STEPS IN RESEARCH AGENDA

INTRODUCTION
In the last unit, you learnt how to select a research problem and the guiding principles which
underly the selection. Every research problem should have some components. These components include objectives, research questions and hypotheses problem statement etc. After you have selected, shaped and refined your research problem, it becomes very important that you look at the feasibility of the study. In this unit, you are going to look at the steps in the research agenda, including some components of the research problem.

 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:-

• List the steps in a research process. 
• Explain the components of setting the problem 
• Propose some hypotheses for your study 
• Discuss the types of variables 
• Explain the feasibility of a research problem. 

 MAIN CONTENT

COMPONENT OF SETTING THE PROBLEM

In every research process or encounter, there are components which help in shaping and refining
the problem in order to provide a focus and manageable scope for the research. These components help you to quicken the pace of the study and that of the reader of the research report in understanding it. Before we look at these components, let us first list the steps which you will follow when conducting your research.

Step I. identifying the problem

You have already studied this step in details in the last unit. But let us say that it involves  the discovery and definition of scientific research problem within a topic area which you have chosen to study. It may include questions which require answer in our area of study. For instance, what are the causes and effects of lecturers strike on the standard of Education in Nigeria? Are men better managers than women?

Step II. Constructing Hypotheses

When you identify a researchable problem, it automatically leads to the proposition of a  hypothesis as a tentative answer. Once you have identified a problem, you use the logical processes of deduction and induction to formulate an expectation of the outcome of the study. This expectation should be stated and tested. This implies that you are hypothesizing about the probable relationship existing between the concepts, variables identified in the problem. The hypotheses are the pointers to your solutions.

Step III. Identifying and labeling the variables

The next step is to identify and label all the variables in the problem and hypotheses stated. There are different types of variables in research. We shall look at them later.

Step IV. Proposing Operational definition of terms

All terms, concepts and variables should be converted from their abstract or conceptual forms to
operational forms that can be quantified or measured using some forms of specified measurement instruments. In technical terms, when you aperationalise the variables in your research, it means that you are stating them in observable and measurable forms which make them available for clear understanding, definition, manipulation, control and examination.

Step V. Manipulating and controlling variables.

If you have to manipulate and control the variables in your study, you must understand the
concepts of internal and external validity. This is because you need to control or manipulate and regulate these variables in order to study the relationship between variables in research. You will have them discussed later.

Step VI.Constructing the Research Design

You can describe a research design as a specification or plan of operation for the testing of a
stated hypothesis under a given set of conditions. It comes in specific types such as one-variable design, factorial design, experimental and quasi-experimental design etc.

Step VII. Identifying and constructing data collection Devices

After defining your variables and choosing the design for the study you need to adopt, adapt or
develop some instruments for measuring the selected variables. You can use standardized instruments or construct your own as you have learnt in this course.

Step VIII. Constructing Questionnaires and Interview Schedules:

Most research studies in the social sciences and business rely on questionnaires and interviews as
their source of data. You should employ recommended guidelines to develop and use these measurement devices for your data collection to test your hypotheses.

Step IX. Sampling and Collection of Data:-

As soon as you have got your instrument for data collection, you are expected to choose your
respondents or subjects. You to do this according to some specified statistical methods of sampling either in the random techniques or non-random way. After getting your respondents or samples from the population of your target, you now administer the instruments to them in order to extract the needed information from them.

Step X. Carrying out Statistical Analysis or Data Analysis

The data you have collected above must be reduced, arranged and presented in an arranged and
presented in an organized form for easy analysis. The data as organized are subjected to specified or suitable statistical indices for testing the hypothesis in order to generate some results or findings. From these conclusions, generalizations are drawn. You can employ the use of computers for easy and accurate data analysis. This aspect is very sensitive and requires some professional expertise, care and endurance.

Step XI. Discussion of Research Findings

You have to discuss at this stage, your research findings or the results from the data analysis.
This is to justify, interprete, explain and further develop a given theory for knowledge based on the findings generated. This is where you show your disposition and prowess. You have to note that the discussion flows normally in the context and direction of the information collected in the process of review of related literature. The implication is that you have to make thorough and adequate review of literature related to your topic or area of study. This is because sound literature review in research makes for very sound and balanced discussions of the findings or results.

Step XII. Drawing Conclusions, Generalizations and Recommendation

At this stage you are expected to draw your conclusions from your findings and to make
generalizations of the findings generated from the samples to the larger population from which the sample was drawn. It is very important that your findings must be valid, your generalizations
must be correct and your recommendations from the research findings must be possible for application so as to bring progress in the development and practice of the area.

Step XIII. Writing the Research Report:

Writing the final research report is very important and constitutes the major secretariat or clerical
activities of the research process. There are different styles and formats with their respective instructions and guidelines. You can therefore choose a desired format in order to produce your final research report. The American Psychological Association (APA) format is the most popular and most used in research. Your supervisor will make it available to you if you demand it.