The research process: Steps involved in conducting research
Last updated on 2025-05-27 | Edit this page
Overview
Questions
What is the research process, and why is it important?
What are the key phases of the research process?
How do the phases of the research process connect to each other?
Why is the research process iterative rather than strictly linear?
Objectives
Outline the major phases of the research process
Match research activities to their corresponding phases.
Describe the iterative nature of research
Develop a conceptual foundation for the rest of the course
A Wise Researcher Once Said…
“Experienced researchers loop back and forth, move forward a step or two before going back in order to move ahead again, change directions, all the while anticipating stages not yet begun. And no matter how carefully you plan, research follows a crooked path, taking unexpected turns, sometimes up blind alleys, even looping back on itself.” — Wayne C. Booth (The Craft of Research)
What is the Research Process?
The research process is a systematic journey of asking questions, gathering evidence, analysing information, and sharing insights. Whether you’re investigating a public health challenge or evaluating the impact of a new product, or even assessing how frequently you drink water, the research process provides a structured path to ensure that your conclusions are credible, relevant, and reproducible. But don’t be fooled by neat diagrams that suggest a rigid step-by-step path. In practice, the research process is more like a loop than a ladder. Ideas evolve, questions sharpen, methods shift, and results can take us back to the drawing board. And that’s not a failure—that’s research done right!.
Why Learn the Research Process?
Imagine starting a long journey without a map or GPS. You might wander around and eventually find your way—but it’ll take longer, cost more, and you might end up somewhere you didn’t intend.
The research process is your map. It helps you:
- Stay organised
- Ask sharper questions
- Design stronger studies
- Avoid common pitfalls
- Work ethically and transparently
It also builds your credibility as a researcher, whether you’re publishing in a journal, advising decision-makers, or giving yourself a pat on the back for staying hydrated.
An Overview of the Key Stages
We’ll cover each of these in detail in later modules of the course, but for now, here’s the big picture:
Aisha, a market woman and community volunteer in a rural town, begins to notice that many children in her area frequently miss school due to malaria. Concerned about the possible link between environmental factors and malaria cases, she decides to investigate whether improper waste disposal and stagnant water around homes contribute to the high incidence of malaria among school-aged children.
Identifying a Problem or Question
Define and articulate the research question or problem that you want to investigate. What issue do you want to explore? This step often emerges from curiosity, observations, literature reviews, or real-world challenges.
- Aisha defines her research problem: “Does poor environmental sanitation contribute to the frequency of malaria infections among school-aged children in her community?” Her goal is to uncover patterns that could inform local health actions.
Reviewing the Literature
Conduct a thorough review of existing literature to understand what has already been studied and published on your topic. What have others already discovered? What gaps remain? Reviewing existing research ensures you’re building on a solid foundation and not reinventing the wheel.
- She asks a local teacher to help her access some online articles and health brochures. From these, she learns that malaria is linked to stagnant water, uncovered containers, and poor drainage. She also speaks with a health worker to understand how similar studies have been done elsewhere.
Formulating Objectives or Hypotheses
Develop a clear and testable hypothesis or hypotheses based on your research question and literature review. These are your study’s compass. Objectives guide the focus; hypotheses offer testable predictions.
- Aisha’s hypothesises: “Children living in households with poor environmental sanitation are more likely to suffer repeated episodes of malaria than those in cleaner environments.” This simple, clear hypothesis helps her structure her inquiry.
Choosing a Research Design
Determine the research design and methodology, including selecting participants (sampling), data collection methods (e.g., surveys, experiments), and procedures. Will you conduct experiments, surveys, case studies, or secondary data analysis? This step aligns your tools with your goals.
- She chooses a simple observational survey. She plans to assess environmental conditions around households and collect information on malaria history from parents of school-aged children. She creates a basic checklist with help from a local nurse, including signs of poor sanitation like stagnant water, open drains, and exposed refuse.
Data Collection
Time to gather information! Collect empirical data based on your chosen methodology. This could be through interviews, questionnaires, sensors, or even scraping online data. How you collect data must be ethical, accurate, and purposeful.
- Over two weeks, Aisha visits 50 homes. She observes the environment and asks parents how often their children have had malaria in the past 6 months. She records her findings using her notebook and a checklist, with permission from participants.
Data Analysis
Use appropriate statistical or qualitative analysis techniques to analyse the collected data and test your hypotheses. This is where your raw data becomes meaningful. You’ll look for patterns, test hypotheses, and answer your research questions.
- With help from her nephew, who is good with Excel, Aisha organises the data. They create simple charts comparing the number of malaria episodes with the sanitation scores. The results suggest that children in homes with poor sanitation had significantly more malaria episodes.
Interpreting Results
Interpret the results of your data analysis in the context of your research question and hypotheses. Consider implications, limitations, and future research directions. What do your findings actually mean? Are they consistent with previous research? Do they raise new questions?
- Aisha interprets the findings: in her community, poor sanitation practices appear strongly linked to repeated malaria infections. She notes that many families lack access to covered bins, drainage systems, or insecticide-treated nets.
Draw Conclusions
Draw conclusions based on your findings and discuss how they contribute to the field of study or address the research problem.
- She concludes that community-wide sanitation improvements could reduce malaria infections. She emphasises the need for proper waste disposal, draining of stagnant water, and health education on malaria prevention.
Sharing Findings
Your research isn’t complete until it’s communicated. This could be through papers, presentations, infographics, or conversations with stakeholders.
- Aisha presents her findings at the monthly community meeting. She uses simple language and posters to explain the link between the environment and health. The town chief and local health workers are impressed and agree to help with a community clean-up drive.
Evaluate and Reflect
Reflect on the entire research process, evaluate its strengths and weaknesses, and consider areas for improvement or further exploration.
- Aisha reflects that although she is not a professional researcher, her local knowledge and passion made the study meaningful. She notes that involving others from the beginning would have improved data accuracy and plans to train some youth to help with future community surveys.
The Process is Connected, Not Compartmentalised
Each stage flows into the next, and each decision you make affects those that follow. For example:
Poorly defined objectives can lead to unclear analysis.
Weak data collection methods can ruin great research designs.
That’s why this course doesn’t just teach techniques. We’ll emphasise how everything connects—because research isn’t just about what you do, but why and how you do it.
Research is Iterative (And That’s a Good Thing!)
You might design a perfect study on paper… only to find that your participants misunderstood your survey, or your data has gaps, or your findings raise a brand-new (and even more exciting) question.
That’s not a problem—it’s progress.
Research often involves:
Revisiting your question after early data collection
Refining your analysis plan mid-study
Updating your literature review when new studies emerge
In short: you don’t have to get it all right on the first try. But you do need a process that helps you notice when something needs to change—and gives you the tools to adjust.
Reflection
Think on a real-world problem that interests you. Which of the 10 research stages do you think would be the most challenging for you, and why?
What’s Next?
In the rest of the course, we’ll take a closer look at each of the stages you’ve just seen. And for the rest of this introductory module, you’ll learn:
The various types of Research and their applications
The strengths and limitations of each type
But for now, remember this: The research process is your ally, not your obstacle. It’s flexible, responsive, and deeply logical—once you understand how it works. Let’s explore it together.
Test Your Knowledge!
Challenge 1:
A researcher begins with a well-defined problem and conducts a literature review. During the review, they realise their initial research question has already been thoroughly studied. What should the researcher do next?
- A. Skip to the data collection phase
- B. Abandon the research entirely
- C. Refine the research problem and continue
- D. Go ahead with the original question anyway
Challenge 2:
Which of the following best reflects an activity in the “Design the Research” phase?
- A. Searching for articles in a database
- B. Choosing a sample size and deciding on survey instruments
- C. Comparing your findings to those of previous studies
- D. Writing the introduction of your research report
Challenge 3:
You are analysing data from interviews and discover a new theme that you hadn’t anticipated in your original hypothesis. What is the most appropriate next step? - A. Ignore the theme to stick to your hypothesis - B. Revise your research framework to include the new theme - C. Change your research design retroactively - D. Restart the research process from the beginning
Challenge 4:
A student decides to examine the effects of social media use on sleep patterns among university students. Which phase of the research process is the student currently in?
- A. Formulating a hypothesis
- B. Communicating findings
- C. Identifying the research problem
- D. Analysing data
Challenge 5:
A researcher presents findings at a public health conference, receives critical feedback, and decides to re-analyse their data using a different method. This illustrates:
- A. A failure to conduct proper data analysis
- B. The final phase of the research process
- C. The iterative nature of research
- D. Poor planning in the research design phase
Challenge 6:
Which of the following best describes the primary goal of the “Evaluate and Reflect” stage in research? - A. To formulate a hypothesis for the next study - B. To interpret statistical results - C. To identify strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for improvement - D. To compare your results with those of others
Challenge 7:
The research process is always linear and should not be revisited once a phase is complete. (True/False)
False
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