At What Stage In The Research Process Should a Researcher Start Reviewing Literature Text

Jonathan Friesen - Writing Coach

This course is a brief overview about research design that is intended to cover the basics of designing and implementing a scientific study. Xa0 although this course will address every step of the research process, it is by no means exhaustive and is no substitute for a college level course in research methodology, nor is it a substitute for an experienced research advisor. Xa0 for further study in this area, see trochim x2019 s x201c research methods knowledge base.

X201d 1 xa0 it is one of the main sources used for this guide and provides descriptions about the various parts of the process, including diagrams and examples to simplify complex concepts. Xa0 for a researcher to choose a topic for a project, it is important to consider a broad area of inquiry and interest. Xa0 this may be as broad as x201c global eye health x201d or x201c personality psychology, x201d but it should be an area that is of interest to the researcher.

Xa0 within a broader topic of inquiry, each researcher must begin narrowing the field into a few subtopics that are of greater specificity and detail. Xa0 for example, a researcher may be interested in x201c global eye health, x201d but could focus more specifically on x201c proper eye care and how it affects individuals. X201d xa0 although this topic is still too broad for a research project, it is more focused and can be further specified into a coherent project. Oftentimes, students as well as professional researchers discover their topics in a variety of conventional and unconventional ways. Xa0 many researchers find that their personal interests and experiences help to narrow their topic.

Xa0 for students, previous classes and course material are often the source of research ideas. Xa0 furthermore, current events in politics as well as in academia can inspire topics for research. Xa0 xa0 academic journals such as health affairs, health economics, and the american journal of bioethics can provide good material for new studies and e resources such as pubmed, google scholar and philosopher x2019 s index are also good starting places.

Xa0 lastly, many research ideas are generated through dialogue x2014 by talking with professors, fellow students and family. One essential task when undertaking a research study is to review the existing literature on the topic and use it to inform the construction of your own study. Xa0 the literature review should be conducted early in the research process, directly after you choose a topic. Xa0 a literature review can bring clarity and focus to your research problem and broaden your knowledge base in your research area.

Xa0 in addition, past studies can improve your methodology and help you to contextualize your findings. Xa0 the literature review is crucial because an important responsibility in research is to add to a body of knowledge and to compare your findings with others. Xa0 the procedure is simple: search the literature in your area of interest, review the selected studies, and develop a theoretical framework for your own study. For those pursuing research about community eye health, unite for sight's journal article database can be used as a starting point. Not all research questions are good ones x2014 in other words, not all questions can be answered through qualitative and quantitative research methodology.

Xa0 a good research question needs to:

    x201c make sense x201d : xa0 in other words, you must clearly define your terms using known definitions outlined in the literature. Xa0 xa0 for example, a poor research question would be: xa0 how do people x2019 s lives improve after surgery? xa0 not only does this research question fail to specify the study population, it contains the vague term x201c improve x201d. Xa0 the researcher must specify what he/she means by this term x2014 does it involve a physical improvement or rather an improvement in mental state? xa0 the more specific your research question, the better. address an important and relevant issue: xa0 scientific research is done to increase knowledge, not simply for a single researcher x2019 s personal satisfaction. Xa0 whatever question the researcher sets out to solve must have some beneficial implications. Xa0 with this in mind, the researcher may continue narrowing the study focus to an area that can be addressed as a single question.

    Xa0 for example, now that the researcher has chosen x201c proper eye care and how it affects individuals, x201d the topic can be further focused to be about x201c basic eye care and how it affects individual work productivity. X201d a good research question will also always have relevance to the time, place, and population of the study. Xa0 for example, a study of vitamin a deficiency in southern india would be a poor choice as this is not a particularly significant problem in the area.

    How to Do a Good Research Paper Outline

    Xa0 this means that there will be some new aspect of the study that has never before been examined. Xa0 in fact, not only is replication a good way to get a research methodology, it is how science is supposed to advance knowledge. Xa0 when replicating a pervious study, it is best to add or change one or two things to increase the novelty of the research. be x201c operationalizable x201d: xa0 xa0 oftentimes, beginning researchers pose questions that cannot be operationalized, or assessed methodologically with research instruments. Xa0 from the example above, the idea of life improvement could be operationalized by a quality of life survey x2014 a well known and validated research tool. Xa0 the scope will depend on the amount of time and the availability of resources you have for your study. Xa0 in general, the more focused the research question the more likely it will be a successful project.

    Xa0 xa0 for example, a study that seeks to identify the prevalence eye disease in a specific village is more likely to succeed than a comparable study that seeks to identify eye disease prevalence in the world population. Xa0 some research simply involves observing the results of events in the field and drawing conclusions based on a theoretical framework. Xa0 others may involve analyzing data from clinics or other institutions, using statistics and reasoning to find patterns that may have important implications. Xa0 however, many projects involve direct contact with participants, using an operationalized definition of a phenomenon.