Determine your sample. If you are interested in researching how many teachers have second jobs, for example, you might randomly sample 10 teachers each from 200 different school districts in your state. If you are interested in finding out how many people buy a chew toy when a dog is present, you might stand in your local pet store and observe behavior directly.
Formulate your tool of measurement. If administering a survey, make sure it's easy to understand and not prohibitively lengthy. If you are interviewing shoppers about their cat toy purchasing behavior, ask the same questions to each subject and record their answers.
Administer your survey, interview or observation, or collect the data you have determined necessary.
Analyze your results. There are a number of software programs that can be useful in analysis, such as Microsoft Excel and Minitab, although having some background in statistics or research methods will be necessary to accurately analyze your results.
Report your findings. Describe the method you used to select your sample, formulate your measurement tool, administer the study and analyze the results. Advise the reader of your report on what your findings suggest and areas for further research.