Steps to Conduct Academic and Business Research

Research is an essential part of doing business and participating in the scientific community. Students, academics, and business leaders engage in research to gain critical insights on particular topics that they do not understand well. These topics can be anything from discovering new vaccines to having a better understanding of a target market. Following the steps of the research process will help ensure that you adhere to a rigorous scientific method.

1.) Understand Your Problem – It will be quite difficult to design a study if you don’t understand the nature of the problem at first. While you may have a rough understanding of the problem, pointing out that problem in a sentence can be terribly frustrating. Sometimes you will need to review the evidence, conduct interviews, and complete some non-scientific experiments to better define the situation or problem. The more knowledge and experience a person has, the easier it will be to understand what is happening.

2.) Conduct Background Research: You can better understand what type of study to conduct if you know the current research. You may find that the problem has already been solved or that you are close enough that you can make some inferences for your business without the additional expense associated with a new investigation. Keep strong notes on the studies you find because your literary review will provide a detailed discussion of current findings on the topic.

3.) Formulate Your Research Question: Your research question is the centerpiece of any study. A quick glance at the research question will tell you precisely which question the study will try to solve. As you build your study, the design will be reflected in the research questions. Research questions are usually labeled R1 and R2 and are written very explicitly so that they can be measured.

4.) Design your study: The study design is based on the need to answer the research question. If the study seeks to statistically evaluate some phenomenon, but the variables are not well known, then an exploratory design could be beneficial. It is always wise to look at similar studies on the subject to better understand the design you need to use.

5.) Get approvals and funding (if needed): Depending on the entity you work for, you may need different types of approvals. On an academic level, you may need approval from a university’s Research Board or the International Review Board. Company employees may need to obtain permission from top management. Whether you are working with private, government, public, personal, or corporate money, it is wise to have it before you move on to spending money.

6.) Get the necessary materials: Sometimes you will need special equipment, while at other times you will use online surveys, existing data, historical information, etc. It helps to know where you are going to get this information, pay for the services you need, and get written permission to access the information.

7.) Conduct the Study: Conducting your study will require time and careful effort. Make sure you follow the procedures correctly to withstand scrutiny. If you abandon the processes outlined in the study, you may need to go back and reauthorize those changes with the oversight and funding boards. The more consistent you are with each piece of data collection, the more robust your study will be with respect to validity.

8.) Evaluating the data and your results: Once you have collected your data, you will need to find a way to evaluate it to disprove the null hypothesis. Disproving the null hypothesis means that the alternative, or the one you seek, is justified by a specific confidence level. There is software available like SPSS or even free software like Microsoft Excel that can do the necessary work.

9.) Report, publish and share: The ultimate goal is to contribute to a body of knowledge by sharing its results. The most common methods are to make a presentation at a conference or publish it in a peer-reviewed journal. Even if you can’t do this, you can still post it on the web for others to see.