendly dashboard for task management  

Overwhelming for small teams or simple projects  

No built-in time-tracking  

7. SurveyMonkey: Create Surveys with Ease

SurveyMonkey is a leading online survey tool with millions of users. It offers hundreds of templates for researchers to set up and deploy surveys for various purposes quickly.

Easy survey creation and multimedia integration  

Valuable reporting toolkit  

Excellent customer service  

Too many features for some users  

Limited user access options  

8. ProofHub: Stay Organized and Focused

ProofHub is an all-in-one project and team management application that helps research teams efficiently plan their projects. It offers features like Kanban boards, Gantt charts, and time-tracking.

Affordable for large teams  

Customizable project reports  

Mobile apps for iOS and Android  

Limited support  

Costly for individuals and new teams  

9. RefnWrite: Improve Your Academic Writing

RefnWrite is a tool that helps researchers improve their academic writing with a library of phrases and templates. It uses AI to suggest phrases, cross-reference previous work, and more.

Comprehensive phrase bank and templates  

Powerful paraphrasing tool  

Smooth integration with Microsoft Word  

The learning curve for advanced features  

Limited free trial  

1. Spotting the Knowledge Gap: Your Starting Line

Kick off your independent research by spotting a gap in existing knowledge. This is an underexplored area ripe for discoveries. While some might immediately see this gap, others could need to dig deeper. A thorough literature review on your topic of interest can help. Many academic papers have insights into unanswered questions in their discussion or conclusion sections, making them an excellent resource for formulating your research question. Plus, this process can help you think about methodologies to use.

2. Securing a Mentor: Your Research Sidekick

Sure, you’re going for independence in your research, but mentors are assets, not obstacles. Even if you know a lot about your topic, you’re still in learning mode. Having an expert guide you through feedback and advice can be a game-changer and might even be necessary for progress. Once you have a research question, collaborate with faculty or professionals open to supporting you. For example, in a project I did on fentanyl overdose deaths, I needed access to autopsy reports. I got the needed resources by proposing my idea to a local forensic pathologist and gaining her mentorship.

3. Shaping Your Project: Setting Goals and Plans

With your research question ready, setting your project’s goals is time. Are you aiming for publication? Developing a product? Winning a competition? With these goals in mind, outline your objectives, methods, and timeline. Check out programs that support research projects, like the Holster Scholar Program and the UConn IDEA Grant. While exploring options, be realistic about the time and resources your project will need.

4. Making the Move: Get Going!

Independent research projects allow you to explore your passions and build essential skills. While the journey can be arduous, the knowledge and skills you gain are priceless. Enjoy the ride.

Let Otio be your AI research and writing partner. Try Otio for free today !

• How to Write a Psychology Research Paper • Research Questions Examples • Research Paper Abstract Example​ • How to Write Results in a Research Paper • Title Page for Research Paper • How to Cite a Research Paper • Best AI for Data Analysis • How to Write a Discussion in a Research Paper • Best AI for Writing Research Papers • Data Collection Tools • Ai Visualization Tools

Today, researchers and students face a storm of information. Too many settle for complex bookmarking and note-taking apps to manage their workflow, but this is not sustainable. As content creation becomes more accessible, the overload will only increase. What’s the solution? Otio offers a single AI -native workspace covering all research stages—from collecting diverse data sources to producing first drafts. Think about it: why scatter your efforts when one app can guide you through your entire research process?

A Researcher’s Best Friend: Collecting and Organizing Data

Otio is your research partner , helping you gather everything from tweets and books to videos. You don’t have to skip between different platforms, losing precious time. Otio lets you bring it all together in one place. Consider having a treasure trove of information, all neatly organized and ready to explore. This means less time hunting for data and more time connecting ideas.

Decoding the Noise: Extracting Key Takeaways

Once you have your data, you need to make sense of it. Otio uses AI to generate detailed notes on your bookmarks. Whether a YouTube video or an academic article, the platform highlights the most critical points. You can chat with your sources or entire knowledge bases, just like ChatGPT. This means you can ask questions and get answers fast. You won’t have to sift through endless content pages to find what you need.

From Reading List to Research Draft: Creating with Confidence

One of Otio’s most loved features is its ability to help you draft your work. Once you’ve collected and understood your data, the platform assists you in writing your research paper or essay. You can go from a reading list to a rough draft quickly, allowing you to focus on refining your ideas . This means you can spend less time struggling with writer’s block and more time producing meaningful work.

• Note-taking AI for Students • Milanote vs Notion • Obsidian vs Evernote • Claude AI Alternative • Milanote vs Miro • Logseq vs Obsidian • Best Chat Gpt Alternatives • Zotero vs Mendeley • Writesonic vs Jasper

Dec 21, 2024

Research Data Management

20+ Best Product Research Tools for Efficient Research

Dec 20, 2024

12 Best Workflow Automation Software for Enhanced Productivity

Join over 100,000 researchers changing the way they read & write

Chrome Extension

© 2024 Frontdoor Labs Ltd.

Terms of Service

Privacy Policy

Refund Policy

Join over 50,000 researchers changing the way they read & write

Join thousands of other scholars and researchers

Try Otio Free

© 2023 Frontdoor Labs Ltd.

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

2 Starting your research project

Chapter outline.

• Choosing a research topic (10 minute read)
• Your research proposal (14 minute read)
• Critical considerations (5 minute read)
• Evaluating online resources (11 minute read)

Content warning: Examples in this chapter discuss substance use disorders, mental health disorders and therapies, obesity, poverty, gun violence, gang violence, school discipline, racism and hate groups, domestic violence, trauma and triggers, incarceration, child neglect and abuse, bullying, self-harm and suicide, racial discrimination in housing, burnout in helping professions, and sex trafficking of indigenous women.

2.1 Choosing a research topic

Learning objectives.

Learners will be able to…

• Brainstorm topics you may want to investigate as part of a research project
• Explore your feelings and existing knowledge about the topic
• Develop a working question

Research methods is a unique class in that you get to decide what you want to learn about. Perhaps you came to your MSW program with a specific issue you were passionate about. In my MSW program, I wanted to learn about the best interventions to use with people who have substance use disorders. This was in line with my future career plans, which included working in a clinical setting with clients with co-occurring mental health and substance use issues. I suggest you start by thinking about your future practice goals and create a research project that addresses a topic that represents an area of social work you are passionate about.

For those of you without a specific direction, don’t worry. Many people enter their MSW program without an exact topic in mind they want to study. Throughout the program, you will be exposed to different populations, theories, practice interventions, and policies that will spark your interest. Think back to papers you enjoyed researching and writing in other classes. You may want to continue studying the same topic. Research methods will enable you to gain a deeper, more nuanced understanding of a topic or issue. If you haven’t found an interesting topic yet, here are some other suggestions for seeking inspiration for a research project:

• If you already have practice experience in social work through employment, an internship, or volunteer work, think about practice issues you noticed in the placement. Do you have any idea of how to better address client needs? Do you need to learn more about existing interventions or the programs that fund your agency? Use this class as an opportunity to engage with your previous field experience in greater detail. Begin with “what” and “why” questions and then expand on those. For example, what are the most effective methods of treating severe depression among a specific population? Or why are people receiving food assistance more likely to be obese? 
• You could also a sk a professor at your school about possible topics. Read departmental information on faculty research interests, which may surprise you. Most departmental websites post the curriculum vitae (CV) of faculty, which lists their publications, credentials, and interests. For those of you interested in doctoral study, this process is particularly important. Students often pick schools based on professors they want to learn from or research initiatives they want to join. 

Once you have a potential idea, start reading! A simple web search should bring you some basic information about your topic. News articles can reveal new or controversial information. You may also want to identify and browse academic journals related to your research interests. Faculty and librarians can help you identify relevant journals in your field and specific areas of interest. We’ll also review more detailed strategies for searching the literature in Chapter 3. As you read, look for what’s missing. These may be “gaps in the literature” that you might explore in your own study.

It’s a good idea to keep it simple when you’re starting your project. Choose a topic that can be easily defined and explored. Your study cannot focus on everything that is important about your topic. A study on gun violence might address only one system, for example schools, while only briefly mentioning other systems that impact gun violence. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad study! Every study presents only a small picture of a larger, more complex and multifaceted issue. The sooner you can arrive at something specific and clear that you want to study, the better off your project will be.

Writing a working question

There are lots of great research topics. Perhaps your topic is a client population—for example, youth who identify as LGBTQ+ or visitors to a local health clinic. In other cases, your topic may be a social problem, such as gang violence, or a social policy or program, such as zero-tolerance policies in schools. Alternately, maybe there are interventions such as dialectical behavioral therapy or applied behavior analysis that interest you.

Whatever your topic idea, begin to think about it in terms of a question. What do you really want to know about the topic? As a warm-up exercise, try dropping a possible topic idea into one of the blank spaces below. The questions may help bring your subject into sharper focus and bring you closer towards developing your topic.

• What does ___ mean?
• What are the causes of ___?
• What are the consequences of ___?
• What are the component parts of ___?
• How does ___ impact ___?
• What is it like to experience ___?
• What is the relationship between _____ and the outcome of ____?
• What case can be made for or against ___?
• What are the risk/protective factors for ___?
• How do people think about ___?

Take a minute right now and write down a question you want to answer. Even if it doesn’t seem perfect, it is important to start somewhere. Make sure your research topic is relevant to social work. You’d be surprised how much of the world that encompasses. It’s not just research on mental health treatment or child welfare services. Social workers can study things like the pollution of irrigation systems and entrepreneurship in women, among other topics. The only requirement is your research must inform action to fight social problems faced by target populations.

Because research is an iterative process , one that you will revise over and over, your question will continue to evolve. As you progress through this textbook, you’ll learn how to refine your question and include the necessary components for proper qualitative and quantitative research questions. Your question will also likely change as you engage with the literature on your topic. You will learn new and important concepts that may shift your focus or clarify your original ideas. Trust that a strong question will emerge from this process. A good researcher must be comfortable with altering their question as a result of scientific inquiry.

Very often, our students will email us in the first few weeks of class and ask if they have a good research topic. We love student emails! But just to reassure you if you’re about to send a panicked email to your professor, as long as you are interested in dedicating a semester or two learning about your topic, it will make a good research topic. That’s why we would advise you to focus on how much you like this topic, so that three months from now you are still motivated to complete your project. Your project should have meaning to you.

How do you feel about your topic?

Now that you have an idea of what you might want to study, it’s time to consider what you think and feel about that topic. Your motivation for choosing a topic does not have to be objective. Because social work is a value-based profession, scholars often find themselves motivated to conduct research that furthers social justice or fights oppression. Just because you think a policy is wrong or a group is being marginalized, for example, does not mean that your research will be biased. It means you must understand what you feel, why you feel that way, and what would cause you to feel differently about your topic.

Start by asking yourself how you feel about your topic. Sometimes the best topics to research are those about which you feel strongly. What better way to stay engaged with your research project than to study something you are passionate about? However, you must be able to accept that people may have a different perspective, and you must represent their viewpoints fairly in the research report you produce. If you feel prepared to accept all findings, even those that may be unflattering or distinct from your personal perspective, then perhaps you should begin your research project by intentionally studying a topic about which you have strong feelings.

Kathleen Blee (2002) [1] has taken this route in her research. Blee studies groups whose racist ideologies may be different than her own. You can listen to her lecture Women in Organized Racism that details some of her findings. Her scientific research is so impactful because she was willing to report her findings and observations honestly, even those contrary to her beliefs and feelings. If you believe that you may have personal difficulty sharing findings with which you disagree, then you may want to study a different topic. Knowing your own hot-button issues is an important part of self-knowledge and reflection in social work, and there is nothing wrong with avoiding topics that are likely to cause you unnecessary stress.

Social workers often use personal experience as a starting point to identify topics of interest. As we’ve discussed here, personal experience can be a powerful motivator to learn more about a topic. However, social work researchers should be mindful of their own mental health during the research process. A social worker who has experienced a mental health crisis or traumatic event should approach researching related topics cautiously. There is no need to trigger yourself or jeopardize your mental health for a research project. For example, a student who has just experienced domestic violence may want to know about Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. While the student might gain some knowledge about potential treatments for domestic violence, they will likely have to read through many stories and reports about domestic violence as part of the research process. Unless the student’s trauma has been processed in therapy, conducting a research project on this topic may negatively impact the student’s mental health.

What do you think about your topic?

Once you figure out what you feel about your topic, consider what you think about it. There are many ways we know what we know. Perhaps your mother told you something is so. Perhaps it came to you in a dream. Perhaps you took a class last semester and learned something about your topic there. Or you may have read something about your topic in your local newspaper. We discussed the strengths and weaknesses associated with some of these different sources of knowledge in Chapter 1 , and we’ll talk about other scientific sources of knowledge in Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 . For now, take some time to think of everything you know about your topic. Thinking about what you already know will help you identify any biases you may have, and it will help as you begin to frame a question about your topic.

You might consider creating a concept map, just to get your thoughts and ideas on paper and beginning to organize them. Consider this video from the University of Guelph Library ( CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 ).

Key Takeaways

• You should pick a topic for your research proposal that you are interested in, since you will be working with it for several months.
• Investigate your own feelings and thoughts about a topic, and make sure you can be objective and fair in your investigation.
• Research projects are guided by a working question that develops and changes as you learn more about your topic.

Just as a reminder, exercises are designed to help you create your individual research proposal. We designed these activities to break down your proposal into small but manageable chunks. We suggest completing each exercise so you can apply what you are learning to your individual research project, as the exercises in each section and each chapter build on one another.

If you haven’t done so already, you can create a document in a word processor on your computer or in a written notebook with your answers to each exercise.

Brainstorm at least 4-5 topics of interest to you and pick the one you think is the most promising for a research project.

• For your chosen topic, outline what you currently know about the topic and your feelings towards the topic. Make sure you are able to be objective and fair in your research.
• Formulate at least one working question to guide your inquiry. It is common for topics to change and develop over the first few weeks of a project, but think of your working question as a place to start. Use the 10 examples we provided in this chapter if you need some help getting started.

2.2 Your research proposal

• Describe the stages of a research project
• Define your target population and describe how your study will impact that population
• Identify the aim of your study
• Classify your project as descriptive, exploratory, explanatory, or evaluative

Most research methods courses are designed to help students propose a research project. But what is a research project? Figure 2.1 indicates the steps of the research project. Right now, we are in the top right corner, using your informal observations from your practice experience and lived experience to form a working draft of your research question. In the next three chapters, you’ll learn how to find and evaluate scholarly literature on your topic. After thoroughly evaluating the literature, you’ll conceptualize an empirical study based on a research question you create. In many courses, students will have to carry out these designs and make a contribution to the research literature in their topic area.

This book uses a project-based approach because it mimics the real-world process of inquiry on a social work topic. In an introductory research methods course, students often have to create a research proposal followed by a more advanced research class in which they conduct quantitative and qualitative data analysis. The research proposal , is a document produced by researchers that reviews the literature relevant to their topic and describes the methods they will use to conduct their study. Part 1 of this textbook is designed to help you with your literature review. Part 2 is designed to help you figure out which methods you will use in your study.

Check with your professor on whether you are required to carry out the project you propose to do in your research proposal. Some of you may only need to propose a hypothetical project. If you are planning to complete your project, you will have to pay more attention to the practical and ethical considerations in this chapter.

A research proposal is focused on a question. Right now, this is your working question from Section 2.1. If you haven’t created one yet, this is a good time to pause and complete the exercises from section 2.1. [2] It is likely you will revise your working question many times as you read more literature about your topic. Consider yourself in the cycle between (re)creating your research question and reviewing the research literature for Part 1 of the textbook.

Student research proposals

Student research projects are a big undertaking, but they are well within your capability as a graduate student. Let’s start with the research proposal. Think about the research proposal as a communication device. You are telling the reader (your professor, usually) everything they need to know in order to understand your topic and the research study you plan to do. You are also demonstrating to the reader that you are competent and informed enough to conduct the study.

You can think of a research proposal like creating a recipe. If you are a chef trying to cook a new dish from scratch, you would probably start by looking at other recipes. You might cook a few of them and come up with ideas about how to create your own version of the dish. Writing your recipe is a process of trial and error, and you will likely revise your proposal many times over the course of the semester. This textbook and its exercises designed to get you working on your project little by little, so that by the time you turn in your final research proposal, you’ll be confident it represents the best way to answer your question. Of course, like with any time I cook, you never quite know how it will turn out. What matters for scientists in the end isn’t whether your data proves your ideas right or wrong or whether your data collection doesn’t work as planned or goes off perfectly. Instead, what matters is that you report your results (warts and all) as honestly and openly as possible to inform others engaged in scholarly inquiry.

Is writing a research proposal a useful skill for a social worker? On one hand, you probably won’t be writing research proposals for a living. But the same structure of a research proposal (literature review + methods) is used in grant applications. Writing grant proposals is often a part of practice, particularly in agency-based and policy practice. Instead of finding a gap in the literature to study, practitioners write grant proposals describing a program they will use to address an issue in their community, as well as the research methods they will use to evaluate whether it worked. Similarly, a policy advocate or public administrator might sketch out a proposed program and its evaluation as part of a proposal. Proposal writing may differ somewhat in practice, but the general idea is the same.

Focusing your project

Based on your work in Section 2.1, you should have a working question—a place to start. Think about what you hope to accomplish with your study. This is the aim of your research project. Often, social work researchers begin with a target population in mind.  As you will recall from section 1.4, social work research is research for action . Social workers engage in research to help people. Think about your working question. Why do you want to answer it? What impact would answering your question have?

In my MSW program, I began my research by looking at ways to intervene with people who have substance use disorders. My foundation year placement was in an inpatient drug treatment facility that used 12-step facilitation as its primary treatment modality. I observed that this approach differed significantly from others I had been exposed to, especially the idea of powerlessness over drugs and drug use. My working question started as “what are the alternatives to 12-step treatment for people with substance use issues and are they more effective?”  The aim of my project was to determine whether different treatment approaches might be more effective, and I suspected that self-determination and powerlessness were important.

It’s important to note that my working question contained a target population —people with substance use disorders. A target population is the group of people that will benefit the most. I envisioned I would help the field of social work to think through how to better meet clients where they were at, specific to the problem of substance use. I was studying to be a clinical social worker, so naturally, I formulated a micro-level question. Yet, the question also has implications for meso- and macro-level practice. If other treatment methods are more effective than 12-step facilitation, then we should direct more public money towards providing more effective therapies for people who use substances. We may also need to train the substance use professionals to use new treatment methodologies.

Think about your working question.

• Is it more oriented towards micro-, meso-, or macro-level practice?
• What implications would answering your question have at each level of the ecosystem?

Asking yourself whether your project is more micro, meso, or macro is a good check to see if your project is well-focused. A project that seems like it could be all of those might have too many components or try to study too much. Consider identifying one ecosystemic level your project will focus on, and you can interpret and contextualize your findings at the other levels of analysis.

Exploration, description, and explanation

Social science is a big place. Looking at the various empirical studies in the literature, there is a lot of diversity—from focus groups with clients and families to multivariate statistical analysis of large population surveys conducted online. Ultimately, all of social science can be described as one of three basic types of research studies. As you develop your research question, consider which of the following types of research studies fits best with what you want to learn about your topic. In subsequent chapters, we will use these broad frameworks to help craft your study’s final research question and choose quantitative and qualitative research methods to answer it.

Exploratory research

Researchers conducting  exploratory research are typically at the early stages of examining their topics. Exploratory research projects are carried out to test the feasibility of conducting a more extensive study and to figure out the “lay of the land” with respect to the particular topic. Usually, very little prior research has been conducted on this topic. For this reason, a researcher may wish to do some exploratory work to learn what method to use in collecting data, how best to approach research subjects, or even what sorts of questions are reasonable to ask.

Often, student projects begin as exploratory research. Because students don’t know as much about the topic area yet, their working questions can be general and vague. That’s a great place to start! An exploratory question is great for delving into the literature and learning more about your topic. For example, the question “what are common social work interventions for parents who neglect their children?” is a good place to start when looking at articles and textbooks to understand what interventions are commonly used with this population. However, it is important for a student research project to progress beyond exploration unless the topic truly has very little existing research. 

In my classes, I often read papers where students say there is not a lot of literature on a topic, but a quick search of library databases shows a deep body of literature on the topic. The skills you develop in Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 should assist you with finding relevant research, and working with a librarian can definitely help with finding information for your research project. That said, there are a few students each year who pick a topic for which there is in fact little existing research. Perhaps, if you were looking at child neglect interventions for parents who identify as transgender or parents who are refugees from the Syrian civil war, less would be known about child neglect for those specific populations. In that case, an exploratory design would make sense as there is little, if any, literature about your specific topic.

Descriptive research

Another purpose of a research project is to describe or define a particular phenomenon. This is called descriptive research . For example, researchers at the Princeton Review conduct descriptive research each year when they set out to provide students and their parents with information about colleges and universities around the United States. They describe the social life at a school, the cost of admission, and student-to-faculty ratios (to name just a few of the categories reported). If our topic were child neglect, we might seek to know the number of people arrested for child neglect in our community and whether they are more likely to have other problems, such as poverty, mental health issues, or substance use.

Social workers often rely on descriptive research to tell them about their service area. Keeping track of the number of parents receiving child neglect interventions, their demographic makeup (e.g., race, sex, age), and length of time in care are excellent examples of descriptive research. On a more macro-level, the Centers for Disease Control provides a remarkable amount of descriptive research on mental and physical health conditions. In fact, descriptive research has many useful applications, and you probably rely on such findings without realizing you are reading descriptive research.

Explanatory research

Lastly, social work researchers often aim to explain why particular phenomena operate in the way that they do. Research that answers “why” questions is referred to as explanatory research . Asking “why” means the researcher is trying to identify cause-and-effect relationships in their topic. For example, explanatory research may try to identify risk and protective factors for parents who neglect their children. Explanatory research may attempt to understand how religious affiliation impacts views on immigration. All explanatory research tries to study cause-and-effect relationships between two or more variables . A specific offshoot of explanatory research that comes up often is evaluation research , which investigates the impact of an intervention, program, or policy on a group of people. Evaluation research is commonly practiced in agency-based social work settings, and later chapters will discusses some of the basics for conducting a program evaluation.

There are numerous examples of explanatory social scientific investigations. For example, Dominique Simons and Sandy Wurtele (2010) [3] sought to understand whether receiving corporal punishment from parents led children to turn to violence in solving their interpersonal conflicts with other children. In their study of 102 families with children between the ages of 3 and 7, the authors found that experiencing frequent spanking did in fact result in children being more likely to accept aggressive problem-solving techniques. Another example of explanatory research can be seen in Robert Faris and Diane Felmlee’s (2011) [4] research study on the connections between popularity and bullying. From their study of 8th, 9th, and 10th graders in nineteen North Carolina schools, they found that aggression increased as adolescents’ popularity increased. [5]

• Think back to your working question from section 2.1. Which type of research—exploratory, descriptive, or explanatory—best describes your working question?
• Try writing a question about your topic that fits with each type of research.

Important things are more rewarding to do

Another consideration in starting a research project is whether the question is important enough to answer. For the researcher, answering the question should be important enough to put in the effort and time required to complete a research project. As we discussed in section 2.1, you should choose a topic that is important to you—one you wouldn’t mind learning about for at least a few months, if not a few years. Time is your most precious resource as a student. Make sure you dedicate it to topics and projects you consider genuinely important.

Your research question should also be contribute to the larger expanse of research in that area. For example, if your research question is “does cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) effectively treat depression?” you are a few decades late to be asking that question. Hundreds of scientists have published articles demonstrating its effectiveness in treating depression. However, a student interested in learning more about CBT can still find new areas to research. Perhaps there is a new population—for example, older adults in a nursing home—or a new problem—like mobile phone addiction—for which there is little research on the impact of CBT.

Your research project should contribute something new to social science. It should address a gap in what we know and what is written in the literature. This can seem intimidating for students whose projects involve learning a totally new topic. How could I add something new when other researchers have studied this for decades? Trust us, by thoroughly reviewing the existing literature, you can find new and unresolved research questions to answer. Google Scholar’s motto at the bottom of their search page is “stand on the shoulders of giants.” Social science research rests on the work of previous scholars, and builds off of what they discovered to learn more about the social world. Ensure that your question will bring our scientific understanding of your topic to new heights.

Finally, your research question should be of import to the social world. Social workers conduct research on behalf of individuals, groups, and communities to promote change as part of their mission to advance human rights and further social and economic justice. Your research should matter to the people you are trying to help. Your research project should aim to improve the lives of people in your target population by helping the world understand their needs more holistically.

Research projects, obviously, do not need to address all aspects of a problem. As social workers, our goal in enacting social justice isn’t to accomplish it all in one semester (or even one lifetime). Our goal is to move the world in the right direction and make small, incremental progress. We encourage all students to think about how they will make their work accessible and relevant to the broader public and use their results to promote change. 

• Research exists in a cycle. Your research project will follow this cycle, beginning from reading literature (where you are now), to proposing a study, to completing a research project, and finally, to publishing the results.
• Social work researchers should identify a target population and understand how their project will impact them.
• Research projects can be exploratory, descriptive, evaluative, or a combination therein. While you are likely still exploring your topic, you may settle on another type of research, particularly if your topic has been previously addressed extensively in the literature.
• Your research project should be important to you, fill a gap or address a controversy in the scientific literature, and make a difference for your target population and broader society.
• State why your working question is an important one to answer, keeping in mind that your statement should address the scientific literature, target population, and the social world.

2.3 Critical considerations

• Critique the traditional role of researchers and identify how action research addresses these issues

So far in this chapter, we have presented the steps of student research projects as follows:

• Find a topic that is important to you and read about it.
• Pose a question that is important to the literature and to your community.
• Propose to use specific research methods to answer your question.
• Carry out your project and report the results.

These were depicted in Figure 2.1 earlier in this chapter. There are important limitations to this approach. This section examines those problems and how to address them.

Whose knowledge is privileged?

First, let’s critically examine your role as the researcher. Following along with the steps in a research project, you start studying the literature your topic, find a place where you can add to scientific knowledge, and conduct your study. But why are you the person who gets to decide what is important? Just as clients are the experts on their lives, members of your target population are the experts on their lives. What does it mean for a group of people to be researched on, rather than researched with? How can we better respect the knowledge and self-determination of community members?

A different way of approaching your research project is to start by talking with members of the target population and those who are knowledgeable about that community. Perhaps there is a community-led organization you can partner with on a research project. The researcher’s role in this case would be more similar to a consultant, someone with specialized knowledge about research who can help communities study problems they consider to be important. The social worker is a co-investigator, and community members are equal partners in the research project. Each has a type of knowledge—scientific expertise vs. lived experience—that should inform the research process.

The community focus highlights something important about student projects: they are localized. Student projects can dedicate themselves to issues at a single agency or within a service area. With a local scope, student researchers can bring about change in their community. This is the purpose behind action research.

Action research

Action research   is research that is conducted for the purpose of creating social change. When engaging in action research, scholars collaborate with community stakeholders to conduct research that will be relevant to the community. Social workers who engage in action research don’t just go it alone; instead, they collaborate with the people who are affected by the research at each stage in the process. Stakeholders, particularly those with the least power, should be consulted on the purpose of the research project, research questions, design, and reporting of results.

Action research also distinguishes itself from other research in that its purpose is to create change on an individual and community level. Kristin Esterberg puts it quite eloquently when she says, “At heart, all action researchers are concerned that research not simply contribute to knowledge but also lead to positive changes in people’s lives” (2002, p. 137). [6] Action research has multiple origins across the globe, including Kurt Lewin’s psychological experiments in the US and Paulo Friere’s literacy and education programs (Adelman, 1993; Reason, 1994). [7] Over the years, action research has become increasingly popular among scholars who wish for their work to have tangible outcomes that benefit the groups they study.

A traditional scientist might look at the literature or use their practice wisdom to formulate a question for quantitative or qualitative research, as we suggested earlier in this chapter. An action researcher, on the other hand, would consult with people in target population and community to see what they believe the most pressing issues are and what their proposed solutions may be. In this way, action research flips traditional research on its head. Scientists are not the experts on the research topic. Instead, they are more like consultants who provide the tools and resources necessary for a target population to achieve their goals and to address social problems using social science research.

According to Healy (2001), [8] the assumptions of participatory-action research are that (a) oppression is caused by macro-level structures such as patriarchy and capitalism; (b) research should expose and confront the powerful; (c) researcher and participant relationships should be equal, with equitable distribution of research tasks and roles; and (d) research should result in consciousness-raising and collective action. Consistent with social work values, action research supports the self-determination of oppressed groups and privileges their voice and understanding through the conceptualization, design, data collection, data analysis, and dissemination processes of research. We will return to similar ideas in Part 4 of the textbook when we discuss qualitative research methods, though action research can certainly be used with quantitative research methods, as well.

Student projects can make a difference!

One last thing. We’ve told you all to think small and simple with your projects. The adage that “a good project is a done project” is true. At the same time, this advice might unnecessarily limit an ambitious and diligent student who wanted to investigate something more complex. For example, here is a Vice News article about MSW student Christine Stark’s work on sex trafficking of indigenous women. Student projects have the potential to address sensitive and politically charged topics. With support from faculty and community partners, student projects can become more comprehensive. The results of your project should accomplish something. Social work research is about creating change, and you will find the work of completing a research project more rewarding and engaging if you can envision the change your project will create.

In addition to broader community and agency impacts, student research projects can have an impact on a university or academic program. Consider this resource on how to research your institution by Rine Vieth. As a student, you are one of the groups on campus with the least power (others include custodial staff, administrative staff, contingent and adjunct faculty). It is often necessary that you organize within your cohort of MSW students for change within the program. Not only is it an excellent learning opportunity to practice your advocacy skills, you can use raw data that is publicly available (such as those linked in the guide) or create your own raw data to inform change. The collaborative and transformative focus of student research projects like these can be impactful learning experiences, and students should consider projects that will lead to some small change in both themselves and their communities.

• Traditionally, researchers did not consult target populations and communities prior to formulating a research question. Action research proposes a more community-engaged model in which researchers are consultants that help communities research topics of import to them.
• Just because we’ve advised you to keep your project simple and small doesn’t mean you must do so! There are excellent examples of student research projects that have created real change in the world.
• Apply the key concepts of action research to your project. How might you incorporate the perspectives and expertise of community members in your project? How can your project create real change?

2.4 Evaluating internet resources

• Apply the SIFT technique to find better coverage of scientific information and current events.

When first learning about a new topic, a natural first place to look is an internet search engine (e.g., Google, Bing, or DuckDuckGo). Before diving into the academic literature (which we will do in the next chapter), let’s explore how to use research methods to find scientific information that is intended for non-expert audiences. Take some time to learn the basics of your topic before you dive into more advanced literature, which may present a more nuanced (or jargon-filled and confusing) study of the topic. Generally, scholarly literature is specialized, in that it does not try to provide a broad overview of a topic for a non-expert audience. When you are looking at journal articles, you are looking at literature intended for other scientists and researchers.

While you can be assured that articles in reputable journals have passed peer review, that does not always mean they contain accurate information. Articles are often debated on social media or in journalistic outlets. For example, here is a news story debunking a journal article which erroneously found Safe Consumption Sites for people who use drugs were moderately associated with crime increases. After multiple scholars evaluated the article’s data, they realized there were flaws in the design and the conclusions were not supported, which led the journal to retract the article. You can find these controversies in the literature by using a Google Scholar feature we’ve talked about before—’Cited By’. Click the ‘Cited By’ link to see which articles cited the article you are evaluating. If you see critical commentary on the article by other scholars, it is likely an area of active scientific debate. You should investigate the controversy further prior to using the source in your literature review.

If your literature search contains sources other than academic journal articles (and almost all of them do), you’ll need to do a bit more work to assess whether the source is reputable enough to include in your review. Let’s say you find a report from a Google Scholar search or a Bing search. Without peer review or a journal’s approval, how do you know the information you are reading is any good?

The SIFT method

Mike Caulfield, Washington State University digital literacy expert, has helpfully condensed key fact-checking strategies into a short list of four moves, or things to do to quickly make a decision about whether or not a source is worthy of your attention. It is referred to as the “SIFT” method, and it stands for Stop, Investigate the source, Find better coverage, and Trace claims claims, quotes, and media to the original context.

When you initially encounter a source of information and start to read it—stop. Ask yourself whether you know and trust the author, publisher, publication, or website. If you don’t, use the other fact-checking moves that follow, to get a better sense of what you’re looking at. In other words, don’t read, share, or use the source in your research until you know what it is, and you can verify it is reliable.

This is a particularly important step, considering what we know about the attention economy—social media, news organizations, and other digital platforms purposely promote sensational, divisive, and outrage-inducing content that emotionally hijacks our attention in order to keep us “engaged” with their sites (clicking, liking, commenting, sharing). Stop and check your emotions before engaging! What about this website is driving your engagement?

Investigate the sources

You don’t have to do a three-hour investigation into a source to determine its truth. But if you’re reading a piece on economics, and the author is a Nobel prize-winning economist, that would be useful information. Likewise, if you’re watching a video on the many benefits of milk consumption, you would want to be aware if the video was produced by the dairy industry. This doesn’t mean the Nobel economist will always be right and that the dairy industry can’t ever be trusted. But knowing the expertise and agenda of the person who created the source is crucial to your interpretation of the information provided.

When investigating a source, fact-checkers read “laterally” across many websites, rather than digging deep (reading “vertically”) into the one source they are evaluating. That is, they don’t spend much time on the source itself, but instead they quickly get off the page and see what others have said about the source. Indeed, one study cited in the video below found that academic historians are actually less able to tell the difference between reputable and bogus internet sources because they do not read laterally but instead check references and credentials. Those are certainly a good idea to check when reading a source in detail, but fact checkers instead ask what other sources on the web say about it rather than what the source says about itself. They open up many tabs in their browser, piecing together different bits of information from across the web to get a better picture of the source they’re investigating. Not only is this faster, but it harnesses the collected knowledge of the web to more accurately determine whether a source is reputable or not.

We recommend watching this short video [2:44] for a demonstration of how to investigate online sources . Pay particular attention to how Wikipedia can be used to quickly get useful information about publications, organizations, and authors. Note: Turn on closed captions with the “CC” button or use the text transcript if you prefer to read.

Find better coverage

What if the source you find is low-quality, or you can’t determine if it is reliable or not? Perhaps you don’t really care about the source—you care about the claim that source is making. You want to know if it is true or false. You want to know if it represents a consensus viewpoint, or if it is the subject of much disagreement. A common example of this is a meme you might encounter on social media. The random person or group who posted the meme may be less important than the quote or claim the meme makes.

Your best strategy in this case might actually be to find a better source altogether, to look for other coverage that includes trusted reporting or analysis on that same claim. Rather than relying on the source that you initially found, you can trade up for a higher quality source. The point is that you’re not wedded to using that initial source. We have the internet! You can go out and find a better source, and invest your time there.

We recommend watching this short video [4:10] that demonstrates how to find better coverage and notes how fact-checkers build a library of trusted sources they can rely on to provide better coverage. Note: Turn on closed captions with the “CC” button or use the text transcript if you prefer to read.

Trace claims, quotes, and media to the original context

Much of what we find on the internet has been stripped of context. Maybe there’s a video of a fight between two people with Person A as the aggressor. But what happened before that? What was clipped out of the video and what stayed in? Maybe there’s a picture that seems real but the caption could be misleading. Maybe a claim is made about a new medical treatment based on a research finding—but you’re not certain if the cited research paper actually said that. The people who re-report these stories either get things wrong by mistake, or, in some cases, they are intentionally misleading us.

In these cases you will want to trace the claim, quote, or media back to the source, so you can see it in its original context and get a sense of whether the version you saw was accurately presented. We will talk about this more in Chapter 3 when we distinguish between primary sources and secondary sources . Secondary and tertiary sources are great for getting started with a topic, but researchers want to rely on the most highly informed source to give us information about a topic. If you see a news article about a research study, look for the journal article written by the researchers who performed the study as citations for your paper rather than a journalist who is unaffiliated with the project.

We recommend watching this short video [1:33] that discusses re-reporting vs. original reporting and demonstrates a quick tip: going “upstream” to find the original reporting source. Researchers must follow the thread of information from where they first read it to where it originated in order to understand its truth and value. Social workers who fail to check their sources can spread misinformation within our practice context or come to ill-informed conclusions that hurt clients or communities.

Once you have limited your search to trustworthy sources, ask yourself the following questions when evaluating which of these sources to download:

• Does this source help me answer my working question?
• Does this source help me revise and focus my working question?
• Does this source help me address what my professor expects in a literature review?
• Is this the best source I can find? Is this a primary or secondary source?
• What is the original context of this information?
• Is there controversy surrounding this source?
• Are the publisher and author reputable and unbiased?

Reflect and plan for the future

As you look search the literature, you will learn more about your topic area. You will learn new concepts that become new keywords in new queries. You will continue to come up with search queries and download articles throughout the research process. While we present this material at the beginning of the textbook, that is a bit misleading. You will return to search the literature often during the research process. As such, it is important to keep notes about what you did at each stage. I usually keep a “working notes” document in the same folder as the PDFs of articles I download. I can write down which categories different articles fall into (e.g., theoretical articles, empirical articles), reflect on how my question may need to change, or highlight important unresolved questions or gaps revealed in my search.

Creating and refining your working question will help you identify the key concepts you study will address. Once you identify those concepts, you’ll need to decide how to define them and how to measure them when it comes time to collect your data. As you are reading articles, note how other researchers who study your topic define concepts theoretically in the introduction and measure them in their methods section. Tuck these notes away for the future, when you will have to define and measure these concepts.

You need to be able to speak intelligently about the target population you want to study, so finding literature about their strengths, challenges, and how they have been impacted by historical and cultural oppression is a good idea. Last, but certainly not least, you should consider any potential ethical concerns that could arise during the course of carrying out your research project. These concerns might come up during your data collection, but they may also arise when you get to the point of analyzing data or disseminating results.

Decisions about the various research components do not necessarily occur in sequential order. For example, you may have to think about potential ethical concerns before changing your working question. In summary, the following list shows some of the major components you’ll need to consider as you design your research project. Make sure you have information that will inform how you think about each component.

• Research question
• Literature review
• Theories and causal relationships
• Unit of analysis and unit of observation
• Key concepts ( conceptual definitions and operational definitions )
• Method of data collection
• Research participants (sample and population)
• Ethical concerns

Carve some time out each week during the beginning of the research process to revisit your working question. As you write notes on the articles you find, reflect on how that knowledge would impact your working question and the purpose of your research. You still have some time to figure it out. We’ll work on turning your working question into a full-fledged research question in Chapter 9 .

• Research requires fact-checking. The SIFT technique is an easy approach to critically investigating internet resources about your topic.
• Investigate the source of the information you find on the web and look for better coverage.
• Search for internet resources that help you address your working question and write your research proposal.
• Look at your professor’s prompt for a literature review and sketch out how you might answer those questions using your present level of knowledge. Search for sources that support or challenge what you think is true about your topic.
• Find a news article reporting about topics similar to your working question. Identify whether it is a primary or secondary source. If it is a secondary source, trace any claims to their primary sources. Provide the URLs.
• Blee, K. (2002).  Inside organized racism: Women and men of the hate movement . Berkeley, CA: University of California Press; Blee, K. (1991).  Women of the Klan: Racism and gender in the 1920s . Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. ↵
• The exercises we created for this textbook are designed to break down the research proposal into bite-sized chunks. Completing the exercises as you read the textbook helps you apply the knowledge you've gained right away and remember what you thought about concepts you read about a few weeks ago. ↵
• Simons, D. A., & Wurtele, S. K. (2010). Relationships between parents’ use of corporal punishment and their children’s endorsement of spanking and hitting other children. Child Abuse & Neglect, 34 , 639–646. ↵
• Faris, R., & Felmlee, D. (2011). Status struggles: Network centrality and gender segregation in same- and cross-gender aggression. American Sociological Review, 76 , 48–73. The study has also been covered by several media outlets: Pappas, S. (2011). Popularity increases aggression in kids, study finds. Retrieved from:  http://www.livescience.com/11737-popularity-increases-aggression-kids-study-finds.html ↵
• This pattern was found until adolescents reached the top 2% in the popularity ranks. After that, aggression declined. ↵
• Esterberg, K. G. (2002).  Qualitative methods in social research . Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill. ↵
• Adelman, C. (1993). Kurt Lewin and the origins of action research.  Educational Action Research, 1,  7-24.; Reason, P. (1994).  Participation in human inquiry . London, UK: Sage. ↵
• Healy, K. (2001). Participatory action research and social work: A critical appraisal.  International Social Work, 44 , 93-105. ↵

a nonlinear process in which the original product is revised over and over again to improve it

a document produced by researchers that reviews the literature relevant to their topic and describes the methods they will use to conduct their study

what a researcher hopes to accomplish with their study

the group of people whose needs your study addresses

conducted during the early stages of a project, usually when a researcher wants to test the feasibility of conducting a more extensive study or if the topic has not been studied in the past

research that describes or defines a particular phenomenon

explains why particular phenomena work in the way that they do; answers “why” questions

“a logical grouping of attributes that can be observed and measured and is expected to vary from person to person in a population” (Gillespie & Wagner, 2018, p. 9)

research that evaluates the outcomes of a policy or program

research that is conducted for the purpose of creating social change

in a literature review, a source that describes primary data collected and analyzed by the author, rather than only reviewing what other researchers have found

interpret, discuss, and summarize primary sources

entity that a researcher wants to say something about at the end of her study (individual, group, or organization)

the entities that a researcher actually observes, measures, or collects in the course of trying to learn something about her unit of analysis (individuals, groups, or organizations)

a network of linked concepts that together provide a comprehensive understanding of a phenomenon

The concrete and specific defintion of something in terms of the operations by which observations can be categorized.

Scientific Inquiry in Social Work (2nd Edition) Copyright © 2020 by Matthew DeCarlo, Cory Cummings, and Kate Agnelli is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book

• Business & Enterprise
• Crime & Justice
• Education, Learning & Skills
• Energy & Environment
• Financial Services
• Health & Wellbeing
• Higher Education
• Work & Welfare
• Behavioural insights
• Business Spotlight – IFF’s business omnibus
• Customer experience research
• Customer satisfaction measurement
• National statistics and complex surveys
• Stakeholder research
• Tenant satisfaction measures
• Our approach
• Trusted partner
• Equality, diversity & inclusion at IFF
• Sustainability at IFF
• Charity giving
• Meet the team
• News & resources
• Case studies

How to run a successful research project

Successful research projects are largely the result of good planning. Before you even start to think about when and how you might conduct a research project in-house, you need to sit down and ask yourself some key questions. These will be your guiding principles throughout the course of your project which will not only keep you on track throughout but ensure you get the insight you really need.

What do you want to achieve from the research?

Ask yourself, ‘what are the research aims and objectives?’ and then frame these aims and objectives in a series of research questions, to help you focus…

For example, if the Department of Computer Science is looking to develop a new Artificial Intelligence degree, what insight are they going to need from potential students and local employers, about similar courses already offered by competitors to make an informed decision about whether to go ahead and develop the course? Your research questions might be:

• What is the appetite among prospective students and key employers for the proposed course?
• What are competitors already offering in this area and how will your offering sit alongside this?
• What should the course cover?
• Who are the key stakeholders within your university, what do  they  need to know and why? Make sure you have these at the forefront of your mind as you develop your methodology to ensure you remain on track and the project is of maximum value.

Top tip: Write yourself a research brief as if you were going to outsource the research project. This will help you to focus on the key questions that need answering.

Methodology.

How you go about doing the research will vary according to the nature of the project and the types of questions you are looking to answer.

If you require statistically robust data on which to base a decision, for example to explore potential interest in two new degrees, then you’re going to need to undertake some quantitative primary research to understand the appetite for these courses among your potential students. You might also want to consider the value of talking to current students on similar courses or even graduates with experience of the labour market who will be able to talk about how they have used their degree and whether a slightly different degree would have been more useful to getting a job or progressing

And if you are thinking about conducting a quantitative study, give some thought as to who will be able to interpret and make sense of the findings at the end. What sort of analysis will be required?

• If you want to better understand the ‘hows’ and the ‘whys’, for example how the reputation of your university is perceived among different audiences, then you’d want to explore these issues in depth through qualitative methods like online focus groups or extended one-to-one interviews. Importantly, how you go about talking to students is going to be different to what works best for employers. And even among employers, how you approach smaller local employers will be different to how you talk to large national or global companies.
• In some cases, your starting point might be secondary research i.e. looking at research findings, market trends or other material already in the public domain. For example, you might want to understand what courses, similar to the one your university is considering developing, are already offered by your key competitors, in what form and at what cost.
• What is the scale of the project, both in terms of how many students / businesses you need or want to talk and the geographical spread?

Of course, you will need to consider the skill set of your team. If there are any elements that are essential but that you just cannot do in-team, spend some time thinking about who is best placed to help you (either someone else in your organisation, or someone external). Another option would be to tweak your methodology.

Top tip: Bring together your colleagues for a brainstorming session to plan out the study. Bouncing ideas off each other is a great way to get everyone to agree the best approach, consider methods you might not have thought of yourself and ensure everyone is clear about their roles and responsibilities.

Budgets are always tight, never more so than now, so it is very important to weigh up the benefit and potential impact a project will have. This will help inform ‘budgets’ for specific projects for example how many of your team you can afford to work on the project and for how long as opposed to them doing something else.

As obvious as it sounds, a key factor in delivering a project successfully is how well you stick to the timetable which will keep up momentum. As with any internal project, it is easy for things to slip as competing priorities are juggled and internal resource is vied for.

Also spend some time thinking about the key milestones of the project; at each stage agree what needs to be done and when. For example, when it comes to launching an online survey, how far in advance before that point will you need to agree the question set and who, if anyone, will you want input from? What contingency might you need to build into the timetable?

Top tip: Involve your key stakeholders throughout the lifecycle of the project and treat them as your client. Arrange progress meetings with them and focussed debrief sessions to give you and your team key dates to work towards.

What will success look like.

Good quality research doesn’t just produce findings, but also real insight and understanding which culminates in a set of helpful actionable recommendations. Think about…

• How the recommendations will line up against the research aims and objectives. At the end of the project give some thought as to whether all the questions you set out to answer have been sufficiently answered. Has the research thrown up more questions and is more research needed?
• What will be the most useful way to share the recommendations with your colleagues and stakeholders? What sort of discussion, if any, will be needed about the recommendations?
• How and when will any recommendations be implemented? What impact will the project have both in the immediate and longer term?
• What will change as a result of having conducted the research? For example, what will be different about the student experience and how will this change be measured? What do you want students to be saying about their time at their university that they aren’t already saying?

Top tip: Ask for feedback, both from your team about the process of actually doing the research, as well as your stakeholders about how they have used the research. Sitting down and reflecting on what went well and what went less well and how a project has had impact will help inform how you will go about future research.