Overview of the RESEARCH process & Concept Paper writing

The Research Process

 A research process consists of series of actions or steps necessary to effectively carry out
research and the desired sequencing of these steps .

 The different steps guide the researcher right from the problem identification or definition to
the communication of results.

 “A research without direction is like a river without a source.” Any research carried out follows a
systematic process of six (6) major steps:

Learning Objectives

 After completing this chapter, the student should be able to:

1. Know the phases found in a research process.

2. Understand the meaning of the term ‘concept paper’ and its importance in the research
process.

3. Describe the different contents found in a standard concept paper.

4. Be able to identify research problems in their environments and write good concept papers in
regards to these problems.

5. Describe the steps involved in designing a research plan.

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 Formulating a research problem

 Formulating a research problem involves composing or defining the following:

 Background to the research problem (or research background or problem area/domain)

 Problem statement (or problem definition)

 Research questions and/or objectives

 Research scope

 Research significance or justification

How to compose a research background

 A background identifies/describes the history and nature of aspects of interest with reference to
existing literature.

 It should indicate the origin of the problem being studied

 It’s scope

 The extent to which previous studies have successfully investigated the problem

 And the existing research gap (or missing information in literature) that your research
study attempts to address.

Guiding questions while writing/composing the research background

1. What are the processes or activities that take place in the organization/society/community that
you have chosen?

2. Who are the actors involved in the organization/society/ community that you have chosen?

3. Which tools and technologies do actors use to execute activities or processes in the
organization/society/ community that you have chosen?

4. Is there a problem with:

 The processes actors are executing? OR

 The way actors are executing the processes? OR

 The tools and technologies they are using?

 Given the course units you have undertaken and the emerging ICTs, what is relevance of the
possible solutions to the problem you have identified?

Problem statement (or problem definition)

 A problem statement is a clear definition that indicates the research gap that has been identified
in community/ organization /society/technologies being used/literature

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  It points either to problematic occurrences, observed events that are puzzling in terms
of recent published research ideas.

 A problem statement explicitly describes a matter that needs to be investigated in order

to improve the situation at hand.

 Is your research problem an important problem?

 This can be determined by giving a reason as to why the identified problem should be
solved.

 Not all problems are research-able problems

 If there is an indication that investigation of a given situation/ environment/ occurrence

will improve the situation at hand, then this indicates a research-able problem

 Sources of Research Problems

 Published books and articles: ideas for further research can be obtained by reading existing
literature about the area of interest.

 Reflections on the experience of professionals and managers: Discussion with experts on current
problems that are faced in practice/industry that could be researched about.

 Personal experiences: First hand observations and reflections on your intriguing experiences
could be sources of research areas.

 Existing problems at hand that require immediate solutions in a given

organization/society/community.

Research Questions

 A research question is the question that you are trying to answer when you do research in a
given area.

 Examples:

 How can a transaction information system be developed to improve daily operations of

Twekembe Military and Civilian Hospital?

 What features/properties can be used in the development of traffic monitoring

systems?

 Which ….?

 Why …..?

Research Aim/Goal and Objectives

 A research aim/goal/main objective clearly explains what you are going to research and what
you intend to solve.

 Aim (or main objective)

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  A research goal or aim is derived from the problem statement or research questions.

 Examples of research aim derived from research questions

 To develop a transaction information system to improve daily

operations of Twekembe Military and Civilian Hospital?

 To investigate the features/properties that may be used in the

development of traffic monitoring systems?

 The research aim should be decomposed into specific research objectives.

SMART Research Objectives

• Research objectives must be SMART, i.e.:

 Specific – What do you want to do or achieve?

 Measurable – How will you measure or determine whether you have achieved
the objectives?

 Achievable – Given the resources you have, are the set objectives attainable or
realistic?

 Relevant – Will the set objectives lead to the desired end result or goal?

 Time bound – When will these objectives be accomplished?

Tips on formulating SMART Research Objectives

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 Research Scope

 Research Scope is a clear definition of the boundaries or limits of your investigations.

 These boundaries must be defined because there is often not enough time and
resources to complete all ideas related to the research problem.

 Research Scope can be categorized into three:

 Geographical scope, content scope and

 Time scope

 Content scope

Geographical Scope

 Geographical scope: boundaries defined in physical/environmental terms.

 That is, if your study involves visiting physical locations, you declare which locations will
be considered in your research and which ones will not be considered

 Example: This study will investigate the performance of the NAADS programme
in Arua district

Time Scope

 Time scope: time boundaries which the research data shall basically deal with. Forexample
target data of a case study between 2014-2017

 Content scope: information that shall be included in research

 That is, if your study involves using a theory/framework/ method, you declare which
parameters/components/parts will be considered in your research and which ones will
not be considered.

Research Significance/Justification

• Refers to relevance of the study in terms of academic contributions and practical/industrial use.

• It justifies the reason for your study and makes the purpose worth pursuing.

 The significance of the study answers the questions:

 Why is your study important? Which literature can you find that is backing up your
claims of significance?

 Who will benefit from your research results and how will they benefit?

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 Class Task

 Compose a research problem that your group will solve.

 Write your composition in form of a concept paper, clearly showing the research background,
problem statement, research objectives, scope, and significance.

6|Page Lecturer Name: ANKWASA SCLEVEN 0789462128 [email protected]