Before you start your research or study, check whether other people have done the same research that you are about to do. You can check the Internet, your local library or other resources. By looking for comparable studies, you can avoid the same mistakes other researchers have made or get more ideas to enrich your research.
Observation is one of the methods you can use to carry out research data collection. Observation may be participant/overt, in which people know that you are observing them, or non-participant/covert, in which people don't know that you are watching them. You have to carefully record and time your observations for them to be valid for your research.
A questionnaire is a set of questions that you ask the respondents. The questions have to be relevant to your study, and clear and concise enough to be easily understood by all participants. Administer your questionnaire by phone, email, face-to-face conversations, or by using a website survey.
Experimentation is a common method used for research. Experiments can be as simple as a mold-growing project or as complex as offshore oil drilling. Every experiment has a design, and the purpose of an experiment is to test out hypotheses or theories. The experiment must have a clear question which it seeks to clarify.