Research101

Research is a cyclic process, and it involves many logical developmental steps. The research proposal is like an architect's plan that describes your research project with an economy of words and clarity of expression. The first step towards this is task encounter or selecting the topic of your research.

You need to identify the right research area and choose the right research topic, and this involves going through the process of discovering and then developing your topic. Your research must make some original contribution to the knowledge in that subject area. In order to find a project in your area of interest, you can read the literature, attend professional conferences and seek the advice of experts.

In the  book "Research Projects and Research Proposals" (Chapin, 2004), the author highlights the different dimensions of topic selection as follows:

• Focused vs. Extended - The research topic, while focused enough to be clear, also must be broad enough to be interesting.
• Novel vs. Grounded - While research must be novel to merit attention it must also be well-grounded in established scientific knowledge.
• Feasible vs. Challenging - Select a research topic that you can realistically undertake and complete with the time and resources available. The project should be a challenge to carry out, both intellectually and practically
•  Theoretical vs. Empirical - It has to be grounded in a theoretical framework and the empirical content of a proposed line of research needs to be clear.

Given below are some websites that provide helpful tips in selecting a research topic.

How to choose a research topic -  By Dr.Kent Seamons and Gene Spafford

Selecting a Research Topic: Overview  -  MIT libraries

References:

Chapin, P.G. (2004). Research projects and research proposals : A guide for scientists seeking funding. Cambridge, U.K: Cambridge University Press.

The second step after selecting the research topic is to identify the problem in the research area, come up with research questions and formulate the problem statement. The research problem must indicate the purpose of the study and a fundamental understanding of the topic and forms the basis of formulating the research statement. The research statement needs to be more specific and focused and should place the problem into the context that defines the parameters that will be investigated.

The book chapter "Constructing the research problem" (Florence& Christine, 2001), from the title "Doing Management Research" gives examples of different types of research problems, how to construct a research problem and illustrations of it.

References :

(Florence& Christine, 2001) Constructing the research problem. In Thiétart (Eds) Doing  management  research. doi: 10.4135/9781849208970.n2