Our handy Research Process Library Guide is a great resource for beginner researchers and even advanced researchers to navigate the various stages of the research life cycle.

 

Visual display of the research life cycle: Plan and design; Collect and capture; Analyse, collaborate and create; Manage, store and preservce; Share and publish; Monitor and evaluate

The Research Life Cycle

The guide is structured according to each stage in the research life cycle and under each of stages, you will find several useful resources and tips related to that topic. For example, under the Plan & Design tab, you will find information on choosing the right topic, or narrowing down your existing topic. It also includes information about research design, research methods, the literature review, systematic reviews and also on writing a research proposal.

5 Principles of writing a research proposal: Aim for crystal clarity, plan before you write, be persuasive, be practical, make broader links.

5 Principles of writing a research proposal

The other stages provide further additional tips and guidelines on what is expected during the various stages of the research process, such as data collection, management and storage under Collect & Capture; Data analysis and visualisation under Analyse, collaborate and create; instructions on how to submit your thesis under Manage, store and preserve; guidelines on where to publish your research and increase its visibility under Share and publish; and, lastly, how to measure your research impact under Monitor and evaluate.

Apart from useful resources such as this library guide, you also have your Faculty Librarian to count on and also the staff at the Carnegie Research Commons. If you are uncertain about who your Faculty Librarian is, you can find out by looking up your subject here. You can also contact the following staff members to assist with certain aspects of the research process:

Open Access and SUNScholar (Institutional repository): Paulette Talliard

Research Data Management and SUNScholarData (Institutional research data repository): Samuel Simango

Research Impact and Data Visualisation: Marié Roux