CHAPTER 2
PLANNING AND DESIGNING A RESEARCH STUDY
The chapter has purpose to introduce to planning stage. It will focus on the research-related issues that are most commonly encountered by researchers in all scientific fields (particularly those that involve human participants) when planning and designing a research study.
CHOOSING A RESEARCH TOPIC
Deciding what to study is the first step in any research study. Researchers choose the research topic in a variety ways, and their decisions are commonly based on several considerations. It is common for researchers to select a research topic from scientific field which researchers work. Researchers achieve their competences in their particular studies through a combination of training and experience.
It would be quite difficult for researchers to undertake a research study involving a topic in a scientific field that entirely different from their own field. For example, it is highly unlikely that a botanist would choose to study quantum physics or macroeconomics. In
addition to his or her lacking the training and experience necessary for studying quantum physics or macroeconomics, it is probably reasonable to conclude that the botanist does not have an interest in conducting research studies in those areas.
Interest
Researchers, mostly, choose research topics which are of interest to them. It is important to note that researchers involve in research presumably because they have a genuine interest in the topics that they study. There are several explanations to answer why does the research interest take in the first place when a researcher chooses a topic.
First, many researchers entered their chosen fields of study with long standing interests in those particular fields of study. Moreover, it is common for researchers to develop new interests throughout their careers. Second, many researchers become interested in particular fields simply by observing the world around them. In summary, a researcher’s...