7 Research Tips for School Project

Research Tips for School Project

The Students Research Project is one of the Greatest Challenges for Undergraduates. This they can do by choosing a research topic, conducting research about it, and then coming out with a definite result. If it’s that simple, why is it the most challenging?

The truth is that it isn’t that simple, the processes involved and the other factors can hamper your ability to carry out your research effectively.

We have been there before, so we understand what it is like, having to navigate through a full research work alone and we are here to help you learn the basics. This article will help you understand the steps required for a Successful Research work while providing you with necessary tips for Successful Project writing. Below are the steps required to achieve a successful research project work.

1. Choose a Topic

This is the very first thing to do when conducting your research, there has got to be a Focus. Choosing a topic is not easy on its own, most students get stuck at this very point for a very long time and cannot seem to find that perfect Topic. In order to choose a Research topic, you need to follow a process.

Firstly, you must come up with a Topic that Interests you. Interest is very important while writing your project because that is what will drive you till the very end. You can go through your past seminar projects and term papers, try searching for topics that interest you and use it.

Secondly, search online sources for assistance. Most times, even from past works, the Perfect Ideas refuse to flow, and the remedy becomes online sources. The Internet has proven to be Man’s Best Friend and always helps out when called upon. It best explains why you can find millions of research project topics on the Internet and still count. To help yourself out of your dilemma, ask the Internet and get answers.

Thirdly, ask your Supervisor. Every student is assigned a Supervisor for his research project, they help to monitor progress and make inputs where necessary. The Supervisor can also help you get a good project topic, so when your research for a Topic fails, you might just have your saviour in your Supervisor. He or she might go as far as providing you with materials to aid your work.

Fourthly, Check the Scope of your Topic. Sometimes we choose a Research topic without considering how voluminous it is, just based on the fact that we found it interesting. Most times, the Case study attached to the topic broadens the scope to make a choice that will help you work within your capacity.

I purposely stressed this part because it has proven to be the most difficult thing for most students, even more than the research work itself, they just cannot seem to choose a Topic. Most of them finally end up choosing topics that will prove to be wrong ideas in the end.

2. Search for Reference Materials

I will want to believe you have come up with a good and interesting topic, the next step will be to look for relevant materials. Note that the amount of information you have about your chosen topic will determine how far you will go with it. At this point, if you are starved of sufficient information, you might need to reconsider your topic or opt to go hard for more information. Gather as much data as possible, Books, Online Journals, Articles, Term Papers, Dictionaries etc. Your reference materials can come from anywhere, as long as they are relevant to the topic at hand.

3. Evaluate Your Sources

This is a good time to draft a reference list. You would not want to finish with your Literature review and then turn back to start tracing your sources. The credibility of your sources is very important. Providing wrong sources or crediting someone else with another person’s statement is not acceptable at all, so it is good you take your time to evaluate your sources to confirm genuineness.

4. Draft your Research Questions

These questions are the questions your entire work is meant to answer, this is the focus of your entire work. It helps you stay on course throughout the period of your work. Ask yourself, “What do I hope to achieve with this research project?”, the answer to this will form your research questions as they will be geared towards achieving this aim.

5. Draft and Send Out Your Questionnaire

I know some scholars will argue with this one but it is necessary for you to send out your questionnaire in good time. The reason is that sometimes, the responses to the questions might not come back in good time and in turn slows the process down. In order to avoid this issue, it is advised to draft the questionnaire early enough and send them out too. It is better to have the answers handy before getting to the latter part of the Research work, than to be left hanging, waiting for the responses to come back to you.

6. Start Writing

You have gathered as much information as you can and have made lots of enquiries, the next thing is to put them down. Write them smartly, start your work as quickly as possible and you will see more ideas flowing in. The sources you jotted down would now prove useful at this stage.

7. Cite Your sources clearly

When writing your Research Project, your sources should be clearly stated for easy attribution. This is the reason why you have to gather the reference list on the spot so you have them handy.

Also Read: Using Mendeley in Citation -8 ways Mendeley makes referencing easier

Writing your Project is a Necessity and is crucial to your academic work, you must add value to society at large. You have to be dedicated to seeing through it, and pay attention to details. With these important steps, I believe your Project work is one step closer to completion. Goodluck.

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