1. Identifying the Research Topic
1.1. Reviewing existing literature
1.1.1. Reading academic articles
1.1.2. Exploring books
1.1.3. Looking at thesis/dissertation databases
1.2. Identifying gaps in knowledge
1.2.1. Evaluate unpublished works
1.2.2. Reviewing recent conference proceedings
1.2.3. Studying current events/news
1.3. Formulating the research question
1.3.1. Defining the scope of research
1.3.2. Ensuring the topic is researchable
2. Developing the methodology
2.1. Choosing the research design
2.1.1. Survey
2.1.2. Interview
2.1.3. Observation
2.1.4. Experiment
2.1.5. Case Study
2.2. Sampling methods
2.2.1. Probability sampling
2.2.2. Non-probability sampling
2.3. Data collection techniques
2.3.1. Primary data
2.3.2. Secondary data
3. Writing the research report
3.1. Writing the introduction
3.1.1. Statement of the problem
3.1.2. Objectives of the study
3.1.3. Significance of the study
3.2. Writing the methods section
3.3. Writing the results section
3.4. Writing the discussion
3.5. Concluding the report
3.6. Citing References
3.6.1. The importance of citation
3.6.2. Understanding different citation styles: APA, MLA, Harvard, etc.
4. Review of Literature
4.1. Search strategies
4.1.1. Boolean operators
4.1.2. Truncations
4.1.3. Use of citation indexes
4.2. Critical reading
4.2.1. Noting down key points
4.2.2. Identifying the methodology
4.2.3. Analysing the results
4.2.4. Reviewing the conclusion
4.3. Synthesizing the literature
4.3.1. Summarizing the findings
4.3.2. Identifying themes in your reading
5. Data analysis
5.1. Coding the data
5.1.1. Manual coding
5.1.2. Computer-assisted coding