The Research Process

>

The research problem will vary accordingly depending on the research item being explored, as such, it may not be necessary to require all 10 steps listed above. One of the most important step in research is the definition of the problem. Failure to incorrectly define will result in wasted effort. 

Research problems normally stem from two primary source gaps:

1) Gaps between what is supposed to happen and what did happen (the failure to meet an objective)

2) Gaps between what did happen and what could have happened (the potential opportunities)

Being able to clearly define a problem and identifying a gap helps draw up a research objective of what a researcher must do in order to carry out the research which leads on to research design. The 3 types of research design are as follows:

• EXPLORATORY RESEARCH comprises of collecting information in an unstructured and informal manner. This type of design would tend to be utilized if there is little known about the problem.
• DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH consists of referring to a set of methods and procedures to describe variables. The design seeks to answer the variables of WHO, WHAT WHERE, WHEN and HOW questions, very rarely would the descriptive design attempt to answer the WHY.
• CAUSAL RESEARCH purely answers the WHY question through experimentation. This design allows a researcher to isolate the causes and effects.