Before beginning any research, the student must first select an area or topic to research in a broad category and then narrow the category to a manageable level. Upon deciding what to research, the student needs an adviser who is the faculty member involved in helping him through the research process. The student can draw up plans for the research during the preparation phase as well.
The initial research is the part of the project where students find out what is already available on the topic. This means finding out what other doctors have researched or written, what questions remain unanswered and what problems in the topic are already solved. Finding out the background of the topic allows for coming up with the most appropriate methods of researching the topic.
Students need to write up a proposal and obtain approval for the research method before they are able to start. The proposal should show the question, provide some background and detail the methods of research to use in the thesis. Proposals should have all of the planned-out details.
Depending on the topic, research and experiments for the thesis will vary. For example, a doctoral degree in science might require direct testing, while a degree in a topic like psychology might make use of interviews and surveys. Possible methods of study include experimentation, interviews, surveys, observing the participants in the research or literature reviews.
Upon completing experiments, interviews, surveys or any other method of researching, the information needs organization into a logical order. For example, a thesis on ancient cultures might use a linear organization, while a topic on sciences might organize the data by type or data collection methods.
The analysis and conclusion stage is the time when doctoral students look over the data and determine how it relates to the topic or research question and what it says about the topic. The student then draws up conclusions based on the research.
Upon completing the research, the doctoral thesis is written. The method of writing varies depending on the type of doctoral degree and the topic of research, but it should include any graphs or charts made during the research, trends and the conclusions drawn from the researching process.