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The whole process of research can be divided into the following steps:
setting general area of research
defining the object of research
analyzing problem situation and stating a problem
specifying the subject of research
formulating a research goal
setting objectives
moving a hypothesis
developing research methods
collecting, describing, processing, interpreting research data
drawing conclusions, proving a hypothesis and resolving a research puzzle
determining application areas
writing research project
2. Any research starts with setting a research area which is determined by a number of objective and subjective
factors. The objective determinants are such as topicality, novelty, urgency of the research. The subjective factors in-
clude scientific and professional interests of a researcher, his expertise, aptitudes, frame of mind, etc.
The object of the research is always broader than the subject chosen for research. It is a system of relations and
properties of the phenomenon which exists objectively in theory and in practice and serves as a source of relevant in-
formation. The subject of the research is more concrete and includes only those relations and properties which are sub-
ject to direct investigation. It denotes what the author is planning to create in the process of studies.
A research problem is a puzzle that can’t be explained with available knowledge and needs solution.
3. In the introduction to the research paper it is necessary to prove that the chosen problem is topical. A problem is
topical if it meets at least three requirements:
– the problem has not been fully studied;
– much or something in the problem remains vague;
– lack of knowledge on the problem makes a loss to community.
To prove that the problem chosen for the research is topical the author gives a review of the previously published
papers on the topic and a list of authors who were active in the studies of the problem. Then he/she mentions that
though the problem has been given considerable attention, still something is not known and makes concrete what is still
unknown on the topic. One also mentions what is still vague and needs elaboration. Then the author describes difficul-
ties that spring up because the problem of his/her research has not been fully studied.
4. There is usually one major goal of research with objectives. The wish of the author to study a problem is ex-
pressed usually in one sentence which says that the goal of the research is to study the defined topic. Concrete objec-
tives are further specified. The tasks of the research are usually the following:
– to clarify the nature and structure of the phenomenon being researched;
– to analyze the approaches to the research topic in literature;
– to describe aspects of the research topic by observation;
– to generate a model;
– to carry out an experiment;
– to analyze experimental results;
– to find out the ways of improving efficiency of the phenomenon under research.
The tasks (objectives) of research are set in order to plan the steps of the research. They may correspond to the or-
der of the units and chapters of the research paper as a whole.
5. A hypothesis is a tentative assumption that proposes a possible explanation to some phenomenon or event. A
hypothesis is said to be forceful if the assumption is not obvious from the very beginning of the research and really
needs to be well proved. Researchers weighing up alternative hypotheses should take into consideration:
– testability;
– simplicity;
– scope – the apparent application of the hypothesis to multiple cases of phenomena;
– fruitfulness – the prospect that a hypothesis may explain further phenomena in the future;
– conservatism – the degree of "fit" with existing recognized knowledge-systems.
Hypotheses can be logical (arising from literature review), descriptive (predicting certain features in a phenome-
non) and explanatory (anticipating plausible explanation of a puzzle).
Generally a hypothesis is used to make predictions that can be tested by observing the outcome of an experiment.
If the outcome is inconsistent with the hypothesis, then the hypothesis is rejected. However, if the outcome is consistent
with the hypothesis, the experiment is said to support the hypothesis.
6. How are hypotheses formulated?
– Bacterial growth may be affected by temperature.
– Ultra violet light may cause skin cancer.
– Temperature may cause leaves to change color.
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