Think of an original question or hypothesis in your field. An example might be: "Why are there more women wearing the scarf at work in Syria than before?"
Narrow your question or hypothesis to group of people, region, or specific action. For example, the earlier question might be: "Why are more women in Damascus wearing a scarf at work?"
Determine the quantitative or qualitative method through which you can answer your question or prove your hypothesis. Quantitative methods usually involve statistics from surveys and observation while qualitative methods involve analysis of interviews and observation. Determine the quantity or amount of time needed to conduct the research. Observation will require a considerable amount of time while interviews will require a sizable number of subjects.
Ask a professor or scholar to review your research proposal. They will be able to tell you if your research design is reasonable.
Apply for Institutional Review Board approval if you wish to publish or use your research later on. IRB approval is needed for any research that involves human subjects before any research begins. Research conducted before receiving IRB approval is not validated by the IRB and therefore not subject to publishing.
Inform the subjects of your research of your research topic and make sure they sign a IRB-approved consent form before you begin interviewing, surveying or observing them. Sometimes, IRB will waive the need for signed consent forms, especially if the subjects cannot write. However, you will still be obligated to inform them of their rights as subjects in a research project.
Keep copious amounts of notes and observations. Label each note with the date, time and place so that you will remember the context of the note later. Include your thoughts and observations. The information gathered will be from the your interviews, surveys or research. Observations can come from places you visit that are not directly connected to your interviews and surveys but pertain to the topic you are researching.
Gather information from a variety of sources. Information can be gathered from interviews, research gathered from NGOs or other organizations that collect data, newspaper or magazine articles. Different perspectives can also be gathered by observing or interviewing people in different areas of a city/region.
Analyze the data. Write a paper that details the conclusion you have developed using the data. Consult with a professor or scholar while writing the paper.