Developing a research framework

Figure out what your research question issue is

Sometimes, like in the case of an essay question, you will already know but other times you can browse the internet to help you find a topic you want to explore further.

If you have no idea what your issue means, do some general reading about it. This is important, because before you can start to create a framework you need to know general facts about the issue. This research should not be intense, but just enough for you to be able to explain what it is in a paragraph.

Pull yourself away from the computer!

It’s time to put that old fashioned pen to paper and ask yourself what you want to know about the topic. If you are researching for an essay you should look at the question itself as a guideline and see what areas you could cover. Write down some questions or headings. For example if your topic is Skin Cancer in Australia, come up with questions like; how does it occur? Who does it affect? How dangerous is it? What is Australia doing about it?

Once you have questions to cover the range of information you have come across in your research ask yourself if this satisfies everything you need or want to know about the topic.

Doing your research

Each heading should now represent a specific topic area and can be used as the framework for your research.

When approaching the research you should do it in sections. Start by looking for information under your first heading and so on

Don’t be afraid NOT to use information!

Sometimes you will find that one text or website can answer multiple headings for you. This is ok as long as you are careful to use only the information that is relevant to your headings. There are plenty of resources that you do not need and it is important to identify these.