What is the Research Process

The research process has many uses across many types of media, and even in schools! This process involves identifying, locating, assessing and analyzing the information that’s going to be used to support your question. If you own a business that produces a product, you’ve used the research process to decide what question or cause your product helps.

But, funnily enough, not too many people really know what goes into the research process other than what they’ve done in the past—there is a process to it, folks, it isn’t just common sense (though some may argue that it is).

The research process is often used to complete a project, write a paper, create presentations, or even find things around your home. As you use this process, you’re going to rethink, revise, add additional material or even adjust your topic or your niche.

It’s a process of discovery.

Typically, there are seven steps, to make it manageable and easier to understand.

What Are The Steps?

The steps are as follows:

• Choose a Topic (or a niche)

• Collect Background Information

• Organize Information and Sources

• Evaluate Information and Write Research Questions

• Write Draft (or record draft)

• Edit, Correct and Revise

• Write (or record) Final Draft

How does this play into podcasting? Podcasts rely on giving their audience expert opinions on a niche topic. The first step, choose a topic, applies directly to podcasting as it is. Each podcast is going to have a topic within your overall niche that you’re covering. You need to pick and plan your episodes, so that you can ensure they’re viable.

You’re going to research and collect background information about your podcast topics, because you are going to want to present information with citations to make yourself seem more credible in the field, even if it’s your business or product you’re discussing.

From there you’ll want to organize your information along with the sources that goes to each tidbit of information. This allows you to start working on a script, or even just create notecards to use during your show.

After that, you’ll want to evaluate that information and the sources with it. Is the information accurate? The sources credible? You want to be an expert so you want to sound like an expert in your field. And you definitely don’t want to use resources that aren’t on the up-and-up providing real information.

Write your script draft! Practice recording. You’ll want to do this a few times to ensure your podcast, if live, will go smoothly. Of course, there’ll be kinks—there are always kinks—but you won’t sound like you had no idea what you were doing or talking about.

After that, you’ll edit your script, edit the information, shift stuff around to where it reads better and sounds better. Then, you’ll record your final draft—typically this will be when your pre-recorded episode goes live, or you go live in person for the podcast.

Remember, folks, you’ve used this process your entire lives, and may not have realized it.