The Conceptualization of Your Research

Research begins with refining a research idea into a research question.

First, a general idea of interest emerges; perhaps from a brainstorming session, an examination of past projects, or a given directive.

Next, a more narrowed and specific topic will need to be defined. Before this is achieved however, a preliminary review of literature will usually be warranted as literature reviews can reveal related factors to help further define the research question.

Review of Literature

"Literature search is a systematic and well-organised search from the already published data to identify a breadth of good quality references on a specific topic. The reasons for conducting literature search are numerous that include drawing information for making evidence-based guidelines, a step in the research method and as part of academic assessment. However, the main purpose of a thorough literature search is to formulate a research question by evaluating the available literature with an eye on gaps still amenable to further research" (Literature search for research planning and identification of research problem).