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• Starting the research process

A Beginner's Guide to Starting the Research Process

When you have to write a thesis or dissertation , it can be hard to know where to begin, but there are some clear steps you can follow.

The research process often begins with a very broad idea for a topic you’d like to know more about. You do some preliminary research to identify a  problem . After refining your research questions , you can lay out the foundations of your research design , leading to a proposal that outlines your ideas and plans.

This article takes you through the first steps of the research process, helping you narrow down your ideas and build up a strong foundation for your research project.

Table of contents

Step 1: choose your topic, step 2: identify a problem, step 3: formulate research questions, step 4: create a research design, step 5: write a research proposal, other interesting articles.

First you have to come up with some ideas. Your thesis or dissertation topic can start out very broad. Think about the general area or field you’re interested in—maybe you already have specific research interests based on classes you’ve taken, or maybe you had to consider your topic when applying to graduate school and writing a statement of purpose .

Even if you already have a good sense of your topic, you’ll need to read widely to build background knowledge and begin narrowing down your ideas. Conduct an initial literature review to begin gathering relevant sources. As you read, take notes and try to identify problems, questions, debates, contradictions and gaps. Your aim is to narrow down from a broad area of interest to a specific niche.

Make sure to consider the practicalities: the requirements of your programme, the amount of time you have to complete the research, and how difficult it will be to access sources and data on the topic. Before moving onto the next stage, it’s a good idea to discuss the topic with your thesis supervisor.

>>Read more about narrowing down a research topic

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So you’ve settled on a topic and found a niche—but what exactly will your research investigate, and why does it matter? To give your project focus and purpose, you have to define a research problem .

The problem might be a practical issue—for example, a process or practice that isn’t working well, an area of concern in an organization’s performance, or a difficulty faced by a specific group of people in society.

Alternatively, you might choose to investigate a theoretical problem—for example, an underexplored phenomenon or relationship, a contradiction between different models or theories, or an unresolved debate among scholars.

To put the problem in context and set your objectives, you can write a problem statement . This describes who the problem affects, why research is needed, and how your research project will contribute to solving it.

>>Read more about defining a research problem

Next, based on the problem statement, you need to write one or more research questions . These target exactly what you want to find out. They might focus on describing, comparing, evaluating, or explaining the research problem.

A strong research question should be specific enough that you can answer it thoroughly using appropriate qualitative or quantitative research methods. It should also be complex enough to require in-depth investigation, analysis, and argument. Questions that can be answered with “yes/no” or with easily available facts are not complex enough for a thesis or dissertation.

In some types of research, at this stage you might also have to develop a conceptual framework and testable hypotheses .

>>See research question examples

The research design is a practical framework for answering your research questions. It involves making decisions about the type of data you need, the methods you’ll use to collect and analyze it, and the location and timescale of your research.

There are often many possible paths you can take to answering your questions. The decisions you make will partly be based on your priorities. For example, do you want to determine causes and effects, draw generalizable conclusions, or understand the details of a specific context?

You need to decide whether you will use primary or secondary data and qualitative or quantitative methods . You also need to determine the specific tools, procedures, and materials you’ll use to collect and analyze your data, as well as your criteria for selecting participants or sources.

>>Read more about creating a research design

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Finally, after completing these steps, you are ready to complete a research proposal . The proposal outlines the context, relevance, purpose, and plan of your research.

As well as outlining the background, problem statement, and research questions, the proposal should also include a literature review that shows how your project will fit into existing work on the topic. The research design section describes your approach and explains exactly what you will do.

You might have to get the proposal approved by your supervisor before you get started, and it will guide the process of writing your thesis or dissertation.

>>Read more about writing a research proposal

If you want to know more about the research process , methodology , research bias , or statistics , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

Methodology

• Sampling methods
• Simple random sampling
• Stratified sampling
• Cluster sampling
• Likert scales
• Reproducibility

 Statistics

• Null hypothesis
• Statistical power
• Probability distribution
• Effect size
• Poisson distribution

Research bias

• Optimism bias
• Cognitive bias
• Implicit bias
• Hawthorne effect
• Anchoring bias
• Explicit bias

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How to plan a research project

Whether for a paper or a thesis, define your question, review the work of others – and leave yourself open to discovery.

by Brooke Harrington   + BIO

is professor of sociology at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. Her research has won international awards both for scholarly quality and impact on public life. She has published dozens of articles and three books, most recently the bestseller Capital without Borders (2016), now translated into five languages.

Edited by Sam Haselby

Need to know

‘When curiosity turns to serious matters, it’s called research.’ – From Aphorisms (1880-1905) by Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach

Planning research projects is a time-honoured intellectual exercise: one that requires both creativity and sharp analytical skills. The purpose of this Guide is to make the process systematic and easy to understand. While there is a great deal of freedom and discovery involved – from the topics you choose, to the data and methods you apply – there are also some norms and constraints that obtain, no matter what your academic level or field of study. For those in high school through to doctoral students, and from art history to archaeology, research planning involves broadly similar steps, including: formulating a question, developing an argument or predictions based on previous research, then selecting the information needed to answer your question.

Some of this might sound self-evident but, as you’ll find, research requires a different way of approaching and using information than most of us are accustomed to in everyday life. That is why I include orienting yourself to knowledge-creation as an initial step in the process. This is a crucial and underappreciated phase in education, akin to making the transition from salaried employment to entrepreneurship: suddenly, you’re on your own, and that requires a new way of thinking about your work.

What follows is a distillation of what I’ve learned about this process over 27 years as a professional social scientist. It reflects the skills that my own professors imparted in the sociology doctoral programme at Harvard, as well as what I learned later on as a research supervisor for Ivy League PhD and MA students, and then as the author of award-winning scholarly books and articles. It can be adapted to the demands of both short projects (such as course term papers) and long ones, such as a thesis.

At its simplest, research planning involves the four distinct steps outlined below: orienting yourself to knowledge-creation; defining your research question; reviewing previous research on your question; and then choosing relevant data to formulate your own answers. Because the focus of this Guide is on planning a research project, as opposed to conducting a research project, this section won’t delve into the details of data-collection or analysis; those steps happen after you plan the project. In addition, the topic is vast: year-long doctoral courses are devoted to data and analysis. Instead, the fourth part of this section will outline some basic strategies you could use in planning a data-selection and analysis process appropriate to your research question.

Step 1: Orient yourself

Planning and conducting research requires you to make a transition, from thinking like a consumer of information to thinking like a producer of information. That sounds simple, but it’s actually a complex task. As a practical matter, this means putting aside the mindset of a student, which treats knowledge as something created by other people. As students, we are often passive receivers of knowledge: asked to do a specified set of readings, then graded on how well we reproduce what we’ve read.

Researchers, however, must take on an active role as knowledge producers . Doing research requires more of you than reading and absorbing what other people have written: you have to engage in a dialogue with it. That includes arguing with previous knowledge and perhaps trying to show that ideas we have accepted as given are actually wrong or incomplete. For example, rather than simply taking in the claims of an author you read, you’ll need to draw out the implications of those claims: if what the author is saying is true, what else does that suggest must be true? What predictions could you make based on the author’s claims?

In other words, rather than treating a reading as a source of truth – even if it comes from a revered source, such as Plato or Marie Curie – this orientation step asks you to treat the claims you read as provisional and subject to interrogation. That is one of the great pieces of wisdom that science and philosophy can teach us: that the biggest advances in human understanding have been made not by being correct about trivial things, but by being wrong in an interesting way . For example, Albert Einstein was wrong about quantum mechanics, but his arguments about it with his fellow physicist Niels Bohr have led to some of the biggest breakthroughs in science, even a century later.

Step 2: Define your research question

Students often give this step cursory attention, but experienced researchers know that formulating a good question is sometimes the most difficult part of the research planning process. That is because the precise language of the question frames the rest of the project. It’s therefore important to pose the question carefully, in a way that’s both possible to answer and likely to yield interesting results. Of course, you must choose a question that interests you, but that’s only the beginning of what’s likely to be an iterative process: most researchers come back to this step repeatedly, modifying their questions in light of previous research, resource limitations and other considerations.

Researchers face limits in terms of time and money. They, like everyone else, have to pose research questions that they can plausibly answer given the constraints they face. For example, it would be inadvisable to frame a project around the question ‘What are the roots of the Arab-Israeli conflict?’ if you have only a week to develop an answer and no background on that topic. That’s not to limit your imagination: you can come up with any question you’d like. But it typically does require some creativity to frame a question that you can answer well – that is, by investigating thoroughly and providing new insights – within the limits you face.

In addition to being interesting to you, and feasible within your resource constraints, the third and most important characteristic of a ‘good’ research topic is whether it allows you to create new knowledge. It might turn out that your question has already been asked and answered to your satisfaction: if so, you’ll find out in the next step of this process. On the other hand, you might come up with a research question that hasn’t been addressed previously. Before you get too excited about breaking uncharted ground, consider this: a lot of potentially researchable questions haven’t been studied for good reason ; they might have answers that are trivial or of very limited interest. This could include questions such as ‘Why does the area of a circle equal π r²?’ or ‘Did winter conditions affect Napoleon’s plans to invade Russia?’ Of course, you might be able to make the argument that a seemingly trivial question is actually vitally important, but you must be prepared to back that up with convincing evidence. The exercise in the ‘Learn More’ section below will help you think through some of these issues.

Finally, scholarly research questions must in some way lead to new and distinctive insights. For example, lots of people have studied gender roles in sports teams; what can you ask that hasn’t been asked before? Reinventing the wheel is the number-one no-no in this endeavour. That’s why the next step is so important: reviewing previous research on your topic. Depending on what you find in that step, you might need to revise your research question; iterating between your question and the existing literature is a normal process. But don’t worry: it doesn’t go on forever. In fact, the iterations taper off – and your research question stabilises – as you develop a firm grasp of the current state of knowledge on your topic.

Step 3: Review previous research

In academic research, from articles to books, it’s common to find a section called a ‘literature review’. The purpose of that section is to describe the state of the art in knowledge on the research question that a project has posed. It demonstrates that researchers have thoroughly and systematically reviewed the relevant findings of previous studies on their topic, and that they have something novel to contribute.

Your own research project should include something like this, even if it’s a high-school term paper. In the research planning process, you’ll want to list at least half a dozen bullet points stating the major findings on your topic by other people. In relation to those findings, you should be able to specify where your project could provide new and necessary insights. There are two basic rhetorical positions one can take in framing the novelty-plus-importance argument required of academic research:

• Position 1 requires you to build on or extend a set of existing ideas; that means saying something like: ‘Person A has argued that X is true about gender; this implies Y, which has not yet been tested. My project will test Y, and if I find evidence to support it, that will change the way we understand gender.’
• Position 2 is to argue that there is a gap in existing knowledge, either because previous research has reached conflicting conclusions or has failed to consider something important. For example, one could say that research on middle schoolers and gender has been limited by being conducted primarily in coeducational environments, and that findings might differ dramatically if research were conducted in more schools where the student body was all-male or all-female.

Your overall goal in this step of the process is to show that your research will be part of a larger conversation: that is, how your project flows from what’s already known, and how it advances, extends or challenges that existing body of knowledge. That will be the contribution of your project, and it constitutes the motivation for your research.

Two things are worth mentioning about your search for sources of relevant previous research. First, you needn’t look only at studies on your precise topic. For example, if you want to study gender-identity formation in schools, you shouldn’t restrict yourself to studies of schools; the empirical setting (schools) is secondary to the larger social process that interests you (how people form gender identity). That process occurs in many different settings, so cast a wide net. Second, be sure to use legitimate sources – meaning publications that have been through some sort of vetting process, whether that involves peer review (as with academic journal articles you might find via Google Scholar) or editorial review (as you’d find in well-known mass media publications, such as The Economist or The Washington Post ). What you’ll want to avoid is using unvetted sources such as personal blogs or Wikipedia. Why? Because anybody can write anything in those forums, and there is no way to know – unless you’re already an expert – if the claims you find there are accurate. Often, they’re not.

Step 4: Choose your data and methods

Whatever your research question is, eventually you’ll need to consider which data source and analytical strategy are most likely to provide the answers you’re seeking. One starting point is to consider whether your question would be best addressed by qualitative data (such as interviews, observations or historical records), quantitative data (such as surveys or census records) or some combination of both. Your ideas about data sources will, in turn, suggest options for analytical methods.

You might need to collect your own data, or you might find everything you need readily available in an existing dataset someone else has created. A great place to start is with a research librarian: university libraries always have them and, at public universities, those librarians can work with the public, including people who aren’t affiliated with the university. If you don’t happen to have a public university and its library close at hand, an ordinary public library can still be a good place to start: the librarians are often well versed in accessing data sources that might be relevant to your study, such as the census, or historical archives, or the Survey of Consumer Finances.

Because your task at this point is to plan research, rather than conduct it, the purpose of this step is not to commit you irrevocably to a course of action. Instead, your goal here is to think through a feasible approach to answering your research question. You’ll need to find out, for example, whether the data you want exist; if not, do you have a realistic chance of gathering the data yourself, or would it be better to modify your research question? In terms of analysis, would your strategy require you to apply statistical methods? If so, do you have those skills? If not, do you have time to learn them, or money to hire a research assistant to run the analysis for you?

Please be aware that qualitative methods in particular are not the casual undertaking they might appear to be. Many people make the mistake of thinking that only quantitative data and methods are scientific and systematic, while qualitative methods are just a fancy way of saying: ‘I talked to some people, read some old newspapers, and drew my own conclusions.’ Nothing could be further from the truth. In the final section of this guide, you’ll find some links to resources that will provide more insight on standards and procedures governing qualitative research, but suffice it to say: there are rules about what constitutes legitimate evidence and valid analytical procedure for qualitative data, just as there are for quantitative data.

Circle back and consider revising your initial plans

As you work through these four steps in planning your project, it’s perfectly normal to circle back and revise. Research planning is rarely a linear process. It’s also common for new and unexpected avenues to suggest themselves. As the sociologist Thorstein Veblen wrote in 1908 : ‘The outcome of any serious research can only be to make two questions grow where only one grew before.’ That’s as true of research planning as it is of a completed project. Try to enjoy the horizons that open up for you in this process, rather than becoming overwhelmed; the four steps, along with the two exercises that follow, will help you focus your plan and make it manageable.

Key points – How to plan a research project

• Planning a research project is essential no matter your academic level or field of study. There is no one ‘best’ way to design research, but there are certain guidelines that can be helpfully applied across disciplines.
• Orient yourself to knowledge-creation. Make the shift from being a consumer of information to being a producer of information.
• Define your research question. Your question frames the rest of your project, sets the scope, and determines the kinds of answers you can find.
• Review previous research on your question. Survey the existing body of relevant knowledge to ensure that your research will be part of a larger conversation.
• Choose your data and methods. For instance, will you be collecting qualitative data, via interviews, or numerical data, via surveys?
• Circle back and consider revising your initial plans. Expect your research question in particular to undergo multiple rounds of refinement as you learn more about your topic.

Good research questions tend to beget more questions. This can be frustrating for those who want to get down to business right away. Try to make room for the unexpected: this is usually how knowledge advances. Many of the most significant discoveries in human history have been made by people who were looking for something else entirely. There are ways to structure your research planning process without over-constraining yourself; the two exercises below are a start, and you can find further methods in the Links and Books section.

The following exercise provides a structured process for advancing your research project planning. After completing it, you’ll be able to do the following:

• describe clearly and concisely the question you’ve chosen to study
• summarise the state of the art in knowledge about the question, and where your project could contribute new insight
• identify the best strategy for gathering and analysing relevant data

In other words, the following provides a systematic means to establish the building blocks of your research project.

Exercise 1: Definition of research question and sources

This exercise prompts you to select and clarify your general interest area, develop a research question, and investigate sources of information. The annotated bibliography will also help you refine your research question so that you can begin the second assignment, a description of the phenomenon you wish to study.

Jot down a few bullet points in response to these two questions, with the understanding that you’ll probably go back and modify your answers as you begin reading other studies relevant to your topic:

• What will be the general topic of your paper?
• What will be the specific topic of your paper?

b) Research question(s)

Use the following guidelines to frame a research question – or questions – that will drive your analysis. As with Part 1 above, you’ll probably find it necessary to change or refine your research question(s) as you complete future assignments.

• Your question should be phrased so that it can’t be answered with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
• Your question should have more than one plausible answer.
• Your question should draw relationships between two or more concepts; framing the question in terms of How? or What? often works better than asking Why ?

c) Annotated bibliography

Most or all of your background information should come from two sources: scholarly books and journals, or reputable mass media sources. You might be able to access journal articles electronically through your library, using search engines such as JSTOR and Google Scholar. This can save you a great deal of time compared with going to the library in person to search periodicals. General news sources, such as those accessible through LexisNexis, are acceptable, but should be cited sparingly, since they don’t carry the same level of credibility as scholarly sources. As discussed above, unvetted sources such as blogs and Wikipedia should be avoided, because the quality of the information they provide is unreliable and often misleading.

To create an annotated bibliography, provide the following information for at least 10 sources relevant to your specific topic, using the format suggested below.

Name of author(s):

Publication date:

Title of book, chapter, or article:

If a chapter or article, title of journal or book where they appear:

Brief description of this work, including main findings and methods ( c 75 words):

Summary of how this work contributes to your project ( c 75 words):

Brief description of the implications of this work ( c 25 words):

Identify any gap or controversy in knowledge this work points up, and how your project could address those problems ( c 50 words):

Exercise 2: Towards an analysis

Develop a short statement ( c 250 words) about the kind of data that would be useful to address your research question, and how you’d analyse it. Some questions to consider in writing this statement include:

• What are the central concepts or variables in your project? Offer a brief definition of each.
• Do any data sources exist on those concepts or variables, or would you need to collect data?
• Of the analytical strategies you could apply to that data, which would be the most appropriate to answer your question? Which would be the most feasible for you? Consider at least two methods, noting their advantages or disadvantages for your project.

Links & books

One of the best texts ever written about planning and executing research comes from a source that might be unexpected: a 60-year-old work on urban planning by a self-trained scholar. The classic book The Death and Life of Great American Cities (1961) by Jane Jacobs (available complete and free of charge via this link ) is worth reading in its entirety just for the pleasure of it. But the final 20 pages – a concluding chapter titled ‘The Kind of Problem a City Is’ – are really about the process of thinking through and investigating a problem. Highly recommended as a window into the craft of research.

Jacobs’s text references an essay on advancing human knowledge by the mathematician Warren Weaver. At the time, Weaver was director of the Rockefeller Foundation, in charge of funding basic research in the natural and medical sciences. Although the essay is titled ‘A Quarter Century in the Natural Sciences’ (1960) and appears at first blush to be merely a summation of one man’s career, it turns out to be something much bigger and more interesting: a meditation on the history of human beings seeking answers to big questions about the world. Weaver goes back to the 17th century to trace the origins of systematic research thinking, with enthusiasm and vivid anecdotes that make the process come alive. The essay is worth reading in its entirety, and is available free of charge via this link .

For those seeking a more in-depth, professional-level discussion of the logic of research design, the political scientist Harvey Starr provides insight in a compact format in the article ‘Cumulation from Proper Specification: Theory, Logic, Research Design, and “Nice” Laws’ (2005). Starr reviews the ‘research triad’, consisting of the interlinked considerations of formulating a question, selecting relevant theories and applying appropriate methods. The full text of the article, published in the scholarly journal Conflict Management and Peace Science , is available, free of charge, via this link .

Finally, the book Getting What You Came For (1992) by Robert Peters is not only an outstanding guide for anyone contemplating graduate school – from the application process onward – but it also includes several excellent chapters on planning and executing research, applicable across a wide variety of subject areas. It was an invaluable resource for me 25 years ago, and it remains in print with good reason; I recommend it to all my students, particularly Chapter 16 (‘The Thesis Topic: Finding It’), Chapter 17 (‘The Thesis Proposal’) and Chapter 18 (‘The Thesis: Writing It’).

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How to Get Started With a Research Project

Last Updated: October 3, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Chris Hadley, PhD . Chris Hadley, PhD is part of the wikiHow team and works on content strategy and data and analytics. Chris Hadley earned his PhD in Cognitive Psychology from UCLA in 2006. Chris' academic research has been published in numerous scientific journals. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 311,409 times.

You'll be required to undertake and complete research projects throughout your academic career and even, in many cases, as a member of the workforce. Don't worry if you feel stuck or intimidated by the idea of a research project, with care and dedication, you can get the project done well before the deadline!

Development and Foundation

• Don't hesitate while writing down ideas. You'll end up with some mental noise on the paper – silly or nonsensical phrases that your brain just pushes out. That's fine. Think of it as sweeping the cobwebs out of your attic. After a minute or two, better ideas will begin to form (and you might have a nice little laugh at your own expense in the meantime).

• Some instructors will even provide samples of previously successful topics if you ask for them. Just be careful that you don't end up stuck with an idea you want to do, but are afraid to do because you know someone else did it before.

• For example, if your research topic is “urban poverty,” you could look at that topic across ethnic or sexual lines, but you could also look into corporate wages, minimum wage laws, the cost of medical benefits, the loss of unskilled jobs in the urban core, and on and on. You could also try comparing and contrasting urban poverty with suburban or rural poverty, and examine things that might be different about both areas, such as diet and exercise levels, or air pollution.

• Think in terms of questions you want answered. A good research project should collect information for the purpose of answering (or at least attempting to answer) a question. As you review and interconnect topics, you'll think of questions that don't seem to have clear answers yet. These questions are your research topics.

• Don't limit yourself to libraries and online databases. Think in terms of outside resources as well: primary sources, government agencies, even educational TV programs. If you want to know about differences in animal population between public land and an Indian reservation, call the reservation and see if you can speak to their department of fish and wildlife.
• If you're planning to go ahead with original research, that's great – but those techniques aren't covered in this article. Instead, speak with qualified advisors and work with them to set up a thorough, controlled, repeatable process for gathering information.

• If your plan comes down to “researching the topic,” and there aren't any more specific things you can say about it, write down the types of sources you plan to use instead: books (library or private?), magazines (which ones?), interviews, and so on. Your preliminary research should have given you a solid idea of where to begin.

Expanding Your Idea with Research

• It's generally considered more convincing to source one item from three different authors who all agree on it than it is to rely too heavily on one book. Go for quantity at least as much as quality. Be sure to check citations, endnotes, and bibliographies to get more potential sources (and see whether or not all your authors are just quoting the same, older author).
• Writing down your sources and any other relevant details (such as context) around your pieces of information right now will save you lots of trouble in the future.

• Use many different queries to get the database results you want. If one phrasing or a particular set of words doesn't yield useful results, try rephrasing it or using synonymous terms. Online academic databases tend to be dumber than the sum of their parts, so you'll have to use tangentially related terms and inventive language to get all the results you want.

• If it's sensible, consider heading out into the field and speaking to ordinary people for their opinions. This isn't always appropriate (or welcomed) in a research project, but in some cases, it can provide you with some excellent perspective for your research.
• Review cultural artifacts as well. In many areas of study, there's useful information on attitudes, hopes, and/or concerns of people in a particular time and place contained within the art, music, and writing they produced. One has only to look at the woodblock prints of the later German Expressionists, for example, to understand that they lived in a world they felt was often dark, grotesque, and hopeless. Song lyrics and poetry can likewise express strong popular attitudes.

Expert Q&A

• Start early. The foundation of a great research project is the research, which takes time and patience to gather even if you aren't performing any original research of your own. Set aside time for it whenever you can, at least until your initial gathering phase is complete. Past that point, the project should practically come together on its own. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0
• When in doubt, write more, rather than less. It's easier to pare down and reorganize an overabundance of information than it is to puff up a flimsy core of facts and anecdotes. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0

• Respect the wishes of others. Unless you're a research journalist, it's vital that you yield to the wishes and requests of others before engaging in original research, even if it's technically ethical. Many older American Indians, for instance, harbor a great deal of cultural resentment towards social scientists who visit reservations for research, even those invited by tribal governments for important reasons such as language revitalization. Always tread softly whenever you're out of your element, and only work with those who want to work with you. Thanks Helpful 8 Not Helpful 2
• Be mindful of ethical concerns. Especially if you plan to use original research, there are very stringent ethical guidelines that must be followed for any credible academic body to accept it. Speak to an advisor (such as a professor) about what you plan to do and what steps you should take to verify that it will be ethical. Thanks Helpful 6 Not Helpful 2

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• ↑ http://www.butte.edu/departments/cas/tipsheets/research/research_paper.html
• ↑ https://www.nhcc.edu/academics/library/doing-library-research/basic-steps-research-process
• ↑ https://library.sacredheart.edu/c.php?g=29803&p=185905
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/common_writing_assignments/research_papers/choosing_a_topic.html
• ↑ https://www.unr.edu/writing-speaking-center/student-resources/writing-speaking-resources/using-an-interview-in-a-research-paper
• ↑ https://www.science.org/content/article/how-review-paper

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The easiest way to get started with a research project is to use your notes and other materials to come up with topics that interest you. Research your favorite topic to see if it can be developed, and then refine it into a research question. Begin thoroughly researching, and collect notes and sources. To learn more about finding reliable and helpful sources while you're researching, continue reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Home » Research Project – Definition, Writing Guide and Ideas

Research Project – Definition, Writing Guide and Ideas

Table of Contents

Research Project

Definition :

Research Project is a planned and systematic investigation into a specific area of interest or problem, with the goal of generating new knowledge, insights, or solutions. It typically involves identifying a research question or hypothesis, designing a study to test it, collecting and analyzing data, and drawing conclusions based on the findings.

Types of Research Project

Types of Research Projects are as follows:

Basic Research

This type of research focuses on advancing knowledge and understanding of a subject area or phenomenon, without any specific application or practical use in mind. The primary goal is to expand scientific or theoretical knowledge in a particular field.

Applied Research

Applied research is aimed at solving practical problems or addressing specific issues. This type of research seeks to develop solutions or improve existing products, services or processes.

Action Research

Action research is conducted by practitioners and aimed at solving specific problems or improving practices in a particular context. It involves collaboration between researchers and practitioners, and often involves iterative cycles of data collection and analysis, with the goal of improving practices.

Quantitative Research

This type of research uses numerical data to investigate relationships between variables or to test hypotheses. It typically involves large-scale data collection through surveys, experiments, or secondary data analysis.

Qualitative Research

Qualitative research focuses on understanding and interpreting phenomena from the perspective of the people involved. It involves collecting and analyzing data in the form of text, images, or other non-numerical forms.

Mixed Methods Research

Mixed methods research combines elements of both quantitative and qualitative research, using multiple data sources and methods to gain a more comprehensive understanding of a phenomenon.

Longitudinal Research

This type of research involves studying a group of individuals or phenomena over an extended period of time, often years or decades. It is useful for understanding changes and developments over time.

Case Study Research

Case study research involves in-depth investigation of a particular case or phenomenon, often within a specific context. It is useful for understanding complex phenomena in their real-life settings.

Participatory Research

Participatory research involves active involvement of the people or communities being studied in the research process. It emphasizes collaboration, empowerment, and the co-production of knowledge.

Research Project Methodology

Research Project Methodology refers to the process of conducting research in an organized and systematic manner to answer a specific research question or to test a hypothesis. A well-designed research project methodology ensures that the research is rigorous, valid, and reliable, and that the findings are meaningful and can be used to inform decision-making.

There are several steps involved in research project methodology, which are described below:

Define the Research Question

The first step in any research project is to clearly define the research question or problem. This involves identifying the purpose of the research, the scope of the research, and the key variables that will be studied.

Develop a Research Plan

Once the research question has been defined, the next step is to develop a research plan. This plan outlines the methodology that will be used to collect and analyze data, including the research design, sampling strategy, data collection methods, and data analysis techniques.

Collect Data

The data collection phase involves gathering information through various methods, such as surveys, interviews, observations, experiments, or secondary data analysis. The data collected should be relevant to the research question and should be of sufficient quantity and quality to enable meaningful analysis.

Analyze Data

Once the data has been collected, it is analyzed using appropriate statistical techniques or other methods. The analysis should be guided by the research question and should aim to identify patterns, trends, relationships, or other insights that can inform the research findings.

Interpret and Report Findings

The final step in the research project methodology is to interpret the findings and report them in a clear and concise manner. This involves summarizing the results, discussing their implications, and drawing conclusions that can be used to inform decision-making.

Research Project Writing Guide

Here are some guidelines to help you in writing a successful research project:

• Choose a topic: Choose a topic that you are interested in and that is relevant to your field of study. It is important to choose a topic that is specific and focused enough to allow for in-depth research and analysis.
• Conduct a literature review : Conduct a thorough review of the existing research on your topic. This will help you to identify gaps in the literature and to develop a research question or hypothesis.
• Develop a research question or hypothesis : Based on your literature review, develop a clear research question or hypothesis that you will investigate in your study.
• Design your study: Choose an appropriate research design and methodology to answer your research question or test your hypothesis. This may include choosing a sample, selecting measures or instruments, and determining data collection methods.
• Collect data: Collect data using your chosen methods and instruments. Be sure to follow ethical guidelines and obtain informed consent from participants if necessary.
• Analyze data: Analyze your data using appropriate statistical or qualitative methods. Be sure to clearly report your findings and provide interpretations based on your research question or hypothesis.
• Discuss your findings : Discuss your findings in the context of the existing literature and your research question or hypothesis. Identify any limitations or implications of your study and suggest directions for future research.
• Write your project: Write your research project in a clear and organized manner, following the appropriate format and style guidelines for your field of study. Be sure to include an introduction, literature review, methodology, results, discussion, and conclusion.
• Revise and edit: Revise and edit your project for clarity, coherence, and accuracy. Be sure to proofread for spelling, grammar, and formatting errors.
• Cite your sources: Cite your sources accurately and appropriately using the appropriate citation style for your field of study.

Examples of Research Projects

Some Examples of Research Projects are as follows:

• Investigating the effects of a new medication on patients with a particular disease or condition.
• Exploring the impact of exercise on mental health and well-being.
• Studying the effectiveness of a new teaching method in improving student learning outcomes.
• Examining the impact of social media on political participation and engagement.
• Investigating the efficacy of a new therapy for a specific mental health disorder.
• Exploring the use of renewable energy sources in reducing carbon emissions and mitigating climate change.
• Studying the effects of a new agricultural technique on crop yields and environmental sustainability.
• Investigating the effectiveness of a new technology in improving business productivity and efficiency.
• Examining the impact of a new public policy on social inequality and access to resources.
• Exploring the factors that influence consumer behavior in a specific market.

Characteristics of Research Project

Here are some of the characteristics that are often associated with research projects:

• Clear objective: A research project is designed to answer a specific question or solve a particular problem. The objective of the research should be clearly defined from the outset.
• Systematic approach: A research project is typically carried out using a structured and systematic approach that involves careful planning, data collection, analysis, and interpretation.
• Rigorous methodology: A research project should employ a rigorous methodology that is appropriate for the research question being investigated. This may involve the use of statistical analysis, surveys, experiments, or other methods.
• Data collection : A research project involves collecting data from a variety of sources, including primary sources (such as surveys or experiments) and secondary sources (such as published literature or databases).
• Analysis and interpretation : Once the data has been collected, it needs to be analyzed and interpreted. This involves using statistical techniques or other methods to identify patterns or relationships in the data.
• Conclusion and implications : A research project should lead to a clear conclusion that answers the research question. It should also identify the implications of the findings for future research or practice.
• Communication: The results of the research project should be communicated clearly and effectively, using appropriate language and visual aids, to a range of audiences, including peers, stakeholders, and the wider public.

Importance of Research Project

Research projects are an essential part of the process of generating new knowledge and advancing our understanding of various fields of study. Here are some of the key reasons why research projects are important:

• Advancing knowledge : Research projects are designed to generate new knowledge and insights into particular topics or questions. This knowledge can be used to inform policies, practices, and decision-making processes across a range of fields.
• Solving problems: Research projects can help to identify solutions to real-world problems by providing a better understanding of the causes and effects of particular issues.
• Developing new technologies: Research projects can lead to the development of new technologies or products that can improve people’s lives or address societal challenges.
• Improving health outcomes: Research projects can contribute to improving health outcomes by identifying new treatments, diagnostic tools, or preventive strategies.
• Enhancing education: Research projects can enhance education by providing new insights into teaching and learning methods, curriculum development, and student learning outcomes.
• Informing public policy : Research projects can inform public policy by providing evidence-based recommendations and guidance on issues related to health, education, environment, social justice, and other areas.
• Enhancing professional development : Research projects can enhance the professional development of researchers by providing opportunities to develop new skills, collaborate with colleagues, and share knowledge with others.

Research Project Ideas

Following are some Research Project Ideas:

Field: Psychology

• Investigating the impact of social support on coping strategies among individuals with chronic illnesses.
• Exploring the relationship between childhood trauma and adult attachment styles.
• Examining the effects of exercise on cognitive function and brain health in older adults.
• Investigating the impact of sleep deprivation on decision making and risk-taking behavior.
• Exploring the relationship between personality traits and leadership styles in the workplace.
• Examining the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for treating anxiety disorders.
• Investigating the relationship between social comparison and body dissatisfaction in young women.
• Exploring the impact of parenting styles on children’s emotional regulation and behavior.
• Investigating the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions for treating depression.
• Examining the relationship between childhood adversity and later-life health outcomes.

Field: Economics

• Analyzing the impact of trade agreements on economic growth in developing countries.
• Examining the effects of tax policy on income distribution and poverty reduction.
• Investigating the relationship between foreign aid and economic development in low-income countries.
• Exploring the impact of globalization on labor markets and job displacement.
• Analyzing the impact of minimum wage laws on employment and income levels.
• Investigating the effectiveness of monetary policy in managing inflation and unemployment.
• Examining the relationship between economic freedom and entrepreneurship.
• Analyzing the impact of income inequality on social mobility and economic opportunity.
• Investigating the role of education in economic development.
• Examining the effectiveness of different healthcare financing systems in promoting health equity.

Field: Sociology

• Investigating the impact of social media on political polarization and civic engagement.
• Examining the effects of neighborhood characteristics on health outcomes.
• Analyzing the impact of immigration policies on social integration and cultural diversity.
• Investigating the relationship between social support and mental health outcomes in older adults.
• Exploring the impact of income inequality on social cohesion and trust.
• Analyzing the effects of gender and race discrimination on career advancement and pay equity.
• Investigating the relationship between social networks and health behaviors.
• Examining the effectiveness of community-based interventions for reducing crime and violence.
• Analyzing the impact of social class on cultural consumption and taste.
• Investigating the relationship between religious affiliation and social attitudes.

Field: Computer Science

• Developing an algorithm for detecting fake news on social media.
• Investigating the effectiveness of different machine learning algorithms for image recognition.
• Developing a natural language processing tool for sentiment analysis of customer reviews.
• Analyzing the security implications of blockchain technology for online transactions.
• Investigating the effectiveness of different recommendation algorithms for personalized advertising.
• Developing an artificial intelligence chatbot for mental health counseling.
• Investigating the effectiveness of different algorithms for optimizing online advertising campaigns.
• Developing a machine learning model for predicting consumer behavior in online marketplaces.
• Analyzing the privacy implications of different data sharing policies for online platforms.
• Investigating the effectiveness of different algorithms for predicting stock market trends.

Field: Education

• Investigating the impact of teacher-student relationships on academic achievement.
• Analyzing the effectiveness of different pedagogical approaches for promoting student engagement and motivation.
• Examining the effects of school choice policies on academic achievement and social mobility.
• Investigating the impact of technology on learning outcomes and academic achievement.
• Analyzing the effects of school funding disparities on educational equity and achievement gaps.
• Investigating the relationship between school climate and student mental health outcomes.
• Examining the effectiveness of different teaching strategies for promoting critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
• Investigating the impact of social-emotional learning programs on student behavior and academic achievement.
• Analyzing the effects of standardized testing on student motivation and academic achievement.

Field: Environmental Science

• Investigating the impact of climate change on species distribution and biodiversity.
• Analyzing the effectiveness of different renewable energy technologies in reducing carbon emissions.
• Examining the impact of air pollution on human health outcomes.
• Investigating the relationship between urbanization and deforestation in developing countries.
• Analyzing the effects of ocean acidification on marine ecosystems and biodiversity.
• Investigating the impact of land use change on soil fertility and ecosystem services.
• Analyzing the effectiveness of different conservation policies and programs for protecting endangered species and habitats.
• Investigating the relationship between climate change and water resources in arid regions.
• Examining the impact of plastic pollution on marine ecosystems and biodiversity.
• Investigating the effects of different agricultural practices on soil health and nutrient cycling.

Field: Linguistics

• Analyzing the impact of language diversity on social integration and cultural identity.
• Investigating the relationship between language and cognition in bilingual individuals.
• Examining the effects of language contact and language change on linguistic diversity.
• Investigating the role of language in shaping cultural norms and values.
• Analyzing the effectiveness of different language teaching methodologies for second language acquisition.
• Investigating the relationship between language proficiency and academic achievement.
• Examining the impact of language policy on language use and language attitudes.
• Investigating the role of language in shaping gender and social identities.
• Analyzing the effects of dialect contact on language variation and change.
• Investigating the relationship between language and emotion expression.

Field: Political Science

• Analyzing the impact of electoral systems on women’s political representation.
• Investigating the relationship between political ideology and attitudes towards immigration.
• Examining the effects of political polarization on democratic institutions and political stability.
• Investigating the impact of social media on political participation and civic engagement.
• Analyzing the effects of authoritarianism on human rights and civil liberties.
• Investigating the relationship between public opinion and foreign policy decisions.
• Examining the impact of international organizations on global governance and cooperation.
• Investigating the effectiveness of different conflict resolution strategies in resolving ethnic and religious conflicts.
• Analyzing the effects of corruption on economic development and political stability.
• Investigating the role of international law in regulating global governance and human rights.

Field: Medicine

• Investigating the impact of lifestyle factors on chronic disease risk and prevention.
• Examining the effectiveness of different treatment approaches for mental health disorders.
• Investigating the relationship between genetics and disease susceptibility.
• Analyzing the effects of social determinants of health on health outcomes and health disparities.
• Investigating the impact of different healthcare delivery models on patient outcomes and cost effectiveness.
• Examining the effectiveness of different prevention and treatment strategies for infectious diseases.
• Investigating the relationship between healthcare provider communication skills and patient satisfaction and outcomes.
• Analyzing the effects of medical error and patient safety on healthcare quality and outcomes.
• Investigating the impact of different pharmaceutical pricing policies on access to essential medicines.
• Examining the effectiveness of different rehabilitation approaches for improving function and quality of life in individuals with disabilities.

Field: Anthropology

• Analyzing the impact of colonialism on indigenous cultures and identities.
• Investigating the relationship between cultural practices and health outcomes in different populations.
• Examining the effects of globalization on cultural diversity and cultural exchange.
• Investigating the role of language in cultural transmission and preservation.
• Analyzing the effects of cultural contact on cultural change and adaptation.
• Investigating the impact of different migration policies on immigrant integration and acculturation.
• Examining the role of gender and sexuality in cultural norms and values.
• Investigating the impact of cultural heritage preservation on tourism and economic development.
• Analyzing the effects of cultural revitalization movements on indigenous communities.

About the author

Muhammad Hassan

Researcher, Academic Writer, Web developer

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Education During Coronavirus

A Smithsonian magazine special report

Science | June 15, 2020

Seventy-Five Scientific Research Projects You Can Contribute to Online

From astrophysicists to entomologists, many researchers need the help of citizen scientists to sift through immense data collections

Rachael Lallensack

Former Assistant Editor, Science and Innovation

If you find yourself tired of streaming services, reading the news or video-chatting with friends, maybe you should consider becoming a citizen scientist. Though it’s true that many field research projects are paused , hundreds of scientists need your help sifting through wildlife camera footage and images of galaxies far, far away, or reading through diaries and field notes from the past.

Plenty of these tools are free and easy enough for children to use. You can look around for projects yourself on Smithsonian Institution’s citizen science volunteer page , National Geographic ’s list of projects and CitizenScience.gov ’s catalog of options. Zooniverse is a platform for online-exclusive projects , and Scistarter allows you to restrict your search with parameters, including projects you can do “on a walk,” “at night” or “on a lunch break.”

To save you some time, Smithsonian magazine has compiled a collection of dozens of projects you can take part in from home.

American Wildlife

If being home has given you more time to look at wildlife in your own backyard, whether you live in the city or the country, consider expanding your view, by helping scientists identify creatures photographed by camera traps. Improved battery life, motion sensors, high-resolution and small lenses have made camera traps indispensable tools for conservation.These cameras capture thousands of images that provide researchers with more data about ecosystems than ever before.

Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute’s eMammal platform , for example, asks users to identify animals for conservation projects around the country. Currently, eMammal is being used by the Woodland Park Zoo ’s Seattle Urban Carnivore Project, which studies how coyotes, foxes, raccoons, bobcats and other animals coexist with people, and the Washington Wolverine Project, an effort to monitor wolverines in the face of climate change. Identify urban wildlife for the Chicago Wildlife Watch , or contribute to wilderness projects documenting North American biodiversity with The Wilds' Wildlife Watch in Ohio , Cedar Creek: Eyes on the Wild in Minnesota , Michigan ZoomIN , Western Montana Wildlife and Snapshot Wisconsin .

"Spend your time at home virtually exploring the Minnesota backwoods,” writes the lead researcher of the Cedar Creek: Eyes on the Wild project. “Help us understand deer dynamics, possum populations, bear behavior, and keep your eyes peeled for elusive wolves!"

If being cooped up at home has you daydreaming about traveling, Snapshot Safari has six active animal identification projects. Try eyeing lions, leopards, cheetahs, wild dogs, elephants, giraffes, baobab trees and over 400 bird species from camera trap photos taken in South African nature reserves, including De Hoop Nature Reserve and Madikwe Game Reserve .

With South Sudan DiversityCam , researchers are using camera traps to study biodiversity in the dense tropical forests of southwestern South Sudan. Part of the Serenegeti Lion Project, Snapshot Serengeti needs the help of citizen scientists to classify millions of camera trap images of species traveling with the wildebeest migration.

Classify all kinds of monkeys with Chimp&See . Count, identify and track giraffes in northern Kenya . Watering holes host all kinds of wildlife, but that makes the locales hotspots for parasite transmission; Parasite Safari needs volunteers to help figure out which animals come in contact with each other and during what time of year.

Mount Taranaki in New Zealand is a volcanic peak rich in native vegetation, but native wildlife, like the North Island brown kiwi, whio/blue duck and seabirds, are now rare—driven out by introduced predators like wild goats, weasels, stoats, possums and rats. Estimate predator species compared to native wildlife with Taranaki Mounga by spotting species on camera trap images.

The Zoological Society of London’s (ZSL) Instant Wild app has a dozen projects showcasing live images and videos of wildlife around the world. Look for bears, wolves and lynx in Croatia ; wildcats in Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula ; otters in Hampshire, England ; and both black and white rhinos in the Lewa-Borana landscape in Kenya.

Under the Sea

Researchers use a variety of technologies to learn about marine life and inform conservation efforts. Take, for example, Beluga Bits , a research project focused on determining the sex, age and pod size of beluga whales visiting the Churchill River in northern Manitoba, Canada. With a bit of training, volunteers can learn how to differentiate between a calf, a subadult (grey) or an adult (white)—and even identify individuals using scars or unique pigmentation—in underwater videos and images. Beluga Bits uses a “ beluga boat ,” which travels around the Churchill River estuary with a camera underneath it, to capture the footage and collect GPS data about the whales’ locations.

Many of these online projects are visual, but Manatee Chat needs citizen scientists who can train their ear to decipher manatee vocalizations. Researchers are hoping to learn what calls the marine mammals make and when—with enough practice you might even be able to recognize the distinct calls of individual animals.

Several groups are using drone footage to monitor seal populations. Seals spend most of their time in the water, but come ashore to breed. One group, Seal Watch , is analyzing time-lapse photography and drone images of seals in the British territory of South Georgia in the South Atlantic. A team in Antarctica captured images of Weddell seals every ten minutes while the seals were on land in spring to have their pups. The Weddell Seal Count project aims to find out what threats—like fishing and climate change—the seals face by monitoring changes in their population size. Likewise, the Año Nuevo Island - Animal Count asks volunteers to count elephant seals, sea lions, cormorants and more species on a remote research island off the coast of California.

With Floating Forests , you’ll sift through 40 years of satellite images of the ocean surface identifying kelp forests, which are foundational for marine ecosystems, providing shelter for shrimp, fish and sea urchins. A project based in southwest England, Seagrass Explorer , is investigating the decline of seagrass beds. Researchers are using baited cameras to spot commercial fish in these habitats as well as looking out for algae to study the health of these threatened ecosystems. Search for large sponges, starfish and cold-water corals on the deep seafloor in Sweden’s first marine park with the Koster seafloor observatory project.

The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center needs your help spotting invasive species with Invader ID . Train your eye to spot groups of organisms, known as fouling communities, that live under docks and ship hulls, in an effort to clean up marine ecosystems.

If art history is more your speed, two Dutch art museums need volunteers to start “ fishing in the past ” by analyzing a collection of paintings dating from 1500 to 1700. Each painting features at least one fish, and an interdisciplinary research team of biologists and art historians wants you to identify the species of fish to make a clearer picture of the “role of ichthyology in the past.”

Interesting Insects

Notes from Nature is a digitization effort to make the vast resources in museums’ archives of plants and insects more accessible. Similarly, page through the University of California Berkeley’s butterfly collection on CalBug to help researchers classify these beautiful critters. The University of Michigan Museum of Zoology has already digitized about 300,000 records, but their collection exceeds 4 million bugs. You can hop in now and transcribe their grasshopper archives from the last century . Parasitic arthropods, like mosquitos and ticks, are known disease vectors; to better locate these critters, the Terrestrial Parasite Tracker project is working with 22 collections and institutions to digitize over 1.2 million specimens—and they’re 95 percent done . If you can tolerate mosquito buzzing for a prolonged period of time, the HumBug project needs volunteers to train its algorithm and develop real-time mosquito detection using acoustic monitoring devices. It’s for the greater good!

For the Birders

Birdwatching is one of the most common forms of citizen science . Seeing birds in the wilderness is certainly awe-inspiring, but you can birdwatch from your backyard or while walking down the sidewalk in big cities, too. With Cornell University’s eBird app , you can contribute to bird science at any time, anywhere. (Just be sure to remain a safe distance from wildlife—and other humans, while we social distance ). If you have safe access to outdoor space—a backyard, perhaps—Cornell also has a NestWatch program for people to report observations of bird nests. Smithsonian’s Migratory Bird Center has a similar Neighborhood Nest Watch program as well.

Birdwatching is easy enough to do from any window, if you’re sheltering at home, but in case you lack a clear view, consider these online-only projects. Nest Quest currently has a robin database that needs volunteer transcribers to digitize their nest record cards.

You can also pitch in on a variety of efforts to categorize wildlife camera images of burrowing owls , pelicans , penguins (new data coming soon!), and sea birds . Watch nest cam footage of the northern bald ibis or greylag geese on NestCams to help researchers learn about breeding behavior.

Or record the coloration of gorgeous feathers across bird species for researchers at London’s Natural History Museum with Project Plumage .

Pretty Plants

If you’re out on a walk wondering what kind of plants are around you, consider downloading Leafsnap , an electronic field guide app developed by Columbia University, the University of Maryland and the Smithsonian Institution. The app has several functions. First, it can be used to identify plants with its visual recognition software. Secondly, scientists can learn about the “ the ebb and flow of flora ” from geotagged images taken by app users.

What is older than the dinosaurs, survived three mass extinctions and still has a living relative today? Ginko trees! Researchers at Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History are studying ginko trees and fossils to understand millions of years of plant evolution and climate change with the Fossil Atmospheres project . Using Zooniverse, volunteers will be trained to identify and count stomata, which are holes on a leaf’s surface where carbon dioxide passes through. By counting these holes, or quantifying the stomatal index, scientists can learn how the plants adapted to changing levels of carbon dioxide. These results will inform a field experiment conducted on living trees in which a scientist is adjusting the level of carbon dioxide for different groups.

Help digitize and categorize millions of botanical specimens from natural history museums, research institutions and herbaria across the country with the Notes from Nature Project . Did you know North America is home to a variety of beautiful orchid species? Lend botanists a handby typing handwritten labels on pressed specimens or recording their geographic and historic origins for the New York Botanical Garden’s archives. Likewise, the Southeastern U.S. Biodiversity project needs assistance labeling pressed poppies, sedums, valerians, violets and more. Groups in California , Arkansas , Florida , Texas and Oklahoma all invite citizen scientists to partake in similar tasks.

Historic Women in Astronomy

Become a transcriber for Project PHaEDRA and help researchers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics preserve the work of Harvard’s women “computers” who revolutionized astronomy in the 20th century. These women contributed more than 130 years of work documenting the night sky, cataloging stars, interpreting stellar spectra, counting galaxies, and measuring distances in space, according to the project description .

More than 2,500 notebooks need transcription on Project PhaEDRA - Star Notes . You could start with Annie Jump Cannon , for example. In 1901, Cannon designed a stellar classification system that astronomers still use today. Cecilia Payne discovered that stars are made primarily of hydrogen and helium and can be categorized by temperature. Two notebooks from Henrietta Swan Leavitt are currently in need of transcription. Leavitt, who was deaf, discovered the link between period and luminosity in Cepheid variables, or pulsating stars, which “led directly to the discovery that the Universe is expanding,” according to her bio on Star Notes .

Volunteers are also needed to transcribe some of these women computers’ notebooks that contain references to photographic glass plates . These plates were used to study space from the 1880s to the 1990s. For example, in 1890, Williamina Flemming discovered the Horsehead Nebula on one of these plates . With Star Notes, you can help bridge the gap between “modern scientific literature and 100 years of astronomical observations,” according to the project description . Star Notes also features the work of Cannon, Leavitt and Dorrit Hoffleit , who authored the fifth edition of the Bright Star Catalog, which features 9,110 of the brightest stars in the sky.

Microscopic Musings

Electron microscopes have super-high resolution and magnification powers—and now, many can process images automatically, allowing teams to collect an immense amount of data. Francis Crick Institute’s Etch A Cell - Powerhouse Hunt project trains volunteers to spot and trace each cell’s mitochondria, a process called manual segmentation. Manual segmentation is a major bottleneck to completing biological research because using computer systems to complete the work is still fraught with errors and, without enough volunteers, doing this work takes a really long time.

For the Monkey Health Explorer project, researchers studying the social behavior of rhesus monkeys on the tiny island Cayo Santiago off the southeastern coast of Puerto Rico need volunteers to analyze the monkeys’ blood samples. Doing so will help the team understand which monkeys are sick and which are healthy, and how the animals’ health influences behavioral changes.

Using the Zooniverse’s app on a phone or tablet, you can become a “ Science Scribbler ” and assist researchers studying how Huntington disease may change a cell’s organelles. The team at the United Kingdom's national synchrotron , which is essentially a giant microscope that harnesses the power of electrons, has taken highly detailed X-ray images of the cells of Huntington’s patients and needs help identifying organelles, in an effort to see how the disease changes their structure.

Oxford University’s Comprehensive Resistance Prediction for Tuberculosis: an International Consortium—or CRyPTIC Project , for short, is seeking the aid of citizen scientists to study over 20,000 TB infection samples from around the world. CRyPTIC’s citizen science platform is called Bash the Bug . On the platform, volunteers will be trained to evaluate the effectiveness of antibiotics on a given sample. Each evaluation will be checked by a scientist for accuracy and then used to train a computer program, which may one day make this process much faster and less labor intensive.

Out of This World

If you’re interested in contributing to astronomy research from the comfort and safety of your sidewalk or backyard, check out Globe at Night . The project monitors light pollution by asking users to try spotting constellations in the night sky at designated times of the year . (For example, Northern Hemisphere dwellers should look for the Bootes and Hercules constellations from June 13 through June 22 and record the visibility in Globe at Night’s app or desktop report page .)

For the amateur astrophysicists out there, the opportunities to contribute to science are vast. NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission is asking for volunteers to search for new objects at the edges of our solar system with the Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 project .

Galaxy Zoo on Zooniverse and its mobile app has operated online citizen science projects for the past decade. According to the project description, there are roughly one hundred billion galaxies in the observable universe. Surprisingly, identifying different types of galaxies by their shape is rather easy. “If you're quick, you may even be the first person to see the galaxies you're asked to classify,” the team writes.

With Radio Galaxy Zoo: LOFAR , volunteers can help identify supermassive blackholes and star-forming galaxies. Galaxy Zoo: Clump Scout asks users to look for young, “clumpy” looking galaxies, which help astronomers understand galaxy evolution.

If current events on Earth have you looking to Mars, perhaps you’d be interested in checking out Planet Four and Planet Four: Terrains —both of which task users with searching and categorizing landscape formations on Mars’ southern hemisphere. You’ll scroll through images of the Martian surface looking for terrain types informally called “spiders,” “baby spiders,” “channel networks” and “swiss cheese.”

Gravitational waves are telltale ripples in spacetime, but they are notoriously difficult to measure. With Gravity Spy , citizen scientists sift through data from Laser Interferometer Gravitational­-Wave Observatory, or LIGO , detectors. When lasers beamed down 2.5-mile-long “arms” at these facilities in Livingston, Louisiana and Hanford, Washington are interrupted, a gravitational wave is detected. But the detectors are sensitive to “glitches” that, in models, look similar to the astrophysical signals scientists are looking for. Gravity Spy teaches citizen scientists how to identify fakes so researchers can get a better view of the real deal. This work will, in turn, train computer algorithms to do the same.

Similarly, the project Supernova Hunters needs volunteers to clear out the “bogus detections of supernovae,” allowing researchers to track the progression of actual supernovae. In Hubble Space Telescope images, you can search for asteroid tails with Hubble Asteroid Hunter . And with Planet Hunters TESS , which teaches users to identify planetary formations, you just “might be the first person to discover a planet around a nearby star in the Milky Way,” according to the project description.

Help astronomers refine prediction models for solar storms, which kick up dust that impacts spacecraft orbiting the sun, with Solar Stormwatch II. Thanks to the first iteration of the project, astronomers were able to publish seven papers with their findings.

With Mapping Historic Skies , identify constellations on gorgeous celestial maps of the sky covering a span of 600 years from the Adler Planetarium collection in Chicago. Similarly, help fill in the gaps of historic astronomy with Astronomy Rewind , a project that aims to “make a holistic map of images of the sky.”

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Rachael Lallensack | READ MORE

Rachael Lallensack is the former assistant web editor for science and innovation at Smithsonian .

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Starting steps for research project success

Research projects are an important part of a student’s academic career. They’re an integral part of the learning process, providing students with the opportunity to explore a particular topic in-depth, develop research skills, and make an original contribution to their field of study.

That said, they can also be a source of stress for many students, particularly if it’s their first time writing a research project. The best way to approach a project of this size is to break it down into smaller steps and ensure you’ve laid the groundwork before you even begin writing.

In this article, we’ll look at different elements of beginning a research project, including writing a proposal, starting steps, and how to use monday.com to organize all your research and tasks in one place.

What is a research project?

A research project is an organized effort to investigate a specific question or topic. It can involve either quantitative or qualitative research methods and can include surveys, interviews, or literature reviews.

The goal of a research project is to answer a question or hypothesis by exploring new ideas and testing theories.

In an academic setting, research projects are typically conducted by students, faculty members, postdoctoral fellows, or graduate students, and may involve collaborations with outside organizations.

How to write a research project proposal

Before beginning to write a research project, you need to first write a proposal. A research project proposal is a document used to outline the specific goals, methods, and resources required for a research project. It’s used to present the planned research to potential sponsors or other stakeholders in order to receive approval to proceed with the project.

There are several elements to include in a project proposal that will not only help guide your research but help show why your topic is relevant and worth pursuing.

• Title: Develop a clear and concise title for your research project proposal.
• Introduction: Give background, including the purpose and importance of the research.
• Objectives: List the specific objectives of your research project.
• Methodology: Describe the methods and techniques you will use.
• Resources: Describe the resources you will need to carry out your project.
• Timeline: Provide a timeline for completion and bring up any potential obstacles or risks.
• Expected outcomes: Identify the expected outcomes, including possible implications.
• Budget: Estimate the costs of completing the project and any necessary funding.
• References: Provide references that you’ll cite that help prove your topic is relevant.

Looking at examples of other research project proposals will be helpful to visualize what yours should look like. Here are examples of successful project proposals in the field of social policy and criminology as well as a Ph.D. project in politics .

A project proposal template from monday.com can help you build out your project proposal. This template will ensure that you aren’t missing any essential elements that can result in your research project getting rejected or needing to edit and resubmit a new proposal.

5 starting steps for writing a research project

While there are many different steps to the writing portion of a research project, the initial setup of your project will not only set you up for success but will make the writing go a lot more smoothly. Here are five steps you should take when you’re just starting your research project.

1. Find the right supervisor

A good supervisor will provide guidance on the design, methods, and structure of your research project, as well as advice on how to best analyze and interpret data. A good way to find the right supervisor is to speak with faculty members in a department, a trusted professor, or a colleague to discuss who might be the best fit. When you have a list of potential advisors, send them an email to introduce yourself and your project before asking to meet to discuss the next steps.

2. Choose your topic

After finding a supervisor, they may be able to help you narrow down your topic. The more specific your topic, the better you’ll be able to sharpen the direction of your research so that you can explore your topic in greater depth. It can also save time by allowing you to tighten the scope of your research and focus on the most relevant aspects of the topic.

3. Develop a thesis

A thesis serves as the main point or argument and provides direction and focus to a project, allowing you to collect and organize information more efficiently. A clear and concise thesis statement guides readers in understanding the project’s purpose and ensures that readers will be able to follow the main thread of your argument.

4. Create a timeline

When you begin your research, it’s important to create a timeline to set a framework for the project and ensure that it’s completed on time. It also keeps you organized on various tasks and ensures all steps are accounted for, from researching to writing and editing. Finally, a timeline can help you stay motivated and on track.

5. Write your outline

Outlines provide structure and clarity and allow you to organize your thoughts in a logical order. An outline serves as a roadmap for your research, allowing you to focus on the important points and not get sidetracked. It may also help identify gaps in your research, which can be addressed before beginning the writing process.

monday.com can help you organize your research project

Given all the different steps to take before you even begin writing, staying organized and on top of each task will ensure your project runs seamlessly. Project management tools such as monday.com can help you stay organized so that you don’t overlook an important step in your project. There are a few specific monday.com features that make it an excellent tool for anyone working on a research project.

Track your project with timelines

Create a timeline to see when different elements of your research project are due and see if you’re on time with your project proposal’s timeline.

Organize your tasks in one place

There are tons of small tasks in each research project, from planning a project, collecting and organizing data, communications, surveying, and more. With monday.com’s task management tools, you can make sure you’ve accounted for all tasks you need to complete so that you don’t miss a thing.

Use a template to make a visual plan

The student planner template allows you to visualize your project plan. Not only is this a good place to track tasks, but you can also add in information such as budgets, contact information, priorities, and even attach files for each access to your project’s information all in one place.

How do you start a research project?

When starting a research project, the first step is to create a research question or hypothesis that will be the focus of the project. Next, you’ll want to begin gathering information, finding a supervisor, forming your thesis, and outlining your project.

What are some examples of research projects?

Research projects vary widely depending on the field. For example, in biology, some research projects have focused on investigating the effects of a medication or therapy on a specific group of patients or looking at the role of genetics in disease.

How do I find a research project topic?

There are many different ways to find a topic. For starters, consider which topics interest you. From there, you can research online, speak with professors or advisors, and attend conferences and workshops to find ideas.

Make sure you have all you need to start writing

Writing a research project takes a lot of time, dedication, and focus. They can also be stressful, especially if it’s your first time writing one. Following the steps and guidelines here will make your research project more successful. Additionally, using a project management work tool like monday.com to organize your research project is one of the best ways to alleviate the stress of staying on top of your tasks and timeline so that you can better focus on the research itself.

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What are Research Skills? How to Improve Your Skills in Research

Learn strategies and techniques to improve your research skills. Avoid common mistakes and implement proven methods for efficient research. This article offers practical tips to enhance your ability to find and evaluate high-quality information.

Are you struggling to find relevant and reliable information for your research? Do you want to avoid getting lost in a sea of sources and needing help knowing where to start? Improving your research skills is essential for academic success and professional growth.

In today's information age, effectively conducting research has become more important than ever. Whether you are a student, a professional, or simply someone who wants to stay informed, knowing how to find and evaluate information is crucial.

Fortunately, some strategies and techniques can help you improve your research skills and become a more efficient and effective researcher. By avoiding common mistakes and implementing proven methods, you can enhance your ability to find high-quality information and make the most of your research endeavors. This article will explore some practical tips and tricks to help you improve your research skills and achieve better results.

What is Research?

Research is a critical part of learning, problem-solving, and decision-making. It is an essential process used in every field for both the individual and collective’s mutual benefit and success. Research involves systematically gathering data from primary or secondary sources, analyzing it, interpreting it, and communicating its findings to researchers and other interested parties.

Research can be divided into two main categories: quantitative research, which uses numerical data to describe phenomena, and qualitative research, which seeks to understand people's beliefs, opinions, values, or behaviors. Quantitative research often involves applying model-based approaches that can predict outcomes based on observations. It is one of the most powerful methods of discovering information about the world, as it allows for testing hypotheses in a systematic manner. Qualitative research is more exploratory in nature by focusing on understanding the motivations behind what people do or think rather than developing models or producing statistics in order to conclude behavior and relationships between variables. This type of research usually relies more on observation and engagement with people instead of using statistical models.

What are Research Skills?

Research skills are the abilities and talents required to focus on an objective, gather the relevant data linked to it, analyze it using appropriate methods, and accurately communicate the results. Taking part in research indicates that you have acquired knowledge of your subject matter, have digested that knowledge, and processed, evaluated, and analyzed it until you can resolve a problem or answer a query. It is highly beneficial for employers to hire people with strong research skills since they can provide valuable insights and add value to the company’s performance. Therefore, researching effectively has become crucial to securing a job in most industries.

Why Do Research Skills Matter?

Research skills are essential if one intends to succeed in today's competitive world. With technology ever-evolving and a need to stay ahead of the competition, employees who possess research skills can prove invaluable to their employers. These skills include researching, analyzing, and interpreting data and making informed decisions based on that information.

Employers value workers who can quickly develop a thorough understanding of any changes or trends in their field of work through accurate research. Knowing how to assess customer needs, recognize competition, write reports, improve productivity, and advise on investments can also benefit any business. With the help of research skills, companies can uncover ways to adapt their services or products that better serve their customers’ needs while helping them save money at the same time. This makes overall operations more efficient as well as helps a company remain ahead of its competitors.

Essential Research Skills :

Here is a list of essential research skills:

Data Collection

Data collection is an important part of comprehending a certain topic and ensuring reliable information is collected while striving to answer complex questions. Every situation differs, but data collection typically includes surveys, interviews, observations, and existing document reviews. The data collected can be quantitative or qualitative, depending on the nature of the problem at hand. As students advance through university and other educational institutions, they will need to read extensively into a particular field and may even need to undertake comprehensive literature reviews to answer fundamental questions.

The skills acquired through data collection during university are invaluable for future roles and jobs. Gaining experience in understanding complex topics, reading widely on a given subject matter, collecting relevant data, and analyzing findings - all these activities are integral when dealing with any type of project within the corporate sector. Therefore, embarking on various research projects enhances a person's education level and brings about significant professional experience.

Goal-Setting

Setting goals is an important skill for any successful research project. It allows you to stay focused and motivated throughout the process. Goals are also essential in helping with direction: they provide a path to organize our thoughts, narrow our focus, and prioritize the tasks we need to undertake to achieve our desired result. The concept of goal-setting is inherent in most research processes, as everything needs to have something to strive for — whether that’s gaining knowledge about a particular topic or testing a theory.

When it comes to creating and setting goals during the research process, you must have clear and specific objectives in mind from the outset. Writing down your thoughts helps define these objectives, which can inform the data collection process; moreover, thinking about short-term and long-term goals can help you create manageable steps toward achieving them. Learning how to break up larger projects into smaller “mini-goals effectively” can make all the difference when tackling complex investigations — allowing researchers to monitor their progress more easily and culminate results further down the line.

Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is an integral part of the modern workplace. To succeed, one must be able to look at a situation objectively and make decisions based on evidence. The information examined needs to come from various sources, such as data collection, personal observation, or analysis. The goal should then be to take all this information and form a logical judgment that informs an action plan or idea.

Someone who displays strong critical thinking skills will not just accept proposed ideas at face value but instead can understand how these ideas can be applied and challenged. Accepting something without consideration means making the wrong decision due to a lack of thought. Critical thinkers understand how brainstorming works, assessing all elements before forming any decision. From negotiating with colleagues or customers in adversarial scenarios to analyzing complex documents such as legal contracts in order to review business agreements - critical dedicated apply their knowledge effectively and are able to back up their evaluation with evidence collected from multiple sources.

Observation Skills

Observation skills are necessary for conducting any form of research, whether it be in the workplace or as part of an investigative process. It is important to be able to pick up on the details that might otherwise pass unnoticed, such as inconsistencies in data or irregularities in how something is presented, and to pay careful attention to regulations and procedures that govern the company or environment. This can help researchers to ensure their processes are accurate and reliable.

As well as analyzing what we see around us directly, many research methodologies often involve calculated statistical analyses and calculations. For this reason, it’s important to develop strong observation skills so that the legitimacy of information can be confirmed and checked before conclusions are formed. Improving this skill requires dedication and practice, which could include keeping a journal reflecting on experiences, posing yourself questions about what you have observed, and seeking out opportunities in unfamiliar settings to test your observations.

Detail Orientation

Detail orientation is an important research skill for any scientific endeavor. It allows one to assess a situation or problem in minute detail and make appropriate judgments based on the information gathered. A detail-oriented thinker can easily spot errors, inconsistencies, and vital pieces of evidence, which can help lead to accurate conclusions from the research. Additionally, this skill allows someone to evaluate the quality and accuracy of data recorded during an experiment or project more efficiently to ensure validity.

Spotting small mistakes that may otherwise have been overlooked is a crucial part of conducting detailed research that must be perfected. Individuals aiming for superior outcomes should strive to develop their skill at detecting details by practicing critical analysis techniques, such as breaking down large bodies of information into smaller tasks to identify finer points quickly. Moreover, encouragement should also be made for elaborate comparison and analysis between different pieces of information when solving a complex problem, as it can help provide better insights into problems accurately.

Investigative Skills

Investigative skills are an essential component when it comes to gathering and analyzing data. In a professional setting, it is important to determine the accuracy and validity of different sources of information before making any decisions or articulating ideas. Generally, effective investigation requires collecting different sets of reliable data, such as surveys and interviews with stakeholders, employees, customers, etc. For example, if a company internally assesses possible challenges within its business operations environment, it would need to conduct more profound research involving talking to relevant stakeholders who could provide critical perspectives about the situation.

Data-gathering techniques such as comparison shopping and regulatory reviews have become more commonplace in the industry as people strive for greater transparency and more accurate results. Knowing how to identify reliable sources of information can give individuals a competitive advantage and allow them to make sound decisions based on accurate data. Investing time in learning different investigative skills can help recruiters spot applicants dedicated to acquiring knowledge in this field. Developing these investigative skills is also valuable for those looking for executive positions or starting their own business. By familiarizing themselves with their application process, people can become adept at collecting high-quality data they may use in their research endeavors.

Time Management

Time management is a key skill for any researcher. It's essential to be able to allocate time between different activities so you can effectively plan and structure your research projects. Without good time management, you may find yourself hastily completing tasks or feeling stressed out as you rush to complete an analysis. Ultimately, managing your time allows you to stay productive and ensure that each project is completed with the highest results.

Good time management requires various skills such as planning ahead, prioritizing tasks, breaking down large projects into smaller steps, and even delegating some activities when possible. It also means setting realistic goals for yourself in terms of the amount of research that can be achieved in certain timestamps and learning how to adjust these goals when needed. Becoming mindful of how you spend the same hours each day will propel your productivity and see positive results from your efforts. Time management becomes especially relevant regarding data collection and analysis – it is crucial to understand precisely what kind of resources are needed for each task before diving into the research itself. Knowing how much time should be dedicated to each step is essential for meeting deadlines while still retaining accuracy in the final outcomes of one’s study.

Tips on How to Improve Your Research Skills

Below are some tips that can help in improving your skills in research:

Initiate your project with a structured outline

When embarking on any research project, creating an outline and scope document must first ensure that you remain on the right track. An outline sets expectations for your project by forming a detailed strategy for researching the topic and gathering the necessary data to conclude. It will help you stay organized and break down large projects into more manageable parts. This can help prevent procrastination as each part of the project has its own timeline, making it easier to prioritize tasks accordingly.

Using an outline and scope document also allows for better structure when conducting research or interviews, as it guides which sources are most relevant, what questions need to be answered, and how information should be collected or presented. This ensures that all information received through research or interviews stays within the confines of the chosen topic of investigation. Additionally, it ensures that no important details are overlooked while minimizing the chance that extraneous information gets included in your results. Taking this time upfront prevents potential problems during analysis or reporting of findings later.

Acquire expertise in advanced data collection methods

When it comes to collecting data for research purposes, a range of advanced data collection techniques can be used to maximize your efficiency and accuracy. One such technique is customizing your online search results with advanced search settings. By adding quotation marks and wildcard characters to the terms you are searching for, you are more likely to find the information you need from reliable sources. This can be especially useful if, for instance, you are looking for exact quotes or phrases. Different search engines require different advanced techniques and tactics, so learning these can help you get more specific results from your research endeavors.

Aside from using online searches, another standard methodology when conducting research is accessing primary information through libraries or other public sources. A specific classification system will likely be in place that can help researchers locate the materials needed quickly and easily. Knowing and understanding this system allows one to access information much more efficiently while also giving them ample opportunity to increase their knowledge of various topics by browsing related content in the same category groups. Thus, by learning about advanced data collection techniques for both online and offline sources, researchers can make substantial progress in their studies more efficiently.

Validate and examine the reliability of your data sources

Collecting reliable information for research can be a challenge, especially when relying on online sources. It is essential to remember that not all sources are created equal, and some sites may contain false or inaccurate data. It is, therefore important to verify and analyze the data before using it as part of your research.

One way to start verifying and analyzing your sources is to cross-reference material from one source with another. This may help you determine if particular facts or claims are accurate and, therefore, more valid than others. Additionally, trace where the data is coming from by looking at the author or organization behind it so that you can assess their expertise in a particular field and authority on the topic at hand. Once these steps have been completed, you can confidently use this trusted information for your project.

Structure your research materials

Organizing your research materials is an integral part of any research process. When you’re conducting a project or study and trying to find the most relevant information, you can become overwhelmed with all the data available. It’s important to separate valid from invalid materials and to categorize research materials by subject for easy access later on. Bookmarking websites on a computer or using a digital asset management tool are two effective methods for organizing research information.

When researching, it’s critical to remember that some sources have limited value and may be outside the scope of your topic. Recognizing reliable material versus trustworthy resources can be complex in this sea of information. However, sorting data into appropriate categories can help narrow down what is necessary for producing valid conclusions. This method of classifying information helps ensure that vital documents aren't overlooked during the organization process as they are placed in folders shortcutted for quick access within one centralized source whenever needed. Separating valuable sources also makes it easier to reference later on when writing reports or giving presentations - material won't get lost among irrelevant data, and conclusions will be backed by sound evidence.

Enhance your research and communication capabilities

Developing research and communication skills is essential for succeeding academically and professionally in the modern world. The key to improving these skills lies in rigorous practice, which can begin with small projects such as resolving common issues or completing a research task that can be made into a personal project. One way to do this is to volunteer for research projects at work and gain experience under the guidance of experienced researchers. This will improve your research skills and help you develop communication skills when working with others on the project. Another option is to turn a personal project into a research task. For example, if you plan on taking a holiday soon, you could create an objective method to select the best destination by conducting online research on destinations and making informed decisions based on thorough analysis. Practicing in this way enables you to complete any research task confidently and communicate efficiently with ease.

How to Articulate Research Skills on Your Resume

Research projects require commitment and perseverance, making it an important skill to include on a resume. Even if you have had limited research experience throughout your education or previous job, including this in your resume assesses these qualities to potential employers. It's important to consider the extent of your research experience when deciding how to add this part of your background to your resume. If you have been involved with multiple in-depth research projects, it might be best to highlight this by including it as its own section. On the other hand, if the amount of research you have completed is more limited, then try including it in the skills section instead.

When adding research experience and accomplishments into either section of your resume, be sure to emphasize any specific roles or contributions you made during the process instead of just describing the project itself. Furthermore, remember to quantify any successes where possible - this showcases both communication and technical proficiency strengths, which can help make your resume stand out even more. By properly articulating research skills within a resume, employers will likely be more interested in what job seekers have accomplished in their careers.

How to Apply Research Skills Effectively in Your Workplace

Research skills are an invaluable set of abilities to bring to your workplace. To make sure you use them properly, a good place to start is by taking time to plan the project you have been assigned. Whether it’s writing a report or analyzing data, mapping out what tasks you need to do and how long they should take helps to understand the project timeline better. This also makes setting aside dedicated time for research easier too.

To ensure that the decisions made are sound and informed, reading up on the subject area related to the project remains one of the premier ways of doing this. This will help to ensure that any problems arising can be solved quickly and effectively, as well as provide answers before any decisions are actually put into practice. By arming yourself with knowledge gathered through reading about a particular topic, it can give you more confidence when formulating plans or strategies in which direction to take your work in.

Final Thoughts

Research skills are increasingly important in the modern world, and gaining proficiency in this area can significantly benefit a person's career. Research skills are essential for success in many different roles and fields, including those within business and industry, education, science, and medicine. Developing a deep understanding of research allows us to identify problems better and critically evaluate potential solutions. It also bolsters our problem-solving abilities as we work to find creative solutions that meet our efforts' objectives.

By improving your research capabilities, you can impress employers during an application process or when joining a team at work. Research skills are considered soft skills by potential employers since they signal that you have attention to detail while simultaneously demonstrating your ability to learn new things quickly. Employers regard these skills highly, making them one of the key graduate career skills recruiters seek. Furthermore, being able to add ‘research skills’ to your CV will be looked upon favorably by employers and help drive up your employability significantly. Demonstrating that you possess these sought-after traits makes it easier for recruiters to give you the opportunity you've been looking for, so it's worth investing the time into developing these life-long learning tools today.

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The Essential Guide to Doing Your Research Project

Student resources.

Examples of Student Research Projects

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2 2. Starting your research project

Chapter outline.

• Choosing a research topic (10 minute read time)
• Your research proposal (14 minute read time)
• Practical and ethical considerations (14 minute read time)
• Raw data (10 minute read time)
• Critical considerations (5 minute read time)

Content warning: Examples in this chapter discuss substance use disorders, mental health disorders and therapies, obesity, poverty, gun violence, gang violence, school discipline, racism and hate groups, domestic violence, trauma and triggers, incarceration, child neglect and abuse, bullying, self-harm and suicide, racial discrimination in housing, burnout in helping professions, and sex trafficking of indigenous women.

2.1 Choosing a research topic

Learning Objectives

Learners will be able to…

• Brainstorm topics you may want to investigate as part of a research project
• Explore your feelings and existing knowledge about the topic
• Develop a working question

Research methods is a unique class in that you get to decide what you want to learn about. Perhaps you came to your MSW program with a specific issue you were passionate about. In my MSW program, I wanted to learn about the best interventions to use with people who have substance use disorders. This was in line with my future career plans, which included working in a clinical setting with clients with co-occurring mental health and substance use issues.  I suggest you start by thinking about your future practice goals and create a research project that addresses a topic that represents an area of social work you are passionate about.

For those of you without a specific direction, don’t worry. Many people enter their MSW program without an exact topic in mind they want to study.  Throughout the program, you will be exposed to different populations, theories, practice interventions, and policies that will spark your interest. Think back to papers you enjoyed researching and writing in other classes. You may want to continue studying the same topic.  Research methods will enable you to gain a deeper, more nuanced understanding of a topic or issue. If you haven’t found an interesting topic yet, here are some other suggestions for seeking inspiration for a research project:

• If you already have practice experience in social work through employment, an internship, or volunteer work, think about practice issues you noticed in the placement.  Do you have any idea of how to better address client needs?  Do you need to learn more about existing interventions or the programs that fund your agency?  Use this class as an opportunity to engage with your previous field experience in greater detail.  Begin with “what” and “why” questions and then expand on those. For example, what are the most effective methods of treating severe depression among a specific population? Or why are people receiving food assistance more likely to be obese?  
• You could also a sk a professor at your school about possible topics.  Read departmental information on faculty research interests, which may surprise you.  Most departmental websites post the curriculum vitae (CV) of faculty, which lists their publications, credentials, and interests.  For those of you interested in doctoral study, this process is particularly important.  Students often pick schools based on professors they want to learn from or research programs they want to join.  

Once you have a potential idea, start reading!  A simple Google search should bring you some basic information about your topic.  News articles can reveal new or controversial information.  You may also want to identify and browse journals related to your research interests. Faculty and librarians can help you identify relevant journals in your field and specific areas of interest.  We’ll also review more detailed strategies for searching the literature in Chapter 3.  As you read, look for what’s missing. These may be “gaps in the literature” that you might explore in your own study.

It’s a good idea to keep it simple when you’re starting your project. Choose a topic that can be easily defined and explored. Your study cannot focus on everything that is important about your topic. A study on gun violence might address only one system, for example schools, while only briefly mentioning other systems that impact gun violence. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad study! The sooner you can arrive at something specific and clear that you want to study, the better off your project will be.

Writing a working question

There are lots of great research topics. Perhaps your topic is a client population—for example, youth who identify as LGBTQ+ or visitors to a local health clinic. In other cases, your topic may be a social problem, such as gang violence, or a social policy or program, such as zero-tolerance policies in schools. Alternately, maybe there are interventions such as dialectical behavioral therapy or applied behavior analysis that interest you.

Whatever your topic idea, begin to think about it in terms of a question. What do you really want to know about the topic? As a warm-up exercise, try dropping a possible topic idea into one of the blank spaces below. The questions may help bring your subject into sharper focus and bring you closer towards developing your topic.

• What does ___ mean?
• What are the causes of ___?
• What are the consequences of ___?
• What are the component parts of ___?
• How does ___ impact ___?
• What is it like to experience ___?
• What is the relationship between _____ and the outcome of ____?
• What case can be made for or against ___?
• What are the risk/protective factors for ___?
• How do people think about ___?

Take a minute right now and write down a question you want to answer. Even if it doesn’t seem perfect, it is important to start somewhere. Make sure your research topic is relevant to social work. You’d be surprised how much of the world that encompasses. It’s not just research on mental health treatment or child welfare services. Social workers can study things like the pollution of irrigation systems and entrepreneurship in women, among other topics. The only requirement is your research must inform action to fight social problems faced by target populations.

Because research is an iterative process , one that you will revise over and over, your question will continue to evolve.  As you progress through this textbook, you’ll learn how to refine your question and include the necessary components for proper qualitative and quantitative research questions. Your question will also likely change as you engage with the literature on your topic. You will learn new and important concepts that may shift your focus or clarify your original ideas.  Trust that a strong question will emerge from this process. A good researcher must be comfortable with altering their question as a result of scientific inquiry.

Very often, our students will email me in the first few weeks of class and ask if they have a good research topic. We love student emails! But just to reassure you if you’re about to send a panicked email to your professor, as long as you are interested in dedicating a semester or two learning about your topic, it will make a good research topic. That’s why we would advise you to focus on how much you like this topic, so that three months from now you are still motivated to complete your project.

How do you feel about your topic?

Now that you have an idea of what you might want to study, it’s time to consider what you think and feel about that topic. Your motivation for choosing a topic does not have to be objective. Because social work is a value-based profession, scholars often find themselves motivated to conduct research that furthers social justice or fights oppression. Just because you think a policy is wrong or a group is being marginalized, for example, does not mean that your research will be biased. It means you must understand what you feel, why you feel that way, and what would cause you to feel differently about your topic.

Start by asking yourself how you feel about your topic.  Sometimes the best topics to research are those about which you feel strongly. What better way to stay engaged with your research project than to study something you are passionate about? However, you must be able to accept that people may have a different perspective, and you must represent their viewpoints fairly in the research report you produce. If you feel prepared to accept all findings, even those that may be unflattering or distinct from your personal perspective, then perhaps you should begin your research project by intentionally studying a topic about which you have strong feelings.

Kathleen Blee (2002) [1] has taken this route in her research. Blee studies groups whose racist ideologies may be different than her own. You can listen to her lecture Women in Organized Racism that details some of her findings. Her scientific research is so impactful because she was willing to report her findings and observations honestly, even those contrary to her beliefs and feelings. If you believe that you may have personal difficulty sharing findings with which you disagree, then you may want to study a different topic. Knowing your own hot-button issues is an important part of self-knowledge and reflection in social work, and there is nothing wrong with avoiding topics that are likely to cause you unnecessary stress.

Social workers often use personal experience as a starting point to identify topics of interest. As we’ve discussed here, personal experience can be a powerful motivator to learn more about a topic. However, social work researchers should be mindful of their own mental health during the research process. A social worker who has experienced a mental health crisis or traumatic event should approach researching related topics cautiously. There is no need to trigger yourself or jeopardize your mental health for a research project. For example, a student who has just experienced domestic violence may want to know about Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. While the student might gain some knowledge about potential treatments for domestic violence, they will likely have to read through many stories and reports about domestic violence as part of the research process. Unless the student’s trauma has been processed in therapy, conducting a research project on this topic may negatively impact the student’s mental health.

What do you think about your topic?

Once you figure out what you feel about your topic, consider what you think about it. There are many ways we know what we know. Perhaps your mother told you something is so. Perhaps it came to you in a dream. Perhaps you took a class last semester and learned something about your topic there. Or you may have read something about your topic in your local newspaper. We discussed the strengths and weaknesses associated with some of these different sources of knowledge in Chapter 1, and we’ll talk about other scientific sources of knowledge in Chapter 3 and 4. For now, take some time to think of everything you know about your topic. Thinking about what you already know will help you identify any biases you may have, and it will help as you begin to frame a question about your topic.

You might consider creating a concept map, just to get your thoughts and ideas on paper and beginning to organize them. Consider this video from the University of Guelph Library (CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0).

Key Takeaways

• You should pick a topic for your research proposal that you are interested in, since you will be working with it for several months.
• Investigate your own feelings and thoughts about a topic, and make sure you can be objective and fair in your investigation.
• Research projects are guided by a working question that develops and changes as you learn more about your topic.

Just as a reminder, exercises are designed to help you create your individual research proposal. We designed these activities to break down your proposal into small but manageable chunks. We suggest completing each exercise so you can apply what you are learning to your individual research project, as the exercises in each section and each chapter build on one another.

If you haven’t done so already, you can download this chapter’s exercises or the entire workbook in Google Drive. You might also create a document in a word processor on your computer or in a written notebook with your answers to each exercise.

Brainstorm at least 4-5 topics of interest to you and pick the one you think is the most promising for a research project.

• For your chosen topic, outline what you currently know about the topic and your feelings towards the topic. Make sure you are able to be objective and fair in your research.
• Formulate at least one working question to guide your inquiry.  It is common for topics to change and develop over the first few weeks of a project, but think of your working question as a place to start.

2.2 Your research proposal

• Describe the stages of a research project
• Define your target population and describe how your study will impact that population
• Identify the aim of your study
• Classify your project as descriptive, exploratory, explanatory, or evaluative

Most research methods courses are designed to help students propose a research project. But what is a research project? Figure 2.1 indicates the steps of the research project. Right now, we are in the top right corner, using your informal observations from your practice experience and lived experience to form a working draft of your research question. In the next two chapters, you’ll learn how to find and evaluate scholarly literature on your topic. After thoroughly evaluating the literature, you’ll conceptualize an empirical study based on a research question you create. In many courses, students will have to carry out these designs, and in so doing, their conclusions make a contribution to the research literature in their topic area.

The subtitle of this book is “a project-based approach” because the authors’ courses use this approach. In an introductory research methods course, students often have to create a research proposal followed by a more advanced research class in which they conduct quantitative and qualitative data analysis. The research proposal , is a document produced by researchers that reviews the literature relevant to their topic and describes the methods they will use to conduct their study. Part 1 of this textbook is designed to help you with your literature review. Parts 2-4 are designed to help you figure out which methods you will use in your study.

Parts 3 and 4 should also help you conduct the study you propose to do, analyze your data (though you will probably need additional resources for that), and share it as part of the body of social science literature on your topic. Check with your professor on whether you are required to carry out the project you propose to do in your research proposal. Some of you may be off the hook! But for many of you, this book is designed to help you find a reasonable and practical project for you to complete, moving through all of the steps in Figure 2.1.

A research proposal is focused on a question. Right now, this is your working question from Section 2.1. If you haven’t created one yet, this is a good time to pause and complete the exercises from section 2.1. [2] It is likely you will revise your working question many times as you read more literature about your topic. Consider yourself in the cycle between (re)creating your research question and reviewing the research literature for Part 1 of the textbook.

Student research proposals

Student research projects are a big undertaking, but they are well within your capability as a graduate student.  Let’s start with the research proposal.  Think about the research proposal as a communication device.  You are telling the reader (your professor, usually) everything they need to know in order to understand your topic and the study you plan to do. You are also demonstrating to the reader that you are competent and informed enough to conduct the study.

You can think of a research proposal like creating a recipe.  If you are a chef trying to cook a new dish from scratch, you would probably start by looking at other recipes.  You might cook a few of them and come up with ideas about how to create your own version of the dish.  Writing your recipe is a process of trial and error, and you will likely revise your proposal many times over the course of the semester.  This textbook and workbook are designed to get you working on your project little by little, so that by the time you turn in your final research proposal, you’ll be confident it represents the best way to answer your question. Of course, like with any time I cook, you never quite know how it will turn out.

Is writing a research proposal a useful skill for a social worker? On one hand, you probably won’t be writing research proposals for a living. But the same structure of a research proposal (literature review + methods) is used in grant applications. Writing proposals is often a part of practice, particularly in agency-based and policy practice.  Instead of finding a gap in the literature to study, practitioners write grant proposals describing a program they will use to address an issue in their community, as well as the research methods they will use to evaluate whether it worked (see Chapter 23 for more details).  Similarly, a policy advocate or public administrator might sketch out a proposed program and its evaluation as part of a proposal.  Proposal writing may differ somewhat in practice, but the general idea is the same.

Focusing your project

Based on your work in Section 2.1, you should have a working question—a place to start.  Think about what you hope to accomplish with your study.  This is the aim of your research project.  Often, social work researchers begin with a target population in mind.  As you will recall from section 1.4, social work research is research  for action .  Social workers engage in research to help people.  Think about your working question.  Why do you want to answer it?  What impact would answering your question have?

In my MSW program, I began my research by looking at ways to intervene with people who have substance use disorders.  My foundation year placement was in an inpatient drug treatment facility that used 12-step facilitation as its primary treatment modality.  I observed that this approach differed significantly from others I had been exposed to, especially the idea of powerlessness over drugs and drug use.  My working question started as “what are the alternatives to 12-step treatment for people with substance use issues and are they more effective?”  The aim of my project was to determine whether different treatment approaches might be more effective, and I suspected that self-determination and powerlessness were important.

It’s important to note that my working question contained a target population —people with substance use disorders.  A target population is the group of people that will benefit the most.  I envisioned I would help the field of social work to think through how to better meet clients where they were at, specific to the problem of substance use.  I was studying to be a clinical social worker, so naturally, I formulated a micro-level question.  Yet, the question also has implications for meso- and macro-level practice.  If other treatment methods are more effective than 12-step facilitation, then we should direct more public money towards providing more effective therapies for people who use substances. We may also need to train the substance use professionals to use new treatment methodologies.

• Is it more oriented towards micro, meso, or macro-level practice?
• What implications would answering your question have at each level of the ecosystem?

Asking yourself whether your project is more micro, meso, or macro is a good check to see if your project is well-focused. A project that seems like it could be all of those might have too many components or try to study too much. Consider identifying one ecosystemic level your project will focus on, and you can interpret and contextualize your findings at the other levels of analysis.

Exploration, description, and explanation

Social science is a big place. Looking at the various empirical studies in the literature, there is a lot of diversity—from focus groups with clients and families to multivariate statistical analysis of large population surveys conducted online. Ultimately, all of social science can be described as one of three basic types of research studies. As you develop your research question, consider which of the following types of research studies fits best with what you want to learn about your topic. In subsequent chapters, we will use these broad frameworks to help craft your study’s final research question and choose quantitative and qualitative research methods to answer it.

Exploratory research

Researchers conducting  exploratory research are typically at the early stages of examining their topics. Exploratory research projects are carried out to test the feasibility of conducting a more extensive study and to figure out the “lay of the land” with respect to the particular topic. Usually, very little prior research has been conducted on this topic. For this reason, a researcher may wish to do some exploratory work to learn what method to use in collecting data, how best to approach research subjects, or even what sorts of questions are reasonable to ask.

Often, student projects begin as exploratory research.  Because students don’t know as much about the topic area yet, their working questions can be general and vague.  That’s a great place to start!  An exploratory question is great for delving into the literature and learning more about your topic.  For example, the question “what are common social work interventions for parents who neglect their children?” is a good place to start when looking at articles and textbooks to understand what interventions are commonly used with this population.  However, it is important for a student research project to progress beyond exploration unless the topic truly has very little existing research. 

In my classes, I often read papers where students say there is not a lot of literature on a topic, but a quick search of library databases shows a deep body of literature on the topic. The skills you develop in Chapter 3 and 4 should assist you with finding relevant research, and working with a librarian can definitely help with finding information for your research project. That said, there are a few students each year who pick a topic for which there is in fact little existing research. Perhaps, if you were looking at child neglect interventions for parents who identify as transgender or parents who are refugees from the Syrian civil war, less would be known about child neglect for those specific populations. In that case, an exploratory design would make sense as there is little, if any, literature about your specific topic.

Descriptive research

Another purpose of a research project is to describe or define a particular phenomenon. This is called descriptive research . For example, researchers at the Princeton Review conduct descriptive research each year when they set out to provide students and their parents with information about colleges and universities around the United States. They describe the social life at a school, the cost of admission, and student-to-faculty ratios (to name just a few of the categories reported).  If our topic were child neglect, we might seek to know the number of people arrested for child neglect in our community and whether they are more likely to have other problems, such as poverty, mental health issues, or substance use.

Social workers often rely on descriptive research to tell them about their service area. Keeping track of the number of parents receiving child neglect interventions, their demographic makeup (e.g., race, sex, age), and length of time in care are excellent examples of descriptive research. On a more macro-level, the Centers for Disease Control provides a remarkable amount of descriptive research on mental and physical health conditions. In fact, descriptive research has many useful applications, and you probably rely on such findings without realizing you are reading descriptive research.

Explanatory research

Lastly, social work researchers often aim to explain why particular phenomena operate in the way that they do. Research that answers “why” questions is referred to as explanatory research . Asking “why” means the researcher is trying to identify cause-and-effect relationships in their topic.  For example, explanatory research may try to identify risk and protective factors for parents who neglect their children.  Explanatory research may attempt to understand how religious affiliation impacts views on immigration, for example. All explanatory research tries to study cause-and-effect relationships between two or more variables. A specific offshoot of explanatory research that comes up often is evaluation research , which investigates the impact of an intervention, program, or policy on a group of people.  Evaluation research is commonly practiced in agency-based social work settings, and Chapter 23 discusses some of the basics for conducting a program evaluation.

There are numerous examples of explanatory social scientific investigations. For example, Dominique Simons and Sandy Wurtele (2010) [3] sought to understand whether receiving corporal punishment from parents led children to turn to violence in solving their interpersonal conflicts with other children. In their study of 102 families with children between the ages of 3 and 7, the authors found that experiencing frequent spanking did in fact result in children being more likely to accept aggressive problem-solving techniques. Another example of explanatory research can be seen in Robert Faris and Diane Felmlee’s (2011) [4] research study on the connections between popularity and bullying. From their study of 8th, 9th, and 10th graders in nineteen North Carolina schools, they found that aggression increased as adolescents’ popularity increased. [5]

• Think back to your working question from section 2.1. Which type of research—exploratory, descriptive, or explanatory—best describes your working question?
• Try writing a question about your topic that fits with each type of research.

Important things are more rewarding to do

Another consideration in starting a research project is whether the question is important enough to answer. For the researcher, answering the question should be important enough to put in the effort and time required to complete a research project. As we discussed in section 2.1, you should choose a topic that is important to you—one you wouldn’t mind learning about for at least a few months, if not a few years. Time is your most precious resource as a student. Make sure you dedicate it to topics and projects you consider genuinely important.

Your research question should also be contribute to the larger expanse of research in that area. For example, if your research question is “does cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) effectively treat depression?” you are a few decades late to be asking that question. Hundreds of scientists have published articles demonstrating its effectiveness in treating depression. However, a student interested in learning more about CBT can still find new areas to research. Perhaps there is a new population—for example, older adults in a nursing home—or a new problem—like mobile phone addiction—for which there is little research on the impact of CBT.

Your project contribute something new to social science.  It should address a gap in what we know and what is written in the literature. This can seem intimidating for students whose projects involve learning a totally new topic. How could I add something new when other researchers have studied this for decades? Trust us, by thoroughly reviewing the existing literature, you can find new and unresolved research questions to answer.  Google Scholar’s motto at the bottom of their search page is “stand on the shoulders of giants.” Social science research rests on the work of previous scholars, and builds off of what they discovered to learn more about the social world. Ensure that your question will bring our scientific understanding of your topic to new heights.

Finally, your research question should be of import to the social world. Social workers conduct research on behalf of individuals, groups, and communities to promote change as part of their mission to advance human rights and further social and economic justice. Your research should matter to the people you are trying to help.  Your research project should aim to improve the lives of people in your target population by helping the world understand their needs more holistically.

Research projects, obviously, do not need to address all aspects of a problem. As social workers, our goal in enacting social justice isn’t to accomplish it all in one semester (or even one lifetime). Our goal is to move the world in the right direction and make small, incremental progress.  I encourage all students to think about how they will make their work accessible and relevant to the broader public and use their results to promote change.  

• Research exists in a cycle. Your research project will follow this cycle, beginning from reading literature (where you are now), to proposing a study, to completing a research project, and finally, to publishing the results.
• Social work researchers should identify a target population and understand how their project will impact them.
• Research projects can be exploratory, descriptive, evaluative, or a combination therein. While you are likely still exploring your topic, you may settle on another type of research, particularly if your topic has been previously addressed extensively in the literature.
• Your research project should be important to you, fill a gap or address a controversy in the scientific literature, and make a difference for your target population and broader society.
• State why your working question is an important one to answer, keeping in mind that your statement should address the scientific literature, target population, and the social world.

2.3 Practical and ethical considerations

• Identify potential stakeholders and gatekeepers
• Differentiate between raw data and the results of scientific studies
• Evaluate whether you can feasibly complete your project

Are you interested in better understanding the day-to-day experiences of maximum security prisoners? This sounds fascinating, but unless you plan to commit a crime that lands you in a maximum security prison, gaining access to that particular population would be difficult for a graduate student project. While the topics about which social work questions can be asked may seem limitless, there are limits to which aspects of topics we can study or at least to the ways we can study them.  This is particularly true for student research projects.

Feasibility refers to whether you can practically conduct the study you plan to do, given the resources and ethical obligations you have. In this section, we assume that you will have to actually conduct the research project that you write about in your research proposal. It’s a good time to check with your professor about your program’s expectations for student research projects. For students who do not have to carry out their projects, feasibility is less of a concern because, well, you don’t actually have to carry out your project. Instead, you’ll propose a project that could work in theory. However, for students who have to carry out the projects in their research proposals, feasibility is incredibly important. There are important practical and ethical considerations student researchers should start thinking about from the beginning of a research project.

Access, consent, and ethical obligations

One of the most important feasibility issues is gaining access to your target population. For example, let’s say you wanted to better understand middle-school students who engaged in self-harm behaviors.  That is a topic of social importance, so why might it make for a difficult student project?  Let’s say you proposed to identify students from a local middle school and interview them about self-harm.  Methodologically, that sounds great.  But practically, that sounds challenging. Think about the ethical obligations a social worker has to practice with adolescents who are engaging in self-harm (e.g., competence, respect). In research, we are concerned mostly with the benefits and harms of what you propose to do as well as the openness and honesty you

Gatekeepers

If you were the principal at your local middle school, would you allow an MSW student to interview kids in your schools about self-harm? What if the results of the study showed that self-harm was a big problem that your school was not addressing?  What if the researcher’s interviews led to an increase in self-harming behaviors among the children?  The principal in this situation is a gatekeeper .  Gatekeepers are the individuals or organizations who control access to the population you want to study.  The school board would also likely need to give consent for the research to take place at their institution. Gatekeepers must weigh these ethical questions because they have a responsibility to protect the safety of the people at their organization, just as you have an ethical obligation to protect the people in your research study.

For student projects, it can be a challenge to get consent from gatekeepers to conduct your research project. As a result, students often conduct research projects at their place of employment or field work, as they have established trust with gatekeepers in those locations.  I’m still doubtful an MSW student interning at the middle school would be able to get consent for this study, but they probably have a better chance than a researcher with no relationship to the school.  In the case where the population (children who self-harm) are too vulnerable, student researchers may collect data from people who have secondary knowledge about the topic.  For example, the principal may be more willing to let you talk to teachers, rather than children.  I commonly see student projects that focus on studying practitioners rather than clients for this reason.

Stakeholders

In some cases, researchers and gatekeepers partner on a research project.  When this happens, the gatekeepers become stakeholders .  Stakeholders are individuals or groups who have an interest in the outcome of the study you conduct. As you think about your project, consider whether there are formal advisory groups or boards (like a school board) or advocacy organizations who already serve or work with your target population.  Approach them as experts an ask for their review of your study to see if there are any perspectives or details you missed that would make your project stronger.

There are many advantages to partner your research with stakeholders. As an example, in order to obtain access to interview children at this middle school, you will have to consider other stakeholders’ goals. School administrators also want to help students struggling with self-harm, so they may want to use the results to form new programs. But they may also need to avoid scandal and panic if the results show high levels of self-harm. Most likely, they want to provide support to students without making the problem worse.  By bringing in school administrators as stakeholders, you can better understand what the school is currently doing to address the issue and get an informed perspective on your project’s questions.  Negotiating the boundaries of a stakeholder relationship requires strong meso-level practice skills.

Of course, partnering with administrators probably sounds quite a bit easier than bringing on board the next group of stakeholders—parents.  It’s not ethical to ask children to participate in a study without their parents’ consent.  We will review the parameters of parental and child consent in Chapter 8.  Parents may be understandably skeptical of a researcher who wants to talk to their child about self-harm, and they may fear potential harms to the child and family from your study. Would you let a researcher you didn’t know interview your children about a very sensitive issue?

Social work research must often satisfy multiple stakeholders.  This is especially true if a researcher receives a grant to support the project, as the funder has goals it wants to accomplish by funding the research project.  Your MSW program and university are also stakeholders in your project.  When you conduct research, it reflects on your school.  If you discover something of great importance, your school looks good.  If you harm someone, they may be liable.  Your school also provides you with support through instruction and access to resources like the library and data analysis software.

Target population

So far, we’ve talked about access in terms of gatekeepers and stakeholders.  Let’s assume all of those people agree that your study should proceed.  But what about the people in the target population?  They are the most important stakeholder of all!  Think about the children in your proposed study on self-harm.  How open do you think they would be to talking to you about such a sensitive issue?  Would they consent to talk to you at all?

Maybe you are thinking about simply asking clients on your caseload. As we talked about before, leveraging existing relationships created through field work can help with accessing your target population.  However, they introduce other ethical issues for researchers.  Asking clients on your caseload or at your agency to participate in your project creates a dual relationship between you and your client.  What if you learn something in the research project that you want to share with your clinical team?  More importantly, would your client feel uncomfortable if they do not consent to your study?  Social workers have power over clients, and any dual relationship would require strict supervision in the rare case it was allowed.

Resources and scope

Let’s assume everyone consented to your project and you have adequately addressed any ethical issues with gatekeepers, stakeholders, and your target population. That means everything is ready to go, right? Not quite yet. As a researcher, you will need to carry out the study you propose to do. Depending on how big or how small your proposed project is, you’ll need a little or a lot of resources. Generally, student projects should err on the side of small and simple. We will discuss the limitations of this advice in section 2.5.

One thing that all projects need is raw data . It’s extremely important to note that raw data is not just the information you read in journal articles and books. Every year, I get at least one student research proposal that simply proposes to read articles. It’s a very understandable mistake to make. Most graduate school assignments are simply to read about a topic and write a paper. A research project involves doing the same kind of research that the authors of journal articles do when they conduct quantitative or qualitative studies. The raw data that is often a part of student projects are the results of a survey they give to participants or transcripts of interviews and focus groups.

Some social work researchers do not collect raw data of their own, but instead use secondary data analysis to analyze raw data that has been shared by other researchers. One common source of raw data in student projects from their internship or employer. By looking at client charts or data from previous grant reports or program evaluations, you can use raw data already collected by your agency to answer your research question. Whether a researcher should use secondary data or collect their own raw data is an important choice which we will discuss in greater detail in section 2.4. Nevertheless, without raw data there can be no research project. Reading the literature about your topic is only the first step in a research project.

Time is a student’s most precious resource.  MSW students are overworked and underpaid, so it is important to be upfront with yourself about the time needed to answer your question.  Every hour spent on your research project is not spent doing other things.  Make sure that your proposal won’t require you to spend years collecting and analyzing data.  Think realistically about the timeline for this research project. If you propose to interview fifty mental health professionals in their offices in your community about your topic, make sure you can dedicate fifty hours to conduct those interviews, account for travel time, and think about how long it will take to transcribe and analyze those interviews.

• What is reasonable for you to do over this semester and potentially another semester of advanced research methods?
• How many hours each week can you dedicate to this project considering what you have to do for other MSW courses, your internship and job, as well as family or social responsibilities?

In many cases, focusing your working question on something simple, specific, and clear can help avoid time issues in research projects. Another thing that can delay a research project is receiving approval from the i nstitutional review board (IRB), the research ethics committee at your university. If your study exposes people who participate to potential harm, you may have to formally propose your study to the IRB and get their approval before gathering your data. A well-prepared study is likely to gain IRB approval with minimal revisions needed, but the process can take weeks to complete and must be done before data collection can begin. We will address the ethical obligations of researchers in greater detail in Chapter 8.

Most research projects cost some amount of money, but for student projects, most of that money is already paid.  You paid for access to a university library that provides you with all of the journals, books, and other sources you might need.  You paid for a computer for homework and may use your car to drive to go to class or collect your data.  You paid for this class.  You are not expected to spend any additional money on your student research project.

However, it is always worth looking to see if there are grant opportunities to support student research in your school or program.  Often, these will cover small expenses like travel or incentives for people who participate in the study. Alternately, you could use university grant funds to travel to academic conferences to present on your findings and network with other students, practitioners, and researchers. Chapter 24 reviews academic conferences relevant to social work practice and education with a focus on the United States.

Knowledge, competence, and skills

Another student resource is knowledge. By engaging with the literature on your topic and learning the content in your research methods class, you will learn how to study your topic using social scientific research methods.  The core social work value of competence is key here.  Here’s an example from my work on one of my former university’s research ethics board.  A student from the design department wanted to study suicide by talking to college students in a suicide prevention campus group.  While meeting with the student researcher, someone on the board asked what she would do if one of the students in her study disclosed that they were currently suicidal.  The researcher responded that she never considered that possibility, and that she envisioned a more “fun” discussion.  I hope this example set off alarm bells for you, as it did for the review board.

Clearly, researchers need to know enough about their target population in order to conduct ethical research. Because students usually have little experience in the research world, their projects should pose fewer potential risks to participants. That means posing few, if any, questions about sensitive issues, such as trauma.  A common way around this challenge is by collecting data from less vulnerable populations such as practitioners or administrators who have second-hand knowledge of target populations based on professional relationships.

Knowledge and the social work value of ethical competence go hand in hand.  I see the issue of competence often in student projects if their question is about whether an intervention, for example dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), is effective.  A student would have to be certified in DBT in order to gather raw data by practicing it with clients and tracking their progress.  That’s well outside the scope of practice competency for an MSW student and better suited to a licensed practitioner. It would be more ethical and feasible for a student researcher to analyze secondary data from a practitioner certified to use DBT or analyze raw data from another researcher’s study.

If your working question asks about which interventions are effective for a problem, don’t panic.  Often questions about effectiveness are good places to start, but the project will have to shift in order be workable for a student.  Perhaps the student would like to learn more about the cost of getting trained in DBT, which aspects of it practitioners find the most useful, whether insurance companies will reimburse for it, or other topics that require fewer resources to answer.  In the process of investigating a smaller project like this, you will learn about the effectiveness of DBT by reading the scholarly literature but the actual research project will be smaller and more feasible to conduct as a student.

Another idea to keep in mind is the level of data collection and analysis skills you will gain during your MSW program.  Most MSW programs will seek to give you the basics of quantitative and qualitative research. However, there are limits to what your courses will cover just as there are limits to what we could include in this textbook.  If you feel your project may require specific education on data collection or analysis techniques, it’s important to reach out to your professor to see if it is feasible for you to gain that knowledge before conducting your study.  For example, you may need to take an advanced statistics course or an independent study on community-engaged research in order to competently complete your project.

In summary, here are a few questions you should ask yourself about your project to make sure it’s feasible.  While we present them early on in the research process (we’re only in Chapter 2), these are certainly questions you should ask yourself throughout the proposal writing process. We will revisit feasibility again in Chapter 7 when we work on finalizing your research question.

• Do you have access to the data you need or can you collect the data you need?
• Will you be able to get consent from stakeholders, gatekeepers, and your target population?
• Does your project pose risk to individuals through direct harm, dual relationships, or breaches in confidentiality?
• Are you competent enough to complete the study?
• Do you have the resources and time needed to carry out the project?
• People will have to say “yes” to your research project. Evaluate whether your project might have gatekeepers or potential stakeholders. They may control access to data or potential participants.
• Researchers need raw data, which may include raw bits of information such as survey responses, interview transcripts, or client charts. Your research project must involve more than looking at the analyses conducted by other researchers, as the literature review is only the first step of a research project.
• Make sure you have enough resources (time, money, and knowledge) to complete your research project during your MSW program.
• Identify any gatekeepers and stakeholders.
• Do you think it is likely you will get access to the people or records you need for your study?
• Would the benefits of your study outweigh the risks?

2.4 Raw data

• Identify potential sources of available data
• Weigh the challenges and benefits of collecting your own data

In our previous section, we addressed some of the challenges researchers face in collecting and analyzing raw data. Just as a reminder, raw data are unprocessed, unanalyzed data that researchers analyze using social science research methods. It is not just the statistics or qualitative themes provided in journal articles, but the actual data from which those statistics or themes are derived (e.g., interview transcripts or survey responses).

There are two approaches to getting raw data. First, students can analyze data that are publicly available or from agency records. Using secondary data like this can make projects more feasible, but you may not find existing data that are useful for answering your working question. For that reason, many students gather their own raw data. As we discussed in the previous section, potential harms that come from addressing sensitive topics mean that surveys and interviews of practitioners or other less-vulnerable populations may be the most feasible and ethical way to approach data collection.

Using secondary data

Within the agency setting, there are two main sources of raw data.  One option is to examine client charts.  For example, if you wanted to know if substance use was related to parental reunification for youth in foster care, you could look at client files and compare how long it took for families with differing levels of substance use to be reunified.  You will have to negotiate with the agency the degree to which your analysis can be public. Agencies may be okay with you using client files for a class project but less comfortable with you presenting your findings at a city council meeting. When analyzing data from your agency, you will have to manage a stakeholder relationship.

Another great example from my class this year was a student who used existing program evaluations at their agency as raw data in her student research project.  If you are practicing at a grant funded agency, administrators and clinicians are likely producing data for grant reporting.  Your agency may consent to have you look at the raw data and run your own analysis.  Larger agencies may also conduct internal research—for example, surveying employees or clients about new initiatives.  These, too, can be good sources of available data.  Generally, if your agency has already collected the data, you can ask to use them.  Again, it is important to be clear on the boundaries and expectations of your agency.  And don’t be angry if they say no!

Some agencies, usually government agencies, publish their data in formal reports.  You could take a look at some of the websites for county or state agencies to see if there are any publicly available data relevant to your research topic. As an example, perhaps there are annual reports from the state department of education that show how seclusion and restraint is disproportionately applied to black children with disabilities, as students found in Virginia .  In my class last year, one student matched public data from our city’s map of criminal incidents with historically redlined neighborhoods.  For this project, she is using publicly available data from Mapping Inequality , which digitized historical records of redlined housing communities and the Roanoke, VA crime mapping webpage .  By matching historical data on housing redlining with current crime records, she is testing whether redlining still impacts crime to this day.

Not all public data are easily accessible, though.  The student in the previous example was lucky that scholars had digitized the records of how Virginia cities were redlined by race. Sources of historical data are often located in physical archives, rather than digital archives. If your project uses historical data in an archive, it would require you to physically go to the archive in order to review the data.  Unless you have a travel budget, you may be limited to the archival data in your local libraries and government offices.  Similarly, government data may have to be requested from an agency, which can take time.  If the data are particularly sensitive or if the department would have to dedicate a lot of time to your request, you may have to file a Freedom of Information Act request.  This process can be time-consuming, and in some cases, it will add financial cost to your study.

Another source of secondary data is shared by researchers as part of the publication and review process.  There is a growing trend in research to publicly share data so others can verify your results and attempt to replicate your study.  In more recent articles, you may notice links to data provided by the researcher.  Often, these have been de-identified by eliminating some information that could lead to violations of confidentiality.  You can browse through the data repositories in Table 2.1 to find raw data to analyze.  Make sure that you pick a data set with thorough and easy to understand documentation.

Ultimately, you will have to weigh the strengths and limitations of using secondary data on your own. Engel and Schutt (2016, p. 327) [6] propose six questions to ask before using secondary data:

• What were the agency’s or researcher’s goals in collecting the data?
• What data were collected, and what were they intended to measure?
• When was the information collected?
• What methods were used for data collection? Who was responsible for data collection, and what were their qualifications? Are they available to answer questions about the data?
• How is the information organized (by date, individual, family, event, etc.)? Are identifiers used to indicate different types of data available?
• What is known about the success of the data collection effort? How are missing data indicated and treated? What kind of documentation is available? How consistent are the data with data available from other sources?

In this section, we’ve talked about data as though it is always collected by scientists and professionals.  But that’s definitely not the case!  Think more broadly about sources of data that are already out there in the world.  Perhaps you want to examine the different topics mentioned in the past 10 State of the Union addresses by the President.  One of my students this past semester is examining whether the websites and public information about local health and mental health agencies use gender-inclusive language.  People share their experiences through blogs, social media posts, videos, performances, among countless other sources of data.  When you think broadly about data, you’ll be surprised how much you can answer with available data.

Collecting your own raw data

The primary benefit of collecting your own data is that it allows you to collect and analyze the specific data you are looking for, rather than relying on what other people have shared.  You can make sure the right questions are asked to the right people. For a student project, data collection is going to look a little different than what you read in most journal articles.  Established researchers probably have access to more resources than you do, and as a result, are able to conduct more complicated studies.  Student projects tend to be smaller in scope.  This isn’t necessarily a limitation.  Student projects are often the first step in a long research trajectory in which the same topic is studied in increasing detail and sophistication over time.

Students in my class often propose to survey or interview practitioners.  The focus of these projects should be about the practice of social work and the study will uncover how practitioners understand what they do.  Surveys of practitioners often test whether responses to questions are related to each other.  For example, you could propose to examine whether someone’s length of time in practice was related to the type of therapy they use or their level of burnout.  Interviews or focus groups can also illuminate areas of practice.  A student in my class proposed to conduct focus groups of individuals in different helping professions in order to understand how they viewed the process of leaving an abusive partner.  She suspected that people from different disciplines would make unique assumptions about the survivor’s choices.

It’s worth remembering here that you need to have access to practitioners, as we discussed in the previous section. Resourceful students will look at publicly available databases of practitioners, draw from agency and personal contacts, or post in public forums like Facebook groups.  Consent from gatekeepers is important, and as we described earlier, you and your agency may be interested in collaborating on a project.  Bringing your agency on board as a stakeholder in your project may allow you access to company email lists or time at staff meetings as well as access to practitioners.  One of our students last year partnered with her internship placement at a local hospital to measure the burnout of that nurses experienced in their department.  Her project helped the agency identify which departments may need additional support.

Another possible way you could collect data is by partnering with your agency on evaluating an existing program.  Perhaps they want you to evaluate the early stage of a program to see if it’s going as planned and if any changes need to be made.  Maybe there is an aspect of the program they haven’t measured but would like to, and you can fill that gap for them.  Collaborating with agency partners in this way can be a challenge, as you must negotiate roles, get stakeholder buy-in, and manage the conflicting time schedules of field work and research work.  At the same time, it allows you to make your work immediately relevant to your specific practice and client population.

In summary, many student projects fall into one of the following categories. These aren’t your only options!  But they may be helpful in thinking about what students projects can look like.

• Analyzing chart or program evaluations at an agency
• Analyzing existing data from an agency, government body, or other public source
• Analyzing popular media or cultural artifacts
• Surveying or interviewing practitioners, administrators, or other less-vulnerable groups
• Conducting a program evaluation in collaboration with an agency
• All research projects require analyzing raw data.
• Student projects often analyze available data from agencies, government, or public sources. Doing so allows students to avoid the process of recruiting people to participate in their study.  This makes projects more feasible but comes with some limitations based on the data that are available.
• Student projects should avoid potentially harmful or sensitive topics when surveying or interviewing clients and other vulnerable populations. Since many social work topics are sensitive, students often elect to collect data from less-vulnerable populations such as practitioners and administrators.
• Describe the difference between raw data and the results of research articles.
• Consider browsing around the data repositories in Table 2.1.
• Identify one of the common types of student projects (e.g., surveys of practitioners) and how that might help you answer your working question.

2.5 Critical considerations

• Critique the traditional role of researchers and identify how action research addresses these issues

So far in this chapter, we have presented the steps of student research projects as follows:

• Find a topic that is important to you and read about it.
• Pose a question that is important to the literature and to your community.
• Propose to use specific research methods to answer your question.
• Carry out your project and report the results.

These were depicted in Figure 2.1 earlier in this chapter. There are important limitations to this approach, and this section examines those problems and how to address them.

Whose knowledge is privileged?

First, let’s critically examine your role as the researcher.  Following along with the steps in a research project, you start studying the literature your topic, find a place where you can add to scientific knowledge, and conduct your study.  But why are you the person who gets to decide what is important?  Just as clients are the experts on their lives, members of your target population are the experts on their lives. What does it mean for a group of people to be researched on, rather than researched with?  How can we better respect the knowledge and self-determination of our community members?

A different way of approaching your research project is to start by talking with members of the target population and those who are knowledgeable about that community.  Perhaps there is a community organization you can partner with on a research project.  The researcher’s role in this case would be more similar to a consultant, someone with specialized knowledge about research who can help communities study problems they consider to be important.  The social worker is a co-investigator, and community members are equal partners in the research project.  Each has a type of knowledge—scientific expertise vs. lived experience—that should inform the research process.

The community focus highlights something important about student projects: they are localized.  Student projects can dedicate themselves to issues at a single agency or within a service area.  With a local scope, student researchers can bring about change in their community.  This is the purpose behind action research.

Action research

Action research   is research that is conducted for the purpose of creating social change. When engaging in action research, scholars collaborate with community stakeholders to conduct research that will be relevant to the community. Social workers who engage in action research don’t just go it alone; instead, they collaborate with the people who are affected by the research at each stage in the process. Stakeholders, particularly those with the least power, should be consulted on the purpose of the research project, research questions, design, and reporting of results.

Action research also distinguishes itself from other research in that its purpose is to create change on an individual and community level. Kristin Esterberg puts it quite eloquently when she says, “At heart, all action researchers are concerned that research not simply contribute to knowledge but also lead to positive changes in people’s lives” (2002, p. 137). [7] Action research has multiple origins across the globe, including Kurt Lewin’s psychological experiments in the US and Paulo Friere’s literacy and education programs (Adelman, 1993; Reason, 1994). [8] Over the years, action research has become increasingly popular among scholars who wish for their work to have tangible outcomes that benefit the groups they study.

A traditional scientist might look at the literature or use their practice wisdom to formulate a question for quantitative or qualitative research, as we suggested earlier in this chapter. An action researcher, on the other hand, would consult with people in target population and community to see what they believe the most pressing issues are and what their proposed solutions may be. In this way, action research flips traditional research on its head. Scientists are not the experts on the research topic. Instead, they are more like consultants who provide the tools and resources necessary for a target population to achieve their goals and to address social problems using social science research.

According to Healy (2001), [9] the assumptions of participatory-action research are that (a) oppression is caused by macro-level structures such as patriarchy and capitalism; (b) research should expose and confront the powerful; (c) researcher and participant relationships should be equal, with equitable distribution of research tasks and roles; and (d) research should result in consciousness-raising and collective action. Consistent with social work values, action research supports the self-determination of oppressed groups and privileges their voice and understanding through the conceptualization, design, data collection, data analysis, and dissemination processes of research. We will return to similar ideas in Part 4 of the textbook when we discuss qualitative research methods, though action research can certainly be used with quantitative research methods, as well.

Student projects can make a difference!

One last thing. We’ve told you all to think small and simple with your projects.  The adage that “a good project is a done project” is true.  At the same time, this advice might unnecessarily limit an ambitious and diligent student who wanted to investigate something more complex.  For example, here is a Vice News article about MSW student Christine Stark’s work on sex trafficking of indigenous women.  Student projects have the potential to address sensitive and politically charged topics.  With support from faculty and community partners, student projects can become more comprehensive.  The results of your project should accomplish something.  Social work research is about creating change, and you will find the work of completing a research project more rewarding and engaging if you can envision the change your project will create.

In addition to broader community and agency impacts, student research projects can have an impact on a university or academic program. Consider this resource on how to research your institution by Rine Vieth. As a student, you are one of the groups on campus with the least power (others include custodial staff, administrative staff, contingent and adjunct faculty). It is often necessary that you organize within your cohort of MSW students for change within the program. Not only is it an excellent learning opportunity to practice your advocacy skills, you can use raw data that is publicly available (such as those linked in the guide) or create your own raw data to inform change. The collaborative and transformative focus of student research projects like these can be impactful learning experiences, and students should consider projects that will lead to some small change in both themselves and their communities.

• Traditionally, researchers did not consult target populations and communities prior to formulating a research question. Action research proposes a more community-engaged model in which researchers are consultants that help communities research topics of import to them.
• Just because we’ve advised you to keep your project simple and small doesn’t mean you must do so! There are excellent examples of student research projects that have created real change in the world.
• Apply the key concepts of action research to your project.  How might you incorporate the perspectives and expertise of community members in your project?
• Blee, K. (2002).  Inside organized racism: Women and men of the hate movement . Berkeley, CA: University of California Press; Blee, K. (1991).  Women of the Klan: Racism and gender in the 1920s . Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. ↵
• The exercises we created for this textbook are designed to break down the research proposal into bite-sized chunks. Completing the exercises as you read the textbook helps you apply the knowledge you've gained right away and remember what you thought about concepts you read about a few weeks ago. ↵
• Simons, D. A., & Wurtele, S. K. (2010). Relationships between parents’ use of corporal punishment and their children’s endorsement of spanking and hitting other children. Child Abuse & Neglect, 34 , 639–646. ↵
• Faris, R., & Felmlee, D. (2011). Status struggles: Network centrality and gender segregation in same- and cross-gender aggression. American Sociological Review, 76 , 48–73. The study has also been covered by several media outlets: Pappas, S. (2011). Popularity increases aggression in kids, study finds. Retrieved from:  http://www.livescience.com/11737-popularity-increases-aggression-kids-study-finds.html ↵
• This pattern was found until adolescents reached the top 2% in the popularity ranks. After that, aggression declined. ↵
• Engel, R. J. & Schutt, R. K. (2016). The practice of research in social work (4th ed.). Washington, DC: SAGE Publishing. ↵
• Esterberg, K. G. (2002).  Qualitative methods in social research . Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill. ↵
• Adelman, C. (1993). Kurt Lewin and the origins of action research.  Educational Action Research, 1,  7-24.; Reason, P. (1994).  Participation in human inquiry . London, UK: Sage. ↵
• Healy, K. (2001). Participatory action research and social work: A critical appraisal.  International Social Work, 44 , 93-105. ↵

a nonlinear process in which the original product is revised over and over again to improve it

a document produced by researchers that reviews the literature relevant to their topic and describes the methods they will use to conduct their study

what a researcher hopes to accomplish with their study

the group of people whose needs your study addresses

conducted during the early stages of a project, usually when a researcher wants to test the feasibility of conducting a more extensive study or if the topic has not been studied in the past

research that describes or defines a particular phenomenon

explains why particular phenomena work in the way that they do; answers “why” questions

research that evaluates the outcomes of a policy or program

whether you can practically and ethically complete the research project you propose

whether you can actually reach people or documents needed to complete your project

the people or organizations who control access to the population you want to study

individuals or groups who have an interest in the outcome of the study you conduct

study publicly available information or data that has been collected by another person

research that is conducted for the purpose of creating social change

Graduate research methods in social work Copyright © 2020 by Matthew DeCarlo, Cory Cummings, Kate Agnelli is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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The impact of work-based research projects at postgraduate level

Journal of Work-Applied Management

ISSN : 2205-2062

Article publication date: 6 October 2015

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of work-based research projects at postgraduate level. The focus of this paper is to measure the impact of masters- and doctoral-level work-based projects which was the specific contribution of one group of researchers to the Nixon et al. ’s (2008) study.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is based on data generated as part of a wider study that examines the impact of work-based learning projects across undergraduate through to doctoral level from the perspective of employers and from the employees perspective. The research study is based on a sample of alumni who had graduated from work-based masters and professional doctorate programmes and their corresponding employers in a UK higher education institution.

At masters and doctorate level the work-based project can often make an impact on the work context and also have a developmental effect on the employee who becomes a practitioner-researcher to undertake the project.

Originality/value

This paper finds that work-based projects are often an investment that companies make that have the propensity to yield tangible business success as well as providing an incentive for key staff to remain in the company and achieve university recognition.

• Work-based learning
• Higher education
• High-level skills
• Work-based projects

Motivation and support

• Personal and professional confidence

Costley, C. and Abukari, A. (2015), "The impact of work-based research projects at postgraduate level", Journal of Work-Applied Management , Vol. 7 No. 1, pp. 3-14. https://doi.org/10.1108/JWAM-10-2015-006

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2015, Carol Costley & Abdulai Abukari

Published in the Journal of Work-Applied Management . This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode

Introduction

Work-based research and development projects are usually the key element of work-based and professional studies awards. These are awards in the transdisciplinary field of work-based learning (WBL). WBL awards are normally defined in generic terms and are applicable to people in any kind of work situation at any level. WBL awards can be categorised as an individually negotiated programmes or cohort-designed programmes and comprise of a full range of award-bearing programmes from certificate to doctorate.

The term “studies” relates to the generic abilities that are common to high-level skills and knowledge that are desirable for work. Assessment is in relation to generic learning outcomes: for example, the ability to synthesise, analyse and evaluate, work in a team and autonomously identify and select appropriate resources. Participants undertake modules involving “Accrediting of Prior and Experiential Learning” (APEL) or called “Recognition of Prior Learning” (RPL) ( Garnett et al. , 2004 ), “reflective writing activities”, “planning and learning agreements”, “research and development for professional practice” ( Garnett et al. , 2008 ). The unique approach to whole awards has been extremely successful over the past 20+ years attracting large numbers at all levels especially in the UK.

This paper is based on data generated as part of a wider study that examines the impact of WBL projects across undergraduate through to doctoral level from the perspective of employers and from the employees perspective ( Nixon et al. , 2008 ). The focus of this paper is to measure the impact of masters- and doctoral-level work-based projects which was the specific contribution of one group of researchers to the Nixon et al. (2008) study. The research study is based on a sample of alumni who had graduated from work-based masters and professional doctorate programmes and their corresponding employers in a UK higher education institution (HEIs). As the WBL programmes recruit both home and international students, the participants in the research came from different countries including the UK (majority), Ireland and Australia. The results of the study are then used to track the impact of work-based projects undertaken with subsequent and various employer groups (see e.g. Costley and Critten, 2012 ).

At masters and doctorate level the work-based project can often make an impact on the work context and also have a developmental effect on the employee who becomes a practitioner-researcher to undertake the project. The practitioner-researchers are engaged in solving highly contextualised problems and do this to develop their practice at work supported by high-level university learning and teaching. Work-based projects are often an investment that companies make that have the propensity to yield tangible business success as well as providing an incentive for key staff to remain in the company and achieve university recognition. The paper starts with an overview of the context to the research study; this is followed by a discussion of work-based curriculum for professionals and an outline of the research methodology. The finding is then presented and discussed, followed by a set of recommendations and conclusion.

A work-based curriculum for professionals

[…] learning process which focuses university level critical thinking upon work (paid or unpaid) in order to facilitate the recognition, acquisition and application of individual knowledge, skills and abilities, to achieve specific outcomes of significance to the learner, their work and to the university ( Gibbs and Garnett, 2007 ).

There are other definitions of WBL that overlap this one as the field is complex and spans all levels and affords different priorities. What does remain a constant set of concepts involves approaches to knowledge that embrace a wide practice-based contribution to knowledge, approaches to learning and teaching that place the learner as having practice expertise and the teacher as facilitator of that expertise and experience. Postgraduate level WBL usually uses a flexible model that engages with employer-employee-university in a three-way learning agreement that can range in its function. The most profound and close relationship is working closely with the employer in a partnership agreement with the university where the employer contributes significantly to the content of the programme including the nature of the work-based project. At the opposite end of the spectrum of possibilities in the three-way agreement is an individual having their agreement signed by a senior professional in the field whose main purpose is to endorse the work-based project as an appropriate research and development activity.

WBL at masters and doctoral level emphasises learner-centred and reflective practice. It views work-based knowledge as knowledge produced in the context of application; at the same time conceiving knowledge as a means of advancing practice with utilitarian benefits and underpinning practice with critical discourse on existing knowledge. The frontier of the higher education knowledge base is then extended and the benefits of higher education are more directly applied to work settings ( Lester and Costley, 2010 ).

WBL as an area in higher education is able to meet some of the current needs relating to “complexity” ( Shaw, 2002 ). One of the ways WBL has been able to do this is by acknowledging high-level experience through APEL/RPL. Many work-based learners build on their existing “formal university qualifications” to undertake programmes, others undertake programmes based on their existing experiences and the accumulated knowledge through APEL/RPL rather than formal university qualifications, starting the programme at the actual point of the learners’ current understanding. Thus legitimacy is given to previous and current work and through a reflective process learners are able to relate their work-based practice to theory.

Students are free to make sense of their context and in this sense, agency, position and situatedness are key factors. Situatedness ( Lave and Wenger, 1991 ) is the development of individual intelligence requiring both social and cultural influences. It arises from the interplay between the researcher, the situation (the particular set of circumstances and the researcher’s position within it) and context (where, when and the background that provides the multiple perspectives needed for understanding). Organisational, professional and personal contexts will affect the way a piece of research and development is undertaken.

Participants in the 2008 study were limited to employees who completed WBL programmes at masters and doctorate levels (individual negotiated programmes and cohort-designed programmes). These have been merged in this analysis because they have similar characteristics in terms of the role of individual students in designing their programmes; the main difference being that in the former, students undertook study as individuals from different organisations while in the latter, students undertook study as part of a group, usually from the same organisation. The employees (WBL graduates) and their corresponding employers (where possible) participated in the study (see Table I ).

The research involves gathering data using semi-structured interview discussion guides for employees and employers that had seven distinct categories; context, motivation, needs, programme of study, benefits and impact, value for money, other. These are provided by the Higher Education Academy as the research formed part of a larger research project at all levels of higher education ( Nixon et al. , 2008 ).

The approach used throughout this study is to understand the constructions that the employees and employers held, through analysis, interpretation, critique and iteration to arrive at findings that contain credible and improved understanding ( Lincoln and Guba, 2000 ; Schwandt, 1998 ). Placing this perspective within the context of the WBL impact study, the research sought to understand the individual views of employers and employees about the benefits and impact of work-based projects and then through reflective analysis, offer some recommendations.

The participants in the Nixon et al. (2008) study are “purposive sampled” ( Neuman, 2003 ); so in order to meet the participant sample limit of employees (and their corresponding employers) that is representative of the nature of masters and doctorate awards at the university, it is important to strategically select people across the spectrum.

A reflexive reading is taken based not only on the cases and their contexts, but also the experiences of the researchers as part of the process of investigation. One important role of the reflexive reading is not only to channel the researchers’ views into the interpretation process but also to incorporate the views of focus groups and to make critical reflections to check biases that could influence the process. The examples up to 2013 did not include focus groups and used random samples but used the same questionnaire and analytical framework.

Key findings of the benefits and impact of work-based projects

The main motivations for employees undertaking WBL are of personal enthusiasm, the desire to develop oneself and to gain more professional expertise. Employers’ motivations are more centred on the view that employees form the cornerstone of organisations and the development of their skills and competency will invariably lead to improved productivity. This makes it difficult to work out a perfect connection between employee motivation and employer motivation because there are some different factors affecting their interests.

A de-motivator found in the research is the administrative difficulties with the university encountered by some work-based learners and their employers. Universities have been slow in changing their structures and processes to meet the needs of older learners studying on a part-time basis.

Although there are varied views about the clarity of needs before undertaking the programmes, all employees had an idea about what they hoped to achieve at the end of the programme. This did not necessarily relate to needs in terms of the roles they play before undertaking the programme, but more of general professional development.

In most cases, the decision to undertake the study is employee-initiated. Even in employer-university partnership schemes it is more the willingness of the employees and their particular needs that drive the desire to take a higher education award. This could be one reason why there is not any formal or informal process supported by the employer to identify the things they hoped to get out of the project in most of the cases. Employers who are involved with cohort programmes to some extent based the projects on the needs of their organisations, although some of their employees appeared to go through the programme pursuing more personal/professional endeavours free from a close connection with the employer’s needs. Again, this shows some variations in the needs of employees and employers and the employer-employee relationship. However, some employers also said that the individual development of the employee is the main purpose and need of the employer.

Employees’ reasons for choosing the programme of study are generally related to the flexibility of the WBL programmes in which study is at a distance, requiring purposeful activities related to the workplace, non-regular or no direct lecture sessions and the absence of pre-planned syllabuses. The main reason emerging from the employers for choosing WBL is that it is convenient, it has direct relevance, fits well into work schedules and links the theoretical and intellectual side of things to the more practical day-to-day issues facing business. WBL awards are more directly relevant to work than awards that are more theoretically focused. Overall the rationale for employees and employers to undertake the programme has three main interrelated factors: convenience, meeting individual learning needs and an “opportunity seized”.

All employee respondents are supported in one way or another by their employers regardless of whether they have formal/informal discussion or not; support ranges from paying full or part of financial cost of the programme, offering time off work and providing use of resources. Respondents who are self-employed pay the costs themselves. However, the level of employers’ involvement in the design, delivery and/or assessment of the programme is limited in the sense that although some employers are in partnership with the university, it is often limited to just the formal partnership with an informal helping hand given to employees. The most involved third party is usually the case where the university is in partnership with an organisation that also has training provision and is involved at different levels in the design, monitoring and assessment of the programme. The value of the work-based project can therefore be enhanced through industry/academic links. In addition, self-employed individuals are actively involved (as employers) as a matter of course throughout the programme.

It is not possible to gain a precise measurement of the economic value of WBL to employers and employees at the postgraduate level. There is an accepted faith from employees and employers that learning and employee development is a positive reward for staff and that WBL is more directly related to the employee’s actual work than some other programmes of study.

In terms of the employees’ financial gain there is a clear case for some of the participants whose attainment of masters or doctoral awards have positively impacted on the financial gains either as private consultants or changing to more financially rewarding roles or jobs.

An important value for money issue that emerged is how work-based projects can make the best use of resources (teaching and learning and work-based resources) and this is a learning issue as well as an economic one. If employers are to invest in WBL, a clear case needs to be made for how learners can use resources from a range of places. In making the case for how and where resources are accessed, the focus is both upon learning and on cost.

The answers to questions about the actual cost of undertaking the programme are vague and appear not to have great importance to postgraduate employees or their employers because the cost is relatively insignificant to them compared with the perceived benefits that could be gained from the programme. Those interviewed are more interested in the related cost benefit of service improvement through employee performance. It is difficult to find precise examples for a business case that WBL is or is not cost-effective in terms of benefit to employees and employers.

The profitability of WBL to HEIs may to some extent be measured through existing tools and techniques, however, knowledge of WBL modules and practices is needed to fully understand the model; for example, how the costs relating to accreditation and flexibly taught elements might be factored in.

In most cases the WBL experience had caused change to the employees themselves and to the way they undertake their work.

Enhanced personal and professional confidence

The culmination of a work-based project often brings about enhanced personal and professional confidence, aspirations and expertise. Enhanced personal expertise is expressed mainly in terms of proven high-level intellectual skills, usually involving skills of synthesis, better judgement of levels of achievement and “seeing the broader picture” and ability to act as self-motivated learners. Employees also acknowledged the difficulties and self-drive necessary to develop themselves to masters and doctorate level, based on a work-based programme.

Employees occupy significant positions such as managers/leaders in their organisations and work within complex and sensitive social and political environments that often have constraints and tight schedules that require the use of a rare combination of skills, knowledge, personal qualities and concern for values. They often express their expertise and attribute much of it to the autonomy they have on the programme to use a range of higher education approaches in the context of their actual work.

The will to continue to develop shows itself in the continuation of the employees’ work-based projects as real-time ongoing activities at work. There are positive yet unforeseen effects on colleagues and clients, renewed interest in further learning, and productive engagement in debates relevant to the professional wider field.

Enhanced personal and professional credibility

There is a perceived greater status with clients and colleagues and recognition from professional groups for the higher education learning of their achievements and significantly increased self-confidence in themselves as employees and as professionals. In some cases enhanced credibility is seen for their professional communities as well as for them as individuals.

WBL programmes demand that employees have a certain positionality before they are allowed on the programme in terms of experience and status within their organisations or professional area, in that they have to be in a position to be able to impact on change.

There is significant impact from the experience relating to the employees’ enhanced credibility (real or perceived) in the eyes of others in their field who engaged more readily with their work once they had achieved masters and doctoral status. It is noted that the change in the employees themselves provided the impact. Employees variously achieve greater status for themselves and their organisations from the perspective of their peers and within themselves regarding their self-esteem.

The less tangible benefits of work-based projects are very clearly identified, for example prestige and credibility. Work-based projects are dependent on the context of the work situation; the diverse features of the particular employer/employment/organisation can make a great deal of difference. The less tangible values are difficult to articulate in the research yet many of the respondents alluded to more intrinsic than extrinsic benefits. A benefit of WBL to the individual learner can be juxtaposed with the benefit to the organisation so there is often a direct link with the value placed on the work by the employee and employer.

Personal benefits and impact are found by most employees as an important factor of the work-based projects. They frequently express a new-found confidence from undertaking work-based projects as part of a WBL programme. The term “opportunity” is used to demonstrate how they uncovered ways to gain greater insight, develop themselves further both as employees and as individuals. The programme changes career aspirations because of the feeling of empowerment and confidence. Participants record a greater understanding of both their fields of expertise and generic understanding of management, leadership and generally how things and people work. In particular there is evidence that increased knowledge of a particular area, writing skills, research skills and understanding of methodology and ability to publish has personal impact. Some experience the programme as life-changing and some experience a more long-term than immediate benefit.

Some participants find professional benefit a particularly important factor. Professional benefit is clearly thought to have significant impact on awareness and expertise in a particular area, an expert in the field with others in the organisation or professional field showing confidence in and acknowledgement of the participant’s expertise. When employees receive the title of “Dr” in particular, it is seen as prestigious for the organisation.

Direct benefit and impact to an organisation or professional area

Direct impact on the candidates’ organisations or professional areas came from work activity contained within their specific projects that made a real change to professional situations. However, overwhelmingly, the benefit to the employer is to raise the employers’ credentials and prestige in the view of others. Other impactful benefits to the employer are improved work efficiency, ability to take on more demanding roles and being sought after as an expert. Some distinct benefits in terms of impact to the organisation are articulated by employers, for example, Mags Thomas, HRM Manager at Toshiba Tec, in relation to work-based projects undertaken by her employees stated “They gave us a discipline, a way of looking at the needs of our business”.

Candidates undertaking the work-based projects recorded a greater understanding of both their fields of expertise and generic understanding of management, leadership and generally how things work and better communications with other people. In particular there is evidence of increased knowledge of a particular area, writing skills, research skills such as understanding of methodology and ability to publish. This enabled personal impact and confidence in themselves to take work projects forward. It also earned them respect from other colleagues. Some had experienced the programme as life-changing and some experience a more long-term than immediate benefit. Credibility from their work context is important or more important to them than academic achievement.

The complexities of the projects and the position of the employees within them make it particularly difficult to map out all the benefits and impact of employees’ learning experiences for themselves and their organisations/ employers, and more importantly to have a measurable sense of the benefits and impact.

The introduction of change in organisations can have both positive and negative outcomes. Employers often want compliance from employees who engage in WBL as well as innovative ideas. The critical faculties engendered through a higher education can sometimes be used to challenge organisational practices especially in that WBL confronts actual practice because the process of engagement is activity-based usually in the work situation itself. Previous studies have shown that where WBL is embedded in organisational learning there can be a conflict of interest between employees and the employer ( Siebert and Costley, 2013 ). However, in our sample the employees appeared content that they are in a position where they could generate significant structural capital within an organisation and often also, their professional field.

Recommendations

To strengthen the impact of WBL and to make it more beneficial to all stakeholders, the following recommendations are offered.

Link individual and organisational learning more effectively. How can universities work with organisations to create learning environments that capitalise on the learning? The tripartite relationship between employers, employees and higher education providers could be developed upon and used positively to increase the impact and benefit of WBL. Programmes could be firmly linked to the needs and expectations (structural capital) with individual learning needs and organisational development needs. Programmes could provide individuals with opportunity for reward/development and also create a potential impact on organisational knowledge. The needs of the employees should be further taken up and analysed. The needs of the employers require much more work in closely thought through joint research and development between HEIs and organisations and other stakeholders.

At the heart of the WBL process is the work-based project that shows the results of improvement in practice, which should be based on evidence at all relevant levels – individual, organisational and through professional bodies and other stakeholders. Developing instruments to get this right would be particularly beneficial. The advantages of practitioner-research projects need more scrutiny by higher education academics, employer organisations and other stakeholders. This is a crucial recommendation for employers who could contribute more to universities’ understanding of the needs of work-based projects.

The consideration of a WBL pedagogy can be made in more detail and could centre on employees’ current and prior learning and build from their current understanding where possible. This requires particular pedagogical understanding of people’s learning at work and of the nature of knowledge in work settings. It also requires employers to build this understanding into their structures, for example, through appraisal and promotion mechanisms.

The outcome and the nature of the methodologies followed by practitioners in their research and development activities appear to be an important topic for higher education researchers to explore. The links between practitioner research and research methodologies need further development as this is a key area for practitioners to enhance their working practices especially at postgraduate and doctorate level. Research approaches and methodologies have been an important development in universities. Qualitative research has been at the forefront of these initiatives ( Denzin and Lincoln, 2003 ). Pure and applied approaches to knowledge have been a standard feature in universities for many years but the work-based research projects are not an applied version of an existing theory. They have more in common with research and development traditions and/or Levi-Strauss’s notion of the bricoleur.

Higher education providers should recognise the complexities of WBL and change their existing processes and structures to effectively accommodate these new approaches to learning. Administrative structures and other procedures of many HE providers are still based on the more traditional approach whereas WBL involves more engagement with third party experts in work and learning, i.e. not just the university/student relationship. It also means more flexible approaches on-line, multiple sources of knowledge, e.g. from the professional sphere and accreditation networks of knowledge and communities of practice make it more relevant for work-based learners to benefit fully from programmes.

Subject discipline criteria and generic criteria provide differing approaches to WBL. More research could be done on generic abilities at high levels and how these factor in postgraduate programmes. Traditional disciplines served different kinds of societies.

Embedding employer responsive provision across universities should be a priority and for this to be successfull the further development of cross-functional teams is recommended; academics, business development personnel, administrator and others all working together to meet the needs of organisations and their employees. A key recommendation of the Higher Education Funding Council for England is for important labour market information and knowledge to be fed back into programme development,recording the needs of employees and organisations at every level, e.g. academic, structural, time and resource issues.

Critical reflections by stakeholders on how WBL programmes are built into overall learning strategies of organisations could enhance the fitness of and fitness-for-purpose component of programmes. This could be achieved through developing partnerships between HEIs, employers, employees and other stakeholders that are operated and guided by the principles of transparency, mutual agreement and benefits, and clear understanding of structures and strategies to ensure a balance of “power and influence” in the process. Employers would develop interest and actively engage with their employees’ WBL through involvement in the processes of design, delivery and assessment of the programmes. This is also a key recommendation of the Wilson Report in the UK ( Wilson, 2012 ). Professional bodies could engage in and reflect more on the outcomes of WBL and engage in a reflective discussion with universities and employer organisations. Other stakeholders, for example Learning and Skills Councils and employer organisations, could be involved in these important partnerships that would all be working towards more effective learning for, in and through work. How the relevant partners understand and use these relationships and the values they have and might have in future are likely to determine the success of these partnerships.

This research suggests that the impacts of WBL projects are both specific and general. While it is difficult to differentiate between personal benefits and professional benefits of the projects to employees, undertaking work-based projects is seen as generally beneficial to employees. Broad personal benefits are: better understanding of issues related to job roles, developing self-confidence, raising personal status, e.g. being called a doctor and building knowledge and skills of research and researching at the workplace. The professional benefits to employees include enhancing professional credentials and credibility, and establishing their expertise in their professional areas of practice.

The work-based projects are of benefit to employers in terms of adding value to their (employees) job roles and raising the prestige and credentials of the organisations to existing and potential clients in ways that increased output and profit.

Further research and publications undertaken after the work-based projects had concluded by mostly WBL doctoral graduates have led to continued enriching and expanding practitioner knowledge, based in areas such as training and development.

A key addition to learning for the WBL employees/students is their fuller understanding of research methodology. A particular module, research and development for professional practice, prepared them for research and development projects. The positionality of the worker is important because the action involved in accessing data at work and then going on to develop and apply the research findings requires the agency of the researcher.

Employers and employees find that the academic knowledge applied to work-based projects when built upon the employees’ existing work is able to bring about significant change and/or enhancement to work practices.

Cohort-based learners have the added advantage of a close group of other learners providing: peer support, more support from employers and clear and common goals. Those on individually negotiated programmes tend to find these advantages by engaging in their own networks of support and relying on themselves as autonomous learners to define more career-focused goals.

Customised programmes of WBL, constructed for different reasons and from a variety of viewpoints especially those on the nature of knowledge at work, produce data from which it is difficult to generalise. WBL academics are led by the learning needs of the employees and employers while the nature of the knowledge in which they engage is treated with relatively few problems. Consequently, in customising WBL by working with employers to formulate a programme of study or through individual negotiated programmes, what emerges is a view of knowledge that is difficult to codify against higher education structures. This is likely to be because work-based knowledge has a “real world” complexity not yet fully conceptualised in higher education.

A Practice Turn (Shatszi et al. , 2003) has marked long and emerging theories of practice, e.g. that are now being used to theorise this emergent are of the higher education curriculum. This research demonstrates the above emerging themes that relate to what is found important by employers and employees. A question that arises from the research is the extent to which theories of practice that shed new light on WBL may be emerging and how they relate to existing literature.

Work-based projects use the expertise of HE learning in, for example, research, evaluation, synthesis and critical thinking to enable practitioners to use the workplace and its resources for development and innovation.

The projects allow employees to solve problems but more importantly to articulate their learning and the learning of their organisation or professional area. The projects provide a clear trail of work-based activity that, to a certain extent, measure the extent of the learning undertaken during the work-based programme.

delve into a theoretical and conceptual domain;

research and develop using an informed and rigorous process; and

realise a range of possible pathways and possibilities for working practices.

The impact of WBL projects on employees is positive but challenging in some cases. The positive side is that some employees established themselves firmly in their organisations and areas of practice as experts; they have written books, conducted research and pushed the frontier of knowledge in those areas. However, there are indications that undertaking WBL could challenge employees’ prospects and relationship with their employers.

Undertaking a work-based project offers depth of understanding, insight, confidence in themselves and confidence from colleagues. It is likely that any kind of reflective, thought-provoking educative experience may have made a difference to the employee or employer/organisation. A question is therefore whether a WBL programme has a greater and more relevant impact than any other programme of study. A key point is that the products of WBL masters and doctoral projects can contribute directly to positive impact on company processes and products. In this way WBL enables this practical learning which may be then underpinned by theory, to be valued by both HEIs and employers.

Examples of some of the case studies

Costley, C. and Critten, P. ( 2012 ), “ The business value of structured workplace learning ”, Global Focus Magazine , Vol. 6 No. 1 , pp. 14 - 17 , available at: http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/9213/ (accessed 5 September 2015) .

Denzin, N.K. and Lincoln, Y.S. ( 2003 ), Handbook of Qualitative Research , 3rd ed ., SAGE , London .

Garnett, J. , Portwood, D. and Costley, C. ( 2004 ), Bridging Rhetoric and Reality: Accreditation of Prior and Experiental Learning (APEL) in the UK , Universities Vocational Awards Council , Bolton .

Garnett, J. , Workman, B. , Beadsmoore, A. and Bezencenet, S. ( 2008 ), “ Workforce development ”, Developing the Structural Capital of Higher Education Institutions to Support Work-Based Learning Programmes , The Higher Education Academy , New York, NY .

Gibbs, P. and Garnett, J. ( 2007 ), “ Work based learning as a field of study ”, Research in Post-Compulsory Education , Vol. 12 No. 3 , pp. 409 - 421 .

Lave, J. and Wenger, E. ( 1991 ), Situated Learning: Legitimate, Peripheral Participation , Cambridge University Press , Cambridge, MA .

Lester, S. and Costley, C. ( 2010 ), “ Work-based learning at higher education level: value, practice and critique ”, Studies in Higher Education , Vol. 35 No. 5 , pp. 561 - 575 .

Lincoln, Y.S. and Guba, E.G. ( 2000 ), “ Paradigmatic controversies, contradictions, and emerging confluences ”, in Denzin, N.K. and Lincoln, Y.S. (Eds) , Handbook of Qualitative Research , SAGE , London , pp. 163 - 188 .

Neuman, W.L. ( 2003 ), Social Research Methods – Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches , Allyn and Bacon , London .

Nixon, I. , Willis, K. , Major, D. , Young, D. , Tongue, A. , Costley, C. , Abukari, A. , Biddle, P. , Graham, S. , McClenaghan, K. , Helyer, R. , Beadsmoore, A. , Karuk, V. , Siara, B. and Urwin, P. ( 2008 ), Work-Based Learning Impact Study , Higher Education Academy , York .

Schatzki, T.R. , Knorr Cetina, K. and von Savigny, E. (Eds) ( 2001 ), The Practice Turn in Contemporary Theory , Routledge , London and New York .

Schwandt, T.A. ( 1998 ), “ Constructivist, interpretivist approaches to human inquiry ”, in Denzin, N.K. and Lincoln, Y.S. (Eds) , The Landscape of Qualitative Research: Theories and Issues , SAGE , London , pp. 221 - 259 .

Shaw, P. ( 2002 ), Changing Conversations in Organisations – a Complexity Approach to Changes , Routledge , London .

Siebert, S. and Costley, C. ( 2013 ), “ Conflicting values in reflection on professional practice ”, Higher Education, Skills and Work-based Learning , Vol. 3 No. 3 , pp. 156 - 167 .

Wilson, T. ( 2012 ), A Review of Business-University Collaboration , BIS , London .

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4-2 Working Collaboratively: Building a Research Team

Yusuf Yilmaz and Sandra Monteiro

Collaboration is critical to conducting good research and designing good education or innovations. In any discipline, it is a rare situation where an individual has all the knowledge, skills and perspectives required to identify a good idea and develop it to completion and dissemination (1,2). An individual cannot manage all tasks in an efficient or short amount of time.

Critically, health professions education is a rich, multidisciplinary environment that requires collaboration across diverse professions, epistemologies and identities. A scientist may not be able to appreciate the nuances of clinical practice if they do not collaborate to understand the key issues. A clinician educator may not have the capacity to translate all aspects of education science without the support of a researcher. Simply put, we all have gaps in our ability to understand the unique education challenges that we are interested in exploring and can rely on various kinds of experts to supplement our knowledge.

This form of collaboration can create a richer, more complete understanding, but can also be more efficient as experts are much faster than novices at handling tasks within their scope.

Key Points of the Chapter

By the end of this chapter the learner should be able to:

• Describe the importance of teamwork for research
• Identify the priorities when setting up a new research team
• Recognize the challenges for collaboration with novel research teams or team members

Samir decided to talk to his supervisor about the challenge he perceived regarding getting such a diverse team to successfully coordinate their schedules and write together. She suggested that he apply his expert organizational skills to create the writing plan, but then involve the others on the team to complete some of the tasks. She also suggested that he take advantage of available online applications, like Google Docs and Microsoft Teams to create shared space for idea generation, without the need for synchronous meetings.

Deeper Dive into this Concept

Organization and clarity are key to the collaborative writing process. Whether you are writing collaboratively to produce an academic manuscript, or to design new learning objectives and activities for a new curriculum, there are some key principles that can help keep you on track.

First, it helps to identify a leader – not everyone can steer a ship all at the same time – so pick a captain who will be responsible for keeping everyone on task. It is also the leader’s responsibility to make sure there is a shared model of the goal, that everyone on the team understands how they can contribute to the goal and that everyone agrees on the key timeline and checkpoints. Although it can be a challenge managing multiple busy schedules, attempt to start with one synchronous group meeting to create a shared model of the goal. Online applications like Doodle (3) polls or When2meet (4) can be useful in achieving this goal. Also consider holding the meeting online in Zoom (5) or Microsoft Teams (6) as this will allow you to easily record the meeting discussion, which can be transcribed for future review by the group or individuals who could not attend.

Second, be clear on roles and authorship. Review the ICMJE authorship criteria so everyone understands the standards for authorship (7). For academic manuscripts, it is conventional to list all contributors’ names in the order of their level of contribution. The key author positions that are often important for those who write in academic medicine are: first author (the team leader), second (the second-in-command), and senior (the supervisor and/or mentor of the first author and/or the person responsible for a broader program of research). It helps to be clear on these positions at the start of a project, although circumstances may require flexibility over time. The first author is most likely to create the first draft or outline. Ideally, the first author is also the team leader, however this may not be the case for every team. Sometimes, the person elected to manage timelines and expectations is someone in the middle or the senior author.

Third, explain the writing process to everyone on the team and assign roles accordingly. It may seem like common sense, but all writing starts with the first and worst draft. The team members take turns editing it to a better version. Ideally, one person is responsible for the final edit in a consistent voice and style. Moreover, supplementary roles that may be required are a content expert – perhaps someone leading the field who can offer consultation. This person may already be on the team, or can be invited at a later stage of writing to consult. Because this consultant would not meet authorship criteria ( see ICMJE criteria ), they can be mentioned in the acknowledgments.

Fourth, collaborative writing can be highly efficient with the support of various online applications. A common application is Google Docs (8) which allows multiple team members to log in simultaneously, or asynchronously, to edit a single document. It is worth your time to learn how to track edits using the version history and make suggestions (i.e., tracking changes style of annotated suggestions). Google Docs also allow using third party citation managers. Zotero is one free and open source tool that fully integrates with Google Docs and provides citation management in a document (9). The table (4.2.1) below, taken from Yilmaz et al. identifies several online resources that can be used in an asynchronous fashion to facilitate collaborative writing, without having to schedule group meetings to write together (10).

Key Takeaways

In summary, when approaching a collaborative activity, whether research design, curriculum design or innovation, always be clear about individual and group expectations.

• Sharing – Create shared accessible material that helps everyone track progress and understand their role.
• Be Explicit – Identify key tasks and connect them explicitly with individuals and deadlines.
• Structure – Ensure that there is a transparent structure to your project. Whether you are building a research team or writing a paper, it is vital to spend time and effort making sure everyone on the team understands the goals, deadlines and their role within the team.
• Support – Encourage psychological safety within your team so that when team members encounter barriers or challenges they can ask for help. Establish checkpoints to make sure everyone can celebrate their progress or can ask for help with their tasks
• Flexibility – Be prepared to change the plan when necessary. As clear as the plan is at the beginning, there is always a chance that new data will lead you to reconsider your original goals or research questions.
• Walker DHT, Davis PR, Stevenson A. Coping with uncertainty and ambiguity through team collaboration in infrastructure projects. Int J Proj Manag. 2017;35(2):180-190. doi: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2016.11.001
• Bennett LM, Gadlin H. Collaboration and Team Science: From Theory to Practice. J Investig Med. 2012;60(5):768-775. doi:10.2310/JIM.0b013e318250871d
• Doodle. Doodle: Explore features for the world’s favorite scheduling tool. Accessed November 18, 2021. https://doodle.com/en/features/
• When2meet. When2meet. Accessed November 18, 2021. https://www.when2meet.com/
• Zoom. Video Conferencing, Web Conferencing, Webinars, Screen Sharing. Zoom Video. Accessed March 31, 2020. https://zoom.us/
• Video Conferencing, Meetings, Calling | Microsoft Teams. Accessed November 18, 2021. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/group-chat-software
• International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. ICMJE | Recommendations | Defining the Role of Authors and Contributors. Accessed March 25, 2021. http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/roles-and-responsibilities/defining-the-role-of-authors-and-contributors.html
• Google Docs: Free Online Document Editor | Google Workspace. Accessed November 18, 2021. https://www.google.ca/docs/about/
• Zotero | Your personal research assistant. Accessed May 1, 2020. https://www.zotero.org/
• Yilmaz Y, Gottlieb M, Calderone Haas MR, Thoma B, Chan TM. Remote Collaborative Writing A Guide to Writing within a Virtual Community of Practice.  Manuscript submitted.

Other suggested resources

1. MacPFD Google Docs Template for Academic Writing

The above hyperlink leads you to a template that you can use to kickstart your team’s writing. It has the ICMJE criteria listed as well as a grid for scaffolding your initial co-authorship discussions as well.

2. MacPFD Scholarly Secrets – Collaborative Writing – Part 1: Overview of Google docs & Zotero (38 mins)

2. MacPFD Scholarly Secrets – Collaborative Writing – Part 2: The Benefits of Collaborative Writing & Tips (35 mins)

3. MacPFD Scholarly Secrets – Collaborative Writing – Part 3: Timelines, Coordination & Outlines (15 mins)

About the Authors

name: Yusuf Yilmaz

institution: McMaster University / Ege University

website: https://yilmazyusuf.com

Yusuf Yilmaz is a postdoctoral fellow ithin the Office of Continuing Professional Development and the McMaster Education Research, Innovation, and Theory (MERIT) program, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University. He is a researcher-lecturer in the Department of Medical Education at Ege University, Izmir, Turkey.

name: Sandra Monteiro

institution: McMaster University

Sandra Monteiro is an Associate Professor within the Department of Medicine, Division of Education and Innovation, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University. She holds a joint appointment within the Department of   Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact ,  Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University.

4-2 Working Collaboratively: Building a Research Team Copyright © 2022 by Yusuf Yilmaz and Sandra Monteiro is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Colleagues discuss gaining confidence at work, finding a sense of belonging through Project SEARCH Program

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In this "Mayo Clinic Employee Experiences" conversation, Jose Franco Carrasco, a team assistant, and Ian Perry, a desk operations specialist, discuss the relationship they formed through Project SEARCH, and how it helped Franco Carrasco find a sense of belonging at Mayo Clinic.

Mayo Clinic is a unique place: the culture, the values, the people. "Mayo Clinic Employee Experiences" explores the experiences of Mayo Clinic staff as they navigate life personally and professionally. Sharing these experiences increases understanding of others and ultimately contributes to finding connections, belonging and inclusion at work.   

In this episode, you will hear from Jose Franco Carrasco, a team assistant, and Ian Perry, a desk operations specialist, as they discuss how their relationship formed during Franco Carrasco's internship at Mayo through Project SEARCH, a transition-to-work program for young people with disabilities.

Perry was Franco Carrasco's mentor and made it his goal to help Franco Carrasco find his confidence and thrive in a team-based environment. Franco Carrasco, now a Mayo Clinic staff member, shares his inspiring journey of finding a sense of belonging in his new workplace, and how he is paying it forward by being a mentor for new Project SEARCH interns.

Perry and Franco Carrasco work together, serving the needs of patients and creating a meaningful experience for new interns.

Listen as Franco Carrasco and Perry discuss their experiences:

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Narrator: This is the "Mayo Clinic Employee Experiences" podcast, where we build trust and belonging through the authentic storytelling of our Mayo Clinic staff. In this episode, you will hear Jose, a team assistant, and Ian, a desk operations specialist, share how their relationship formed during Jose's internship with Project SEARCH, a transition-to-work program for young people with disabilities.

Franco Carrasco: During my senior year at Shadow Mountain High School, I was struggling so much and graduation was five months away. My consideration was to go to college or get a job. Although I wanted to go to college, I was scared.

I started to do a few academic courses, but it wasn't enough to complete college. As I was struggling, my speech teacher introduced me to Project SEARCH. I didn't know that Project SEARCH was in the hospital to help individuals with neurodiversity work in the workforce. She said that this would be perfect for me to learn about new opportunities. I said I'll definitely take it on. I wanted to learn so much in a hospital. That's why I'm here now.

Why did you decide to get involved with Project SEARCH?

Perry: When I came to Mayo, I wanted to help people. But I didn't have a medical background. I didn't know exactly how I wanted to help people, but I knew working at Mayo would give me that opportunity.

In my role as a desk operations specialist, my supervisor approached me and started to tell me about Project SEARCH. She said, "I know your strength is connecting with people. There's this thing called Project SEARCH that we, as desk operations specialists, are going to do for the first time. And I thought of you." And before she could even finish, I said that I was in.

I didn't know what my job would be as a mentor, but I was 100% in. This is an actual tangible way to help people and not only help patients as we do in desk operations every day.  This would be my opportunity to help someone grow in a lifelong type of way.

You were the first intern I had. It was a chance to help you grow and learn every day and give you skills that you're not only going to be able to keep with you through your career, but also in your life. It was what I had been searching for without even realizing I had been searching for it.

Franco Carrasco: The very start of the program was quite nerve-wracking for me. I had never worked in a hospital environment before. And it took me some time for my nerves to disappear.

When I joined as a desk operations specialist in the first rotation I did with you, I was really shy. I kind of isolated myself, but at the same time I wanted to get involved with more opportunities and to show all of you what I'm capable of.

I absolutely enjoyed it.

It gave me the strength to believe in myself not only as a desk operations specialist, but also helped me get more hands-on experience with patients in Physical Therapy using different tools. I learned so much.

For hard skills, it was navigating into the computer, checking in patients or getting them ready in the exam room. Soft skills were communication skills to advocate for myself. It really did help me a lot as months went by, and I started to grow and evolve more.

Perry: I'm proud of a lot of the things I do at Mayo, but being a mentor was by far the most fulfilling thing I've done so far.

I think we connected from day 1. When you came in, you were very shy, like you said. Your shoulders were slumped. You were looking at the ground a little bit.

To see you go from a person who wasn't sure of himself to what I see you now a year and a half later working on the team — it's as if you have always been on the team. There is no Shy Jose. There is no Jose who doesn't have the confidence that you have.

I remember the first day when I asked you if you like to have lunch by yourself or have someone with you. This broke my heart — you said, "Well, I'm used to being alone at lunch."

That second, I said, "There is no time Jose will ever be alone as long as you're in my rotation. As long as you're here at Mayo, you're always going to have someone to sit with at lunch."

You guys really broke that barrier and made me understand that I was never alone. You gave me hope and belief that I can do so much even if I have a disability. Jose Franco Carrasco

That was what illuminated what Project SEARCH was for me. Yes, it's teaching you to room patients or work on the computer and check patients in. But my goal was to get you confident, to get you to feel like you're part of the team. I wanted to make sure that every day you showed up as an intern, you knew you fit here.

Our team was great with that as well because they made you feel welcome. We enjoyed you, and we started to see you loosen up very quickly.

Franco Carrasco: One of the most impactful moments was right after work, I gathered in the modular buildings with the interns — I call them my friends. We would discuss our daily debriefing. We would share about our days and our departments, which all of us were excited about every day.

Another thing that really impacted me so much was everyone in Project SEARCH, Desk Operations, and Physical Therapy opened my eyes to possibilities I'd never envisioned before.

All my life, I had been struggling so much when I discovered I had a disability after 6th grade. My whole life shattered me, leaving me feeling like I was born with a curse and like I was trapped in a box, where there were only a few things that I could learn.

There's so much that I had never discovered before or learned like everyone else was doing. I felt like I was never going to be accepted.

I felt like, what would people think of me? What will people see in me? Will they accept me for who I am? It was the biggest question I had that was wrapped around my head for so long, but you guys helped me envision something else.

You guys really broke that barrier and made me understand that I was never alone. You gave me hope and belief that I can do so much even if I have a disability. That's never going to stop me from doing what I want to do.

Perry: What you just said about being in a box, I think that is one of the ways that my mentorship aligns with the Mayo Clinic culture and values. When we talk about "Stewardship" as one of the RICH TIES for me in the mentor role, I think that is exactly what you're talking about — teaching you that you don't belong in a box, teaching you confidence.

I could see from the get-go what kind of person you are. You're a hard worker. You care about people. You want to help, so I knew that the challenge was gonna be getting you to actually believe that. I already knew it from day 1. I could see it in your eyes. You were all heart, so to make you believe that that ability was already there — that was my goal.

I think a lot of Project SEARCH interns, at some point in their lives, have felt like outsiders. To be able to make you not feel that way, that's very important to me. It's not something that ends at the end of the rotation. It's not just nine weeks and then goodbye. You really form a bond Jose's my friend, without question.

For you to go from nervous and shy and unsure of yourself to teaching the new interns how to do the job — I can't say there's anything more fulfilling than seeing that. Ian Perry

A tip that I would give potential mentors is to recognize that everyone's going to learn differently. As a mentor, you have to adapt your style to whatever learning style the intern comes in with. Pay attention to the cues they're giving. Pay attention to the effect that your teaching style is having on them. You can adjust it to meet their needs. If you are going to be a mentor, just be open-minded and be ready for any kind of learning style.

Franco Carrasco: What I enjoy most about being at Mayo, No. 1 is definitely helping patients. That's something I've wanted to do all my life — to really help people and do everything that I can to make a patient's day. Even if sometimes you don't make their day, you at least do everything to help that patient.

No. 2 is to feel accepted and be part of the team. Before I was just really shutting down and blocking everything. I was scared that nobody would ever accept me. You guys gave me the hope to be part of the team. You guys gave me opportunities and believed in me, that I can do everything.

Lastly, I'm now a mentor. I am helping a Project SEARCH intern. It really takes me back to when I was an intern. Now I'm here, and I'm training with an intern. It's such a pleasure to do that. I love to help people and to help them learn about the work environment. But also to accept who they are. They can do whatever they want in life. I'm just really excited just to be a mentor.

Perry: And that's it — hearing Jose say that what we mentors and the Project SEARCH group have done is successful. For you to go from nervous and shy and unsure of yourself to teaching the new interns how to do the job — I can't say there's anything more fulfilling than seeing that. You're paying it forward, and it's a beautiful thing to see. I'm so proud of you. I'm proud of all the interns. I feel honored to be a part of it, even in a small or large way. It really means a lot to me.

Franco Carrasco: I want to thank all of you. I want to thank you, Ian. I want to thank everyone in Project SEARCH, Desk Operations and Physical Therapy for helping me become who I am and giving me the confidence to be where I am now.

You gave me that strength back, and I'm so thankful and blessed for this. There are so many opportunities for me to grow. I am a lifelong learner.

Things will take time for sure, but it's never going to stop me. Even with my disability, it will be within me for the rest of my life, it's never going to affect the things I want to do.

You gave me that strength back, and I'm so thankful and blessed for this. There are so many opportunities for me to grow. Jose Franco Carrasco

I can break those obstacles and prove to myself that I can do so much more. I want people to really understand that just because you have a disability, don't let that title be tied to you for the rest of your life. Be proud of who you are and find those people who can help you and support you and make you feel accepted, too.

I wanted to thank my parents, too, for believing in me and for accepting me who I am and not as a failure. I really want to give people hope to never stop doing what they love.

Narrator: Thank you both for sharing your experience with us. Jose, it is inspiring to hear your story as a former Project SEARCH intern, now a confident Mayo Clinic employee who mentors new interns and is doing what you love, helping others.

Ian, thank you for your dedication to establishing an environment where people can thrive. It may be the first time you two didn't have tears talking about your journey, but I certainly did.

Sharing experiences like these increases our understanding of one another and ultimately contributes to finding connections, belonging and inclusion at work. For more stories, subscribe to "Mayo Clinic Employee Experiences" on popular podcast apps.

You can subscribe and share this episode using popular podcast apps. Search the external title of the show, "Mayo Clinic Employee Experiences," on  Deezer ,  iTunes ,  Spotify ,  Stitcher  and  TuneIn . 

Virginia Tech researchers work to make yoga accessible to everyone

The project, a collaboration between the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Virginia Cooperative Extension, and the University Libraries, aims to reach historically underrepresented populations in yoga.

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Therese Osborn and Mary Frazier do a yoga pose in front of a fountain in the Corporate Research Center in Blacksburg, Virginia. Photo by Max Esterhuizen for Virginia Tech.

From the downward dog to the reverse warrior, yoga’s popularity has blossomed recently, partly because of its accessibility to a wide range of people at a variety of skill levels.

With benefits ranging from physical to mental to social and spiritual, yoga offers an approach to holistic well-being. Virginia Tech researchers are working on ways to broaden its appeal even further.

“The historical underrepresentation in yoga makes this the perfect thing to study in regard to equitable translation of health evidence,” said Mary Frazier, who is pursuing her Ph.D. in the Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health Graduate Program and is the graduate student lead on the project. “So many people think yoga isn’t for them and that’s largely because of how it’s often portrayed. We want to find ways to reach the groups that don’t think yoga is for them – because it could be.”

The underrepresentation of people from rural areas in yoga practices highlights significant accessibility and awareness issues, often due to a lack of local resources and classes that could introduce and nurture an inclusive yoga culture, the researchers said.

Additionally, according to the research team, prevailing narratives around body image within the yoga community can deter many from participating, as the physical component of yoga is easier to capture ‘on screen’ (e.g., photo or video), but the imagery often lacks representation of the diversity of human bodies.

“These challenges underscore the need for a more inclusive approach to yoga, one that embraces and promotes diversity in all forms, from geographical background to body shape, ensuring that the benefits of yoga are accessible to all,” said Samantha Harden, an associate professor in the Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise and a Virginia Cooperative Extension specialist.

To help bridge this gap, the research team made up of Harden; Frazier; Brad Frick, a master’s degree student in the School of Communication ; and Therese Osborn, an undergraduate student in public health , as well as Rachel Kaplan, Cassidy Powers, and Kayla Markley, all students in human nutrition, foods, and exercise, created a messaging survey to identify terms and tactics that resonate with the historically underrepresented groups.

The development of a survey aimed at identifying effective tactics and messaging to engage historically underrepresented groups in yoga represents a strategic approach to fostering inclusivity within the practice. Through a collaboration with University Libraries, this research project can leverage advanced data visualization tools and expertise, transforming raw survey data into compelling, easy-to-understand insights that highlight opportunities for outreach and community engagement.

“This partnership not only amplifies the survey's impact through sophisticated analysis but also ensures that the findings are accessible and actionable for stakeholders aiming to create a more inclusive yoga community,” said Harden, who is also affiliated with the Fralin Biomedical Institute.

“It’s going to be interesting to see and transform the raw survey data into insightful and meaningful visualizations," said Michael Stamper, a University Libraries data visualization designer. "Once we can see the stories within that data, we can begin to take notice of and address them.”

The research project also gave Frazier valuable experience as a graduate student.

“This project has been instrumental in advancing my Ph.D. journey, providing a solid foundation for my dissertation on the importance of inclusivity in wellness spaces and highlighting the transformative potential of yoga when it truly embraces diversity in all its forms,” Frazier said. “The research into the underrepresentation of individuals from rural areas in yoga practices has illuminated critical gaps in accessibility and awareness, underscoring the urgent need for community-based interventions and inclusive programming.”

Osborn, a sophomore, was “nervous” when she first joined the lab — it’s the same nervousness that keeps people out of studios: the unknown. She now acknowledges that the experience has equipped her with valuable skills, preparing her for the workforce.

“Dr. Harden, Frazier, Megan Pullin, and the rest of the lab have been so welcoming and encouraging,” Osborn said. “Not only has the lab allowed me to apply what I have learned in my classes, but it has also taught me new things entirely, that help me to feel prepared for the future. This project has taught me how to build a successful survey and analyze qualitative data.”  

Tom Soladay

540-232-2501

• College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
• College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences
• Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise
• Public Health
• School of Communication
• Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health
• University Libraries
• Virginia Cooperative Extension
• Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine

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Announcing 2024 Kempner Institute Research Fellows

Six innovative, early-career scientists awarded fellowships to work on projects that advance the fundamental understanding of intelligence.

Cambridge, MA – The Kempner Institute for the Study of Natural and Artificial Intelligence at Harvard is pleased to announce the recipients of its 2024 Kempner Institute Research Fellowships. The 2024 recipients are Thomas Fel, Mikail Khona, Bingbin Liu, Isabel Papadimitriou, Noor Sajid, and Aaron Walsman.

All six fellowship recipients are early-career scientists, representing a diversity of backgrounds and expertise, who are working on novel research questions at the intersections of natural and artificial intelligence. 

Each fellow will serve for a term of up to three years and will receive salary and research funds, office space, and mentorship. Fellows set their research agenda but are strongly encouraged to work between fields and to collaborate with experts at the Kempner Institute and throughout Harvard University. 

2024 Kempner Research Fellows

Thomas Fel researches large vision models, particularly their explainability and how they align with human vision. Motivated to uncover the secrets behind the exceptional ability of vision models to generalize, Fel blends computational techniques with insights from neuroscience to better grasp the inner workings of these models. This interdisciplinary approach not only aims to enrich the understanding of artificial intelligence but also positions this knowledge as a tool for probing into human intelligence.

Mikail Khona aims to develop tools and approaches to interpret and improve large foundational models. He uses an empirical approach, studying phenomena in these models and reverse-engineering them to identify their origins, attempting to trace back these behaviors to specific aspects of the model’s architecture, training data, or learning algorithms. This approach can improve the robustness and efficiency of these models and inform future model design. In addition, Khona’s work explores the intersection of biology and AI and examines the extent to which deep neural networks provide a natural language to describe biological phenomena.

Bingbin Liu is interested in the mathematical and empirical science of machine learning phenomena. Her research uses simple abstractions as testbeds for understanding complex systems, typically beginning with theoretical analyses and subsequently applying these insights to practical scenarios. Her work has focused on understanding the design choices in self-supervised learning, as well as exploring the capabilities and limitations of Transformers in reasoning. Looking forward, she is especially interested in investigating the factors affecting training efficiency and the reliability of models at inference time.

Isabel Papadimitriou works on understanding and defining the capabilities of large language models in relation to the human language system. Her work centers on two questions, bringing together the human and artificial faculties for language. Firstly, how do large language models work? To this end, she uses analyses from language science and applies them to artificial language learners in order to analyze the language system that LLMs latently encode. Secondly, how can a successful artificial language learner inform our knowledge of the human language system? She empirically tests the limits of artificial language learning under different conditions, to expand our hypothesis space about how human language learning and representation might function.

Noor Sajid aims to imbue artificial agents with the adaptability seen in biological intelligence, enabling these systems to apply learned knowledge to a variety of tasks within small-scale training data regimes. Accordingly, her research is grounded in developing generative models for understanding and mimicking biological decision-making to investigate how artificial agents can adapt to and learn from environmental perturbations, similar to humans and animals. Going forward, she plans to expand these models and delve deeper into the dynamics that facilitate the flexible utilization of acquired information.

Aaron Walsman investigates online information gathering and memory for agents in interactive environments. This work is primarily concerned with complex partially observable settings where an agent must reason about the limits of the information available to them and decide how to conduct further exploration to find the new information necessary to solve a particular task. The long-term goal of this research is to develop AI systems that intelligently reason over very long time horizons by selectively retaining the most important information from the past in order to make plans for improving their understanding in the future.

About the Kempner

The  Kempner Institute  seeks to understand the basis of intelligence in natural and artificial systems by recruiting and training future generations of researchers to study intelligence from biological, cognitive, engineering, and computational perspectives. Its bold premise is that the fields of natural and artificial intelligence are intimately interconnected; the next generation of artificial intelligence (AI) will require the same principles that our brains use for fast, flexible natural reasoning, and understanding how our brains compute and reason can be elucidated by theories developed for AI. Join the   Kempner mailing list   to learn more, and to receive updates and news.

PRESS CONTACT:

Deborah Apsel Lang | (617) 495-7993 [email protected]