How to Create a Research Project by Bryan Walker BSc MSc PhD
- 6 days ago
- 2 min read
Many university and other courses include a research project but anyone can research into a topic of their interest. This booklet will take you through the logical steps to achieve this.
Research does not necessarily demand laboratory space and expensive equipment. Fundamentally, a researcher is simply a ‘nosey’ person, who is curious and persistent enough to want to know what is happening, how a system works, or how many, how much, where, when and by whom.
Many university and other courses include a research project but anyone can research into a topic of their interest. This booklet will take you through the logical steps to achieve this.
Excerpt:
There are basically two kinds of research:
1. Descriptive Research. This involves keeping records of what is happening. It needs pen and paper although a calculator or computer may help in tabulating and adding up results.
E.g. How many disabled people live in my village? How many males/females/adults/children? What were their conditions? How were they treated? When (times and dates) did they attend a clinic or a hospital?
E.g. What is the incidence of nail-biting in my child’s school? Is there a difference between boys and girls of different ages? How many children are helped to stop the habit? By what means?
E.g. How many different species of birds do I see in my locality? At what time of day? Is there an educational programme about bird conservation in schools?
Date, time, conditions, location, and map coordinates can all be recorded.
2. Experimental Research. This often arises from questions developed from descriptive research, taking other information into account.
E.g. What would happen if we changed the location, the time, the altitude, the temperature etc? It can involve making several measurements of the same thing at different times or making comparisons between other locations or different techniques. Mainly it involves changing something and measuring the outcome.
E.g. Would the impact of accidents happening to colleagues be reduced if every office or school had a qualified first-aider?
E.g. Would poverty be reduced in a village if we taught loom construction as well as its use?
What happens if we change something? That is the basis of experimental research.
Many have embarked on research, published one or more articles and registered for a higher degree. A few have achieved this without an undergraduate qualification.
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