The Research Journey: Four Steps to Success

This chapter provides an overview of the research journey from start to finish and to demystify the business of research. Research can also seem like a mysterious process: an arcane art practised by the cleverest people, employing obscure jargon and demanding an awesome depth of knowledge. The chapter offers an antidote to this intimidating view of research. It divides in to four part: reviewing the field; theory building; theory testing and reflecting and integrating. Many research projects arise from a study of current thinking in a field. The research project follows from identifying a gap in the literature. Most other research projects arise from awareness of a problem that is worth solving. Reflection and integration comprise the last stage of the research journey. There is a considerable diversity of approaches to research in different fields, but this four-part framework is sufficiently broad to encompass most research in the sciences, the social sciences and the humanities.