Introduction > Getting Started in Science > Before You Begin Your Research

Before You Begin Your Research When you're thinking about your research question, there are a few things you should bear in mind - it should be original, interesting and achievable. Originality is the key An important aspect of scientific research is to know what's been done before in your research area; this will give you the best chance of contributing something original to your area of study. One way of doing this is to conduct a literature review, which will help identify the types of work that had been done before, as well as identifying areas for possible future research. Doing original research rarely means coming up with a fantastic idea that nobody has ever thought of before. You can, though, add variations to existing research by: applying new technologies (for instance by using the newly developed Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope to investigate flower initiation instead of the more traditional light microscopes) investigating a new avenue (the use of Aminolevulinic Acid as a growth promoter instead of a herbicide) adding a new theory to existing research. Does the research interest you? Research can be one of the most rewarding things you’ll ever do – but only if you choose a research topic and question that interests you. If, however, you choose a topic because you think it’ll be easy, because it’s been in the news recently, or because someone else suggested it’d be good, your time and effort could be wasted. Your research also has to interest others – including the people who’ll be reading and/or assessing your work! Is your research achievable? There may be constraints that prevent you from studying your preferred research topic or question. Before you start your research it's important to think about the following: do you have enough time to conduct your research and write up your results? do you need specific materials/resources for you research, and if so, does your supervisor/department have a budget to cover the costs? do you need specialist facilities and are they available? have you taken account of any ethical considerations, eg are you experimenting with animals or developing questionnaires for the public to fill out? Although disappointing, it is important to establish at this stage if you cannot continue with your chosen area of research. The last thing you need is to spend hours preparing and researching your topic, THEN finding out that you can’t do it. Exercise Think about your research question and answer the four questions above. Once you have your answers, discuss them with your supervisor

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