The Critical Elements of the Research Process
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Describe the critical elements of the research process, addressing the importance of carrying out the following research steps.
o Identifying a broad area of inquiry
o Conducting a review of research literature
o Identifying a researchable problem from reviewed literature
o Describing a study purpose
o Choosing a method and design for an identified problem
o Population and sampling
o Collecting data
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Solution Summary
This posting provides an overview of the critical elements of the research process and the importance of carrying out each research step properly. Information described in this post includes: research inquiry, review of research literature, researchable problems, defining a study's purpose, choosing a research method, determining the population and sample of research, and collecting research data.
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IDENTIFYING A BROAD AREA OF INQUIRY
As mentioned in the previous assignment, it is absolutely essential to start with the basics of research before diving into a theory; henceforth, qualitative studies typically define the baseline for theory. In terms of choosing a research topic, it is essential to first understand the broad aspects, theories, and researchers associated with that topic. For example, if your topic is culture and anthropology, you would be bombarded by a world of research. Try googling anthropology and culture and see how many results this yields... Thousands upon thousands! The research that is found through broad inquiry eventually leads to the "narrowing" of topics. If you are engrossed with a certain topic, no matter how broad, you eventually will be able to determine a select question from gaps within the literature.
CONDUCTING A REVIEW OF RESEARCH LITERATURE
Any quality researcher understands the essential nature of conducting a thorough literature review. Literature reviews are essential, because they guide the direction of the study. The research question can and should be determined before conducting a literature review; however, through exploring the literature, the research question should develop and become more specific. Through creating a solid research question, which might be based upon limited research, the researcher can attempt to fully explore literature associated with their chosen topic. This is so important!
Remember, young researchers often fail to conduct thorough literature reviews and therefore, they eventually find that their research topic has been explored. From a personal note, this happened to me during my doctoral ...
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