1. Choosing a Topic and Developing a Research Question:
* Identifying a broad area of interest: This involves brainstorming and exploring potential topics within their field of study.
* Narrowing the focus: A broad topic needs to be refined into a manageable and specific research question. This question should be researchable and contribute to existing knowledge.
* Preliminary research: Conducting a brief literature review to understand the existing scholarship and identify gaps in knowledge that the paper can address. This helps to refine the research question and ensure its originality and significance.
2. Literature Review and Research Design:
* Conducting a thorough literature review: This involves systematically searching, reading, and evaluating relevant scholarly sources (books, journal articles, etc.) to understand the existing research on the topic. This helps to frame the research question, identify methodologies, and build a theoretical framework.
* Developing a research methodology: Determining the approach (qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods) and methods (e.g., surveys, interviews, experiments, case studies, data analysis techniques) to answer the research question.
* Creating an outline or a detailed plan: This organizes the arguments, evidence, and structure of the paper. It helps ensure a logical flow of ideas and avoids writing aimlessly. This might involve creating a detailed outline or using a mind map.
3. Data Collection and Analysis (if applicable):
* Gathering data: This step is only necessary for research papers involving original research, not literature reviews. This may involve conducting experiments, surveys, interviews, or collecting data from other sources.
* Analyzing data: This involves processing and interpreting the collected data to answer the research question. This often requires using statistical software or qualitative data analysis techniques.
4. Ethical Considerations:
* Ensuring ethical research practices: This involves obtaining necessary permissions (e.g., IRB approval), protecting participant privacy, and avoiding plagiarism.
In short, the pre-writing phase involves substantial planning and groundwork that significantly impacts the quality, coherence, and success of the research paper. It's far more than simply deciding on a topic; it's a process of careful investigation, critical thinking, and strategic planning.