The Cyclical Research Process

The Cyclical Research Process

1. 1. identifying and analysing problems

   • must be interesting
   • must have a purpose
   • 3 broad categories
     • exploratory: new info
     • explanatory: explain
     • descriptive:describe

2. 2. finding and reviewing literature

   • research database
   • eliminate irrelevant literature
   • focus on questions that enable formulation of research questions/problems

3. 3. formulating your hypotheses

   • feasibility
   • have these questions been asked? what was found?
   • hypotheses:
     • accept?
     • reject?

4. 4. choosing and approach

   • qualitative?
     • numerical/ stats data
   • quantitative?
     • interpretative data
   • both?
     • mixed methods approach

5. 5. writing your research proposal

   • provide evidence and unpack thinking
   • what are you going to research?
   • why is your research worth doing?
   • what is the feasibility of your research?