A number of factors must be kept in mind before you begin researching. You must be willing to accept ideas of all kinds and remain spontaneous. To quote Albert Einstein, “If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?”
Choose the leitmotif
The commencement of any research kick-starts after one has narrowed in on the topic on which the research has to be carried out. Be very clear and familiarise yourself about the areas that relate to the subject.
Make a Plan
Formulate the approach to go about the course of the research. Consider the type and amount of information that you will require, chalk out the sources from where you will dig up the information and set a time frame as a deadline would help you focus better without allowing your mind to drift elsewhere as research can sometimes become monotonous and mundane.
Study Material
It is not enough to merely stack piles and piles of study material and then stress over how you would go through each and every line of the assemblage. What is crucial is procuring the right learning materials from the right sources and doing “Selective study”. From the plethora of learning substances available both on the web and otherwise, it is easier to get overwhelmed and that leads to over indulging in those subject matters that may not be relevant to your research topic.
This not only wastes your time and energy but also exhausts your brain to the point that you are unable to remember even the most important details and tend to neglect them while doing your research.
Potential sources of information could be books, documentaries, government records and interviews, surveys and opinions, archives in newspapers, libraries, public institutions, online databases and websites, magazines and journals of scholars and interaction at a personal level with the intellectuals involved in the subject.
Time
There is no such thing as last-night panic study for research. In order to carry out a successful research, one must invest time, perseverance and constant dedication to their work.
Analytical Skills
Simply reading and re-reading and jotting down the facts memorised after re-phrasing them will not help in processing an effective research. It is necessary to analyse what you read, ask pertinent and interpretive questions wherever the need arises to do so and form judgements based on logical reasons and rational conclusions.
