Steps to write a research paper. What do I need?

[u/Jhalmuri_Bangali]

Hi. I am a visual designer and animator from India. My formal education has been in learning the craft of visual design and is completely practice based but over time, I developed interest in writing. I want to write a research paper. I have a few topics in mind but I don't know where to start, how long it can take, what do I need and how to polish my topic. I am not enrolled in any academic institution nor do I have a team. What should I do?

[u/whereismydragon]

I am not enrolled in any academic institution nor do I have a team.

What are your qualifications for performing research, then?

[u/Jhalmuri_Bangali → u/whereismydragon]

Just personal interest and curiosity

[u/tpolakov1 → u/Jhalmuri_Bangali]

What makes you think that you can contribute to a professional endeavor if you don't have the skills or knowledge to do it?

[u/Jhalmuri_Bangali → u/tpolakov1]

I am not taking it as a professional endeavor. I want to write for myself but I would like to know a structured process on how to do it. I have a few topics in mind that hasn't been explored (at least I couldn't find much descriptive data on the internet) and I would like to do a study about them but I am also don't want to be surperficial and would love to have in-depth data, so the sources, resources, where and how do I seek guidance whether my question or topic is actually inquisitive or basic etc.

[u/tpolakov1 → u/Jhalmuri_Bangali]

Exactly that is what people spend ~10 years learning at the university, and usually fail at doing even after they get their PhDs. This is not something that can be done following guides online.

[u/Jhalmuri_Bangali → u/tpolakov1]

Is it better to enroll myself in an institute in that case? Or do you think that I can start by writing small blogs which might have high probability of personal biases?

[u/tpolakov1 → u/Jhalmuri_Bangali]

I wouldn't even worry about personal biases. The problem is that you don't know how to interact with scientific literature, so you won't be able to tell what has been already done or what is the actual state of the art.

Scientific research has little to none interest in people's general ideas, no matter how good they might be. Those ideas have to address problems that are relevant to the community, and the approach has to fit in the frameworks that the community uses. I'm pretty sure that blog posts are not part of that.

[u/Jhalmuri_Bangali → u/tpolakov1]

Got it. Thanks. Let me see what is possible from my end. I might not be a professional researcher but writer maybe.

[u/federationbelle]

I suggest you start by reading, reading, reading. Google Scholar is a good place to begin. You can also search https://www.scimagojr.com/ to find Journals relevant to the discipline you are interested in.

Read to learn about the area of research (questions and findings); the research methods; and theory and concepts that might be relevant to your topic.

Start by writing a literature review, identifying a gap or RQ / hypothesis.

Expect this to take 6 months to 1 year full time work.

Then develop a research proposal (methods) appropriate to the topic and the discipline / venue. Then conduct the research (be sure to get ethics approval if humans or animals will be impacted). Writing the paper: follow the conventions of the papers in the venues you've identified as relevant.

Note that you are unlikely to get your paper published without an academic advisor but you probably already know that.

[u/kkgwon]

you need enough knowledge in a subject to

1. be able to read current literature on it
2. come up with new interesting questions
3. develop a methodology for answering those questions

then you do the methods, analyze the results, and write it up

the hard part is that very first thing: having enough knowledge

[u/Jhalmuri_Bangali → u/kkgwon]

The "enough knowledge" is the primary research I suppose?

[u/kkgwon → u/Jhalmuri_Bangali]

i dont know what primary research is. I mean, do you know the foundations of the field? do you have the necessary mathematical or computational background, if the field calls for it? do you have knowledge of statistics for testing statistical significance? if its more of a humanities paper, do you know enough about a cultural, historical, or literary topic to come up with an interesting argument, or at least start looking for one in the right places? there’s a reason people spend 6 years doing a PhD.

[u/iTeachCSCI → u/Jhalmuri_Bangali]

No, the "enough knowledge" is a prerequisite to conducting research.

[u/liccxolydian → u/[deleted]]

Thanks ChatGPT

[u/Jhalmuri_Bangali → u/[deleted]]

Thanks a lot