Scholarly DNP Project I

The Research Process Video Transcript

Research is such a vast area that sometimes it is hard to know where to start. A good way to think of research is as a process. There are several steps in this process, and in reality, it is not linear. It helps to visualize it as an iterative cycle at any step of the process.

Research process begins with the formulation of a research problem. You scope out and identify the topic you wish to research, specify the problem, and justify the importance of studying it. Then review of the literature to evaluate the theory that has been written about the topic in order to understand what has already been done, what ideas are already out there, who the experts in the area are, and the major publications in the field that you will need to cite. Most importantly, it allows you to identify the major gaps and where your research fits into this.

You then develop the research questions, aims, hypotheses, or the theoretical and conceptual framework. This is a tentative answer or direction in which you believe the research will go. It provides a lens for how you will explain findings, as well as a structural map for your research journey. Then you form the research design. This involves assessing the timelines and feasibility of your research, making decisions about the type of data you need, and the methods and tools you will use to collect and analyze it. You'll need to decide on which research approach you will use, whether that be quantitative, qualitative, or mixed method. If you are doing primary research that involves participants or animal testing or looking into potentially sensitive information in secondary sources, ethics approval will need to be obtained prior to conducting your research.

The data collection stage involves taking measurements, observing or gathering information, often in carefully controlled situations. Once you have all your data, you analyze and interpret your findings to identify themes or patterns, discuss the findings and draw conclusions by evaluating your original hypotheses, aims, framework, and the research questions with reference to the evidence in the published literature.

The final step is reporting your findings. Remember, the only way that research gets disseminated or translated into action is by you telling the research community and the wider community about your findings.