2. Formulation of Problem
First step
not always easy to identify and define a problem
not only discovers and defines a problem area but also a specific
problem within that area concerning his interest in
music/Theatre.
should be clearly and precisely stated
statement must be complete.
has to be expressed in scientific terms so that statistical analysis
can be performed on that problem.
3. Choose a topic that you are interested in! The
research process is more relevant if you care about
your topic.
4. Narrow your topic to something
manageable.
If your topic is too broad, you will find too much information and not be able to focus.
Background reading can help you choose and limit the scope of your topic.
Review the guidelines on topic selection outlined in your assignment. Ask your professor or TA
for suggestions.
Talk about research ideas with a friend. They may be able to help focus your topic by discussing
issues that didn't occur to you at first.
5. Think of the who, what, when, where
and why questions
WHY did you choose the topic? What interests you about it? Do you have an opinion about the
issues involved?
WHO are the information providers on this topic? Who might publish information about it?
Who is affected by the topic? Do you know of organizations or institutions affiliated with the
topic?
WHAT are the major questions for this topic? Is there a debate about the topic? Are there a
range of issues and viewpoints to consider?
WHERE is your topic important: at the local, national or international level? Are there specific
places affected by the topic?
WHEN is/was your topic important? Is it a current event or an historical issue? Do you want to
compare your topic by time periods?
6. Literature Survey
familiarizes the researcher with the current state of knowledge
helps in understanding of the problems and hypothesis that others have studied
It clarifies the concepts, theories, major variables involved, operational definitions and research
methods used in the past.
This contributes to the cumulative nature of scientific knowledge.
Thousands of articles, books and monographs are published in any field of study.
Important to sort out the relevant literature
It is best to begin any search for literature with one of the guides to published literature. These
guides are increasingly computerized and include bibliographies, indexes and abstracts.
Internet- ocean of information- search engines like google, yahoo and rediff.
7. Steps in the Literature Review
Process
1.Define the research question
1. You may need to some exploratory searching of the literature to get a sense of scope, to
determine whether you need to narrow or broaden your focus
2. Identify databases that provide the most relevant sources, and identify relevant terms
(controlled vocabularies) to add to your search strategy
3. Finalize your research question
2.Determine inclusion/exclusion criteria
1. Think about relevant dates, geographies (and languages), methods, and conflicting points of
view
8. Steps in the Literature Review
Process
3. Choose databases and conduct the search
1. Conduct searches in the published literature via the identified databases
2. Check to see if this topic has been covered in other discipline's databases
3. Examine the citations of on-point articles for keywords, authors, and previous research (via
references) and cited reference searching.
4. Review your results
1. Save your search results in a citation management tool (such as Zotero, Mendeley or
EndNote)
2. De-duplicate your search results
3. Make sure that you've found the seminal pieces -- they have been cited many times, and
their work is considered foundational
4. Check with your professor or a librarian to make sure your search has been comprehensive
9. Steps in the Literature Review
Process
5. Synthesize the information gathered
1. Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of individual sources and evaluate for bias,
methodologies, and thoroughness
2. Group your results in to an organizational structure that will support why your research
needs to be done, or that provides the answer to your research question
3. Develop your conclusions
6. Analyze the information gathered
1. Are there gaps in the literature?
2. Where has significant research taken place, and who has done it?
3. Is there consensus or debate on this topic?
4. Which methodological approaches work best?
10. 7. Write the literature review
1.Pick an organizational structure, i.e., themes, approaches, concepts,
methodologies.
1. For example: Background, Current Practices, Critics and Proponents, Where/How this
study will fit in
2.Organize your citations and focus on your research question and
pertinent studies
3.Compile your bibliography
12. Development of Hypothesis
tentative assumption in a research problem, which has to be tested empirically with
the help of observed data.
When formulating a hypothesis, a researcher does not know whether it will be
rejected or accepted.
A hypothesis is constructed and tested; if it is rejected, another one is formulated; if it
is accepted, it is incorporated in the scientific body of
knowledge.
One should arrive at a clear and specific working hypothesis for which research
methods already exist.
A good hypothesis states a research problem in concise and precise terms so that the
researcher is focused on the problem at hand.
13. A hypothesis is an educated guess or conclusion based on something you have witnessed. A
complete hypothesis considers multiple aspects of observation and calls for facts, direct testing
and evidence to either prove or disprove your conclusion.
Hypotheses are typically written as "if/then" statements. For example: If she is late to work,
then traffic must be busy. The hypothesis assumes a certain cause for being late and provides a
basis for further research and experimentation. While the statement reads like a fact, there is
more to learn before being able to say with confidence that it's true.
14. Elements in a hypothesis
Prediction
Variables
Group being studied
15. How to develop a hypothesis
Make an observation
Ask a question
Conduct some initial research
Formulate your hypothesis
Write a null hypothesis
16. 7 main types of Hypotheses
Simple hypothesis
Complex hypothesis
Null hypothesis
Alternative hypothesis
Logical hypothesis
Empirical hypothesis
Statistical hypothesis
https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/how-to-write-a-hypothesis