Blog / Our suggestions on how to begin your research

There is always more than one way of accomplishing any task, and doing research is no exception. After much trial and error, the experienced researcher usually arrives at some system that has proved itself to be the best for him or her. However the individual systems may vary, there are ten basic steps that provide a logical method for research. They result in an ease of procedure for the researcher, the ultimate economy of time and effort, the assurance that comes from following a time-tested procedure, accuracy in the result, and the most universal acceptance by examining scholars. As you proceed, you may think that you can eliminate a step or two in the process, only to find later that you have created some extra ones to make up for the detour.

Step 1 FIND A SUBJECT.

Step 2 READ A GENERAL ARTICLE.

Step 3 FORMULATE A TEMPORARY THESIS AND A TEMPORARY
OUTLINE.

Step 4 PREPARE THE PRELIMINARY BIBUOGRAPHY.

Step 5 TAKE NOTES FROM RELEVANT SOURCES.

Step 6 LABEL NOTECARDS AND REVISE THE WORKING OUTLINE.

Step 7 WRITE THE FIRST DRAFT.

Step 8 REVISE THE TEXT; WRITE AN INTRODUCTION AND A
CONCLUSION.

Step 9 FILL IN PARENTHETICAL REFERENCES OR FOOTNOTES ON THE
DRAFT.

Step 10 PUT THE PAPER IN FINAL FORM.