Setting a schedule at the beginning of a research project helps you stay on track and remind you to follow the basic steps in the process. This blog post is organized to help you follow along with each step in the process.
Finding and narrowing a topic. Your topic must have a built-in question or argument so you can interpret an issue and cite the opinions found in your source materials.
Drafting a thesis and research proposal. Even if you are not required to create a formal research proposal, you need to draft some kind of plan to help direct and organize your research before You start reading in depth. Reading and creating a working bibliography.Preliminary reading establishes the basis for your research ,helping you discover the quantity and quality of available sources. If you can’t find much ,your topic is too marrow.If you find too many sources ,your topic is too broad and needs narrowing.
Creating notes. Begin entering notes in digital or printed research journals. Some notes will be summaries, others will be carefully selected quotations from the sources, and some will be paraphrases written in your own voice.
Organizing and outlining.You may be required to create a formal outline; formal outlines and additional ideas for organising your ideas are presented .
Drafting the paper. During your writing , let your instructor scan the draft to give you feedback and guidance. He or she might see complications for your exploration and also steer you clear of any simplistic conclusions.Drafting is also a stage for peer review, in which a classmate or two looks for your work. The instructor may also have classroom workshops that offer in class review of your work in progress.Formatting the paper. Proper document design places your paper within the required format for your discipline, such as the number system for a scientific project or the APA style for an education paper.You will need to list in the proper format the various sources used in your study.
Revising and proofreading.At the end of the project,you should be conscientious about examining the manuscript and making all necessary corrections.With the aid of computers, you can check spelling and some aspects of style.
Submitting the manuscript.Like all writers, you will need at some point to publish the paper and release it to the audience,which might be your instructor,your classmates,or perhaps a larger group. Plan well in advance to meet the final deadline. You may publish the paper in a variety of ways-paper,email to your instructor,on an USB flash drive , to blackboard or similar site, or on your own website.