Research Process and Terminology

Research Process and Terminology
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Research Process and Terminology
A research process is driven by the need to prove a point. Therefore, the central element in the research is a topic and thesis statement that is proven in the research paper. This paper will examine the belief that there are rising crime rates in America to describe the research process.
Select a topic
In writing a research paper, topic selection is the first step (May, 2011). The topic selected has to have some room for further research or clarification. The aim of the study is to clarify, to raise further questions or to dispute an element in the topic. The example selected for this paper, the issue of rising crime rates in the country is open to different interpretations. For example, the rates of crime have reduced since 1992. In this step, the selected topic is ‘to examine the relevance of the belief that crime rates are increasing.'
Literature review
It follows that from a topic, the next step is to review what other researchers have proposed. After the identification of the topic, the researcher needs a deeper understanding of a particular topic. Literature review, particularly review of recent literature, updates the mind of the researcher and highlights important areas of study in the field. After the review, the researcher is well placed to single out a specific area in a broad topic that can be covered in the research. In addition, literature reviews highlights important methodologies and the conclusions drawn from these methodologies. In this way, they help reduce the incidence of skewed studies.
For example, after reading about the situation of crime in the country, one comes to the realization that the crime rates have been dropping. A deeper study reveals that an increase in safety concerns is raised by people's increasingly high standards for security as well as media coverage. According to Frank E. Hagan, people f...