Research is an important aspect of every academic coursework. Getting started the right way is a step towards success. Learn all the professional guidelines to help you shape the success of your next research project.
The term research engulfs the overall activity of reading, listening and watching from several authenticated sources, resources and other relevant supplementary materials to discover facts about a particular subject of interest.
This is especially useful to a target group if the research subject is one with limited information already in reach. Hence the research will attempt to broaden the knowledge base by seeking extensive facts from several sources.
What about research papers?
A research paper is an extensive, formal composition giving information authenticated from reading in different sources. The primary purpose of research is to unearth the facts about a selected subject.
Research papers may be purely informational, however, there are a few that can go the extra step to conclude from all the facts curated from various authentic sources. Papers that conclude usually include those that work to discover facts about controversial issues.
The overall research process takes extensive abilities and may span over months, if not weeks, and therefore needs the self-discipline to complete without losing interest halfway through the purported lifespan of the research.
To do that, you need to build good study habits, learn to cling to schedules, and be someone who is not a procrastinator; yes, one who does not wait until the last minute. These traits will make your research activities less stressful if that is another way to say easy.
Contrastingly, if you are not a disciplined learner, a procrastinator or simply one who easily gets destructed and swayed off by unfolding events, then doing research can be a hectic task for you (sorry).
That said, what will make your research process easier includes, but is not limited to, buying ample time to complete your project thoroughly and also taking care not to rush things in the entire process or even at any point in time.
You should also learn to start your project with an open mind without focusing on a single side notion about topics that may be controversial. That is to say, you should bury your biases. In an attempt to unearth the facts about a particular topic, as in the case of all research projects, it is essential to resist the tendency to be opinionated.
Also, you should develop important learning and information literacy skills such as; the appropriate use of referencing resources or tools, accurate note-taking and recordkeeping, good outlining and knowledge organization skills, effective listing and compilation, writing a bibliography, and most importantly, correct use of sentence structures and clear expressions.
The seven (7) steps research process
The entire research process can be summarized in seven (7) steps as outlined below:
- Selecting and limiting the subject
- Preparing a working bibliography; a list of available sources
- Preparing a preliminary outline
- Reading and taking notes
- Assembling notes and writing the final outline
- Writing the first draft
- Writing the revised final draft with footnotes and bibliography.
It is very important to focus attention on extensive reading from relevant sources and the acknowledgement of the same sources.
(Full article coming soon)
