Starting Your Research Project: A Step-by-Step Guide

If you’re reading this, you’re interested in this OWLS-CARE lab. You might be excited about a specific research project, or you might feel a little overwhelmed about where to begin. Don't worry—you've got this! Research is a process, and it’s perfectly normal to feel unsure at first. I’m here to walk you through some key steps to make your project manageable, efficient, and, dare I say, enjoyable!

1. Start with a Thorough Exploration of Your Topic

Before you dive in, take a good look at your project idea. Ask yourself: Is my topic feasible and viable? You’ve likely had a few weeks to think about your research focus, but now it’s time to refine it. You’ll want to start drafting several research questions that are of interest to you—writing these questions down will allow you to determine: What exactly do I want to explore?

2. Research Existing Scholarship

Your next step should always be to look at what’s already out there. Head over to Wikipedia, Google Scholar, ChatGPT, etc. and search via several key terms scholarly publications on your topic. Not only will this give you a sense of what has been studied, but it will also help you identify critical issues, proposed solutions, opposing viewpoints, and even gaps in the literature that your project can address. Aim to find 10-20 scholarly sources that have been published within the last ten years.

As you search, jot down which keywords you’re using and which sources pop up. This will come in handy when you put together your annotated bibliography—a document where you summarize the key points from each source and explain how it’s relevant to your research. Within a week, aim to have a list of these sources (in an academic style of your choice), along with your notes on each one. Note that you can cut and paste from abstracts, and that you can place references in Chat GPT to list them in a style format you request.

3. Narrow Your Focus

One of the most common challenges is focusing a topic that’s too broad or vague. For example, you might be thinking about comparing "dual language immersion" to how Germans learn English. But let’s break that down a bit.

• "Germans learning English" is a broad phrase. Who exactly are we talking about? Germany has 16 different federal states, each with its education systems and policies. Plus, are you focusing on children, teenagers, or adults? What type of school (college prep Gymnasium, or vocational track Realschule?)
• The field of dual language immersion (DLI) is also expansive. You’ll want to be specific here, too. Which kind of dual language immersion programs are you focusing on? Are you looking at elementary, middle, or high school? Are you looking at DLI with German, in the state of Georgia, or something else?

As you can see, narrowing your focus is essential for making your project more manageable.

4. Write a Literature Review

Once you’ve narrowed your focus, gathered your research on the revised and more narrowly defined topic with research question(s), it’s time to write up a literature review. This text will summarize the main scholarly findings on your topic and should draw on at least three recent, academic-scholarly sources. What are the key issues that have been discussed? Which opposing views or critical debates in the field have you identified? What solutions have been proposed to solve these problems?

The literature review is crucial because it shows you’ve done your homework. It situates your project within existing research and gives you the foundation to build your own argument.

5. Consider Interviews and Attitudinal Surveys Carefully

Interviews and attitudinal surveys can be a fantastic way to gather original data and bring your project to life. However, they come with important ethical considerations. In academic research, interviews fall under Human Subjects Research, which means you’ll need to undergo CITI training (don’t worry—it’s free!). This training ensures that you understand how to conduct interviews ethically and how to protect your participants' rights. Once you are certified (also a great resumé entry!), you can move toward identifying the best method of data collection for your project: You can draw from existing instruments (best are those that have been tested to be reliable and valid), or you can create your own (which is a much more complex undertaking if done right).

Before you administer an interview or survey, you’ll also need to write up a consent form for your interviewees or study subjects, explaining how their information will be recorded, stored, and used. Only once you’re certified and have your data collection instruments and consent forms ready, you can begin with data collection from human subjects.

6. Ask for Help—It’s Okay!

Finally, I want to remind you that research is a process, and you’re not expected to know everything from the start. It’s totally okay to ask questions or feel confused about the steps involved. If this is your first time tackling a research project, it’s natural not to know all the details. My role is to guide you through this, step by step, so that you can produce high-quality, ethical research that you’re proud of.

So take a deep breath and take it one step at a time. You’ve got this!

References

Adler, A., & Beyer, R. (2018). Languages and language policies in Germany / Sprachen und Sprachenpolitik in Deutschland. In G. Stickel (Ed.), National language institutions and national languages: Contributions to the EFNIL Conference 2017 in Mannheim (pp. 221-242). Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

CITI Program. (n.d.). Human subjects research (HSR). https://about.citiprogram.org/en/series/human-subjects-research-hsr/

Google Scholar. (n.d.). Google Scholar. https://scholar.google.com

What Works Clearinghouse, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. (2023, December). Dual language programs. https://whatworks.ed.gov