Every thesis paper is based on research work conducted by the students themselves. The research involves various steps that are connected and provide the exact results that the student looks for. Although, there are different approaches in conducting the research a common thing among all is understanding of the problem. Therefore, all the steps together refer to a process named ‘research processes. As a student, you must have complete knowledge of how research is supposed to be conducted to write an effective thesis paper.
The different steps in the research process of thesis writing involve –
- Identifying the Problem.
- Reviewing the Literature.
- Forming Research Questions.
- Selecting the Research Design.
- Carrying out the Research Process.
- Analyzing Data.
- Writing the Report.
If you closely examine the aforesaid steps of the research process, you will find out that all the steps are interconnected with each other. For example, you cannot reach the last step- writing the report, without passing the previous steps. Any step skipped or wrongly sequenced can affect your thesis paper. Below is a detailed thesis guide to help you understand that the research process is cyclical and iterative –
Identifying the Problem
The prime step in the whole thesis-making process is to identify the research problem you want to address. If you have a well-defined research problem, you can easily pass every step in the research process. To begin with, set the objectives of your research – what kind of problem you want to address, what subject area you want to tap into, etc. Taking into consideration everything, you must be clear with your thoughts that on what you need to put your focus on. To make it easier for you, frame your problem based on –
- An area of concern.
- A condition that needs improvement.
- A situation or problem that needs to be eliminated from society.
- Or, a scholarly literature question that requires proper investigation.
Reviewing the Literature
The second step – reviewing the literature is an important part of the research process. Once you have a clearly defined research problem, the next thing you need to do is review the existing literature available on a similar problem. Reviewing the existing literature will help you get the basic knowledge on the subject area you chose for your research. Further, reviewing the literature also allows you to get your hands on the previous studies that were conducted by other researchers, how the studies were carried forward, and how the conclusions were drawn in the end. Collect background information –
- By using the internet or books to read about your topic.
- Having background information allows you to focus on only the key elements.
- Background information also allows you to decide if you want to go with a broader approach of your topic or narrow.
Forming Research Questions and Setting Objectives
In the third step, you have to make your research problem precise. Your research work must be focused on the topic and should be refined for easy understanding. For this, you need to set an objective as to what area should be researched and what kind of questions must be formed. Objectives will help you to move in the right direction and you will easily form the research questions.
Selecting the Research Design
Moving onto the next step, you will need to choose a research design. The research design refers to the tools and materials in which the data will be collected. There are various research designs that you can choose from depending upon your research objectives –
- Experiment method
- Survey method
- Interview – personal and general
- Observation method, etc.
The sole purpose of research design is to help you collect the data using minimum effort, time, and money.
Carrying out the Research Process
After finalizing the research design, it is time to carry out the research process. You may face some practical issues during your research such as the research method you used is not suitable. Another example is the false interpretation of the results that can make a huge difference in your findings. Therefore, when you are collecting the data for your thesis, you must be aware of the right techniques sued for data collection to be able to gather only relevant information.
Analyzing Data
Now work on the data you have collected in the previous step by conducting a thorough analysis. In this step, all the ideas and thoughts that were in your mind till now need to be converted into written form. Make sure to use simple vocabulary so that your research work is easily understandable to the readers. All you need to do is narrow down your ideas to manageable size written content that forms your thesis.
Writing the Report
The last step of the research process is to report the findings of your research. It is usually one of your last chapters in the thesis that tells the readers about what you were aiming for. Mostly, you need to discuss the problem that is unanswered and needs to be researched further. Make sure you are writing your research findings in the right format as it signifies your overall research.
To write an excellent thesis paper, go through the mentioned thesis guide explaining different steps involved in the research process.
