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You already do research. You just don't call it that.

Before buying a new phone, you probably read reviews, asked friends, compared prices, and maybe tried one in the shop. You had a question, gathered information, and made a decision.

Research is that same habit, done carefully and openly, so that other people can check your answer and trust it.

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No background needed
What is research?

A careful, organised way of finding answers.

The key word is organised. You decide your question first, plan how you will answer it, collect information in a fair way, and report exactly what you did.

Three ways to answer the same question
A guessI think most patients stop their antibiotics early.Based on a feeling.
Checkable
An opinionMy colleagues say patients stop early.Based on what a few people believe.
Checkable
ResearchWe asked a fair sample of patients the same questions and counted the answers.Based on a plan anyone can check.
Checkable
Research does not guarantee the answer is right. It means anyone can see how you got it, and repeat it to check.
Why do research?

Because guessing is expensive.

In health care, a wrong assumption can harm patients. Research replaces "we've always done it this way" with "here is what we found."
1To solve real problems. Find out why something goes wrong, so it can be fixed.
2To check what works. Test whether a new treatment, service or idea actually helps.
3To describe what is happening. How common is something, and who does it affect?
4To make better decisions. Doctors, pharmacists and governments choose better with evidence than with habit.
5To add to what we know. Every study is a brick that others can build on.
Two approaches

Numbers or words? Two ways to find an answer.

Many studies use both: numbers show how big a problem is, words explain why it happens. This is called mixed methods.

How many? How often? "Why did you stop early?" "I felt better, so…" "Tell me more about that."
Try it

Which approach fits each question?

Read each question and decide: counting (quantitative) or exploring (qualitative)? Tap to check.

Quality

What makes research good, and what ruins it.

Each card shows a way research goes wrong. Tap it to see the fix.

0 of 6 fixed

How it's done

Every research project follows the same journey.

Our example for the next seven stepsA pharmacist notices patients coming back with the same infection a week later. Did they stop their antibiotics too early? Let's research it.
Made-up example
Answers spark new questions 1Spot a problemWhat needs answering? 2See what's knownRead what others found 3Set your aimWrite clear objectives 4Choose what to measurePick your variables 5Collect the dataWho to ask, and how 6Make sense of itClean, check, analyse 7Share itSo others can use it
Step 1 of 7 · Spot a problem

Start with a problem worth solving.

A research problem is a gap between what is happening and what should happen, where nobody yet has a clear answer.

Before you pick one, ask yourself five questions. Tap each one as you check it.

Step 1 of 7 · Spot a problem

From problem to title.

In our example, the pharmacist turns what she noticed into a question she can answer, and then into a title.

A good title tells the reader what, who and where, in one line.
Problem

Patients return with the same infection.

↓
Question

Do patients at our clinic finish their antibiotic course, and if not, why?

↓
Title

Completion of antibiotic courses, and reasons for stopping early, among outpatients at a community clinic

Made-up example
Step 2 of 7 · See what's known

Find out what others have already found.

This is called a literature review: reading earlier studies on your topic. It stops you repeating old work, shows how others measured the same thing, and reveals what is still missing.

Go deeperLiterature reviews, simply explained
→
In our exampleShe finds studies from other countries, but few from clinics like hers, and almost none that asked patients why they stopped. That gap is what her study will fill.
A good review doesn't just list studies. It connects them and points to the gap your study fills.
Step 3 of 7 · Set your aim

Decide exactly what you want to find out.

An objective is a clear statement of what your study will do. It keeps you focused and tells you what data to collect.

Your objectives become the backbone of your research proposal, the written plan for your whole study. We put it all together after Step 7.
General objective: the big aim

To study how well outpatients at Clinic X complete their antibiotic course.

Specific objectives: the measurable steps

1. To determine the proportion of patients who complete their course.

2. To identify the reasons patients give for stopping early.

3. To compare completion between younger and older patients.

Weak"To understand antibiotic use." Understand what, exactly? How would you know you've done it?
StrongStarts with an action you can check: determine, identify, compare, measure, describe.
Made-up example
Step 4 of 7 · Choose what to measure

Name the things you will measure.

A variable is anything that can change from one person to another, like age, a test score, or whether someone finished their medicine.

CategoricalFits into groups: yes or no, male or female, age group.
NumericalA number you count or measure: age in years, doses missed.
INDEPENDENT DEPENDENT Age Understood instructions Side effects Finished thecourse? (yes/no) Type of antibiotic

Tap to see what can fool you.

Step 5 of 7 · Collect the data

You don't need to ask everyone.

Data can be primary (you collect it yourself) or secondary (it already exists, like hospital records or national surveys).

QuestionnaireInterviewObservationRecords reviewMeasurements
Population the whole pot Sample one spoonful
You don't drink the whole pot to know if soup needs salt. You stir it well and taste a spoonful. Stirring is choosing people fairly.
Step 5 of 7 · Collect the data

How you choose people changes the answer.

Probability samplingEveryone has a known chance of being picked, like a random draw from the patient list. Best for saying something about everyone.
Non-probability samplingPicked by convenience or judgement, like whoever walks in today. Easier, but may not represent everyone.
Made-up example
Step 6 of 7 · Make sense of it

Clean up the data, then find the story.

1Sort it. One table, clear labels, a code for each person instead of a name.
2Check it. Missing answers, impossible values (an age of 250), duplicates.
3Flag doubtful answers. Some forms are filled in carelessly.
4Analyse it. Numbers: count, percentages, compare. Words: group answers into themes.
In our exampleThree themes stand out: "I felt better already", "side effects" and "I forgot."
Answers that need a second look · tap each
Made-up result
Step 7 of 7 · Share it

Share it, so others can check it and use it.

Research that stays in a drawer helps nobody. Sharing lets others check your method, use your findings, and build on them.

What a research presentation covers
TitleWhat, who and where.
IntroductionThe problem and why it matters.
Literature reviewWhat's known, and the gap.
MethodologyWho, what you measured, how.
ReferencesCredit for every source.
AppendixQuestionnaire, consent form.
Research is a cycle
The end is also a beginning. Her finding raises a new question: would a simple reminder text help patients finish their antibiotics? That's the next study.
Putting it together · The research proposal

A proposal is your whole plan, written down before you start.

An architect draws the building before anyone pours concrete. A research proposal does the same for a study: it shows your supervisor, or an ethics committee, exactly what you plan to do, so mistakes are caught on paper instead of after months of work.

When? After Steps 1 to 4, and before you collect any data. Write in the future tense: "We will survey…", not "We found…".
Every section comes from a step you've learned
1TitleWhat, who and where, in one lineStep 1
2Introduction and problem statementWhat's going wrong, and why it mattersStep 1
3Literature reviewWhat's known, and what's missingStep 2
4ObjectivesWhat exactly you will find outStep 3
5MethodologyVariables, who you'll ask, how you'll collect and analyseSteps 4–6
6ReferencesCredit for every sourceStep 2
7AppendixQuestionnaire, consent form, extrasStep 5
+Timeline and budgetWhen each stage happens, and what it costsIf required
Putting it together · Check your proposal

Every objective needs a matching method.

Common mistakes
Objectives and methods don't match
The literature review is a list of summaries, with no gap
Writing results before collecting any data
A vague sample: "some patients" instead of who, how many and how chosen
Missing or inconsistent references
The one-minute check: read each objective, then look for the method that answers it. If one doesn't have one, something is missing from your plan.
Spot the mistake · a student's proposal says

Objective: to compare antibiotic completion between younger and older patients.

Method: we will survey patients aged 60 and above.

The Research Builder Toolkit at the end walks you through drafting each section.

Summary

The whole journey, in one breath.

1Research is an organised, checkable way of answering questions.
2We do it to solve problems, test what works, and make better decisions.
3Quantitative counts; qualitative explores. Many studies use both.
4Seven steps: problem, what's known, aim, what to measure, collect, analyse, share.
5Fair sampling and honest reporting are what make results worth trusting.
6A proposal is the plan on paper, written before any data is collected, so mistakes are caught early.
Your turn

Ask carefully. Answer honestly.

Research Builder Toolkit

A free spreadsheet that walks you through the same seven steps for your own project, from problem to presentation.

Open the toolkit →

To make it yours: go to File → Create a Copy → Download a Copy, then open it in Excel or upload it to Google Sheets.

NextLiterature reviews, simply explained
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