Choose your topic: Ensure you pick in an area that is of interest to you. Then look out for main journals and books in that area of interest. Skim to gather ideas and updates in the area.

Make sure you take notes and try to identify problems, questions, debates, contradictions and gaps with the aim of narrowing down from a broad area of interest to a specific niche.

Also, consider the practicalities: the time you have for the research, accessing resources and data on the topic before finalizing on what the topic should be.

Identify a problem: To have a focus and purpose, you need to define a research problem.

The problem might be a practical issue for example, what is not working well or difficulty faced by people or challenges due to non-availability of essential needs and services.

You can also investigate a theoretical problem such as an unresolved debate among scholars or an underexplored phenomenon.

To put the problem in context, write a problem statement that entails who the problem affects, why the research is needed and how your research will contribute to solving the problem. Check out the NESG Academy video on “Writing a Good Problem Statement”.

Formulate research questions: These questions should target the exact things you want to investigate.

A good research question should be specific so that it can be answered using qualitative or/and quantitative research methods. It should be challenging enough to require investigation, analysis and argument.

At this stage, you develop conceptual framework and testable hypothesis. Watch the NESG Academy video on “Writing Good Hypotheses”.

Create a research design: This is a practical framework for answering your research questions. Here you make decisions about the type of data, the methods of collecting and analyzing data and the timeline for research.

Data could be primary or secondary.

Primary data are collected by researchers from main sources through interviews, surveys and experiments. In other words, primary data are collected from the source where the data originates from.

Secondary data are collected by someone other than the primary user. They cannot be traced to individual units unlike primary data that allows for mathematical calculations. Common sources of secondary data include: journal, newspaper, books, government record, etc. Secondary data are readily available unlike the primary data.

Write a research proposal: The proposal outlines the context, relevance, purpose and plan for your research.

The proposal also outlines the background, problem statement and research questions. More so, there should be a literature review showing how your research exercise will fit into existing body of knowledge on the topic. The research design should also be added to describe the approach you will take to achieve your research objectives.

M4:S1 - The Research Process

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Writing a Research Paper

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