You’ve been looking at topic ideas for a research paper and you’ve come up with an exciting new topic for a study. You know you will need to include a comparative discussion of the results in your report to set the context of the study and to demonstrate its significance. But how do you do this if the research is so new that there is nothing with which to compare it?
Research may be designed, conducted, and written up by a single person or a small group, but ultimately, research is not a solo sport and does not exist in a vacuum. No matter what your discipline or the topic of your research, your work is built on the foundation of what came before.
An important step in the research process is the literature review. This is the process of searching previously published content to find studies related to your topic. The relevant studies are then analyzed to provide a context for your proposed study. This process is usually used to identify gaps in the existing knowledge that will be addressed by the proposed study. Then, a comparative analysis of the research results is written up in the discussion section of the manuscript. But what do you do if you have a novel idea that has never been addressed before?
How to deal with a novel topic
Researchers dealing with novel topics can still create an effective comparative discussion section using results from a literature search. Because all research is based on previous knowledge, the idea for your topic originated somewhere, and you may only need to dig a little deeper to find relevant studies.
New ideas generally arise in two ways: from small evolutionary changes in existing ideas or from combinations of existing ideas1. In either case, relevant literature can be found. If your novel idea came from a change in an existing idea, find studies related to the original idea. If your idea came from a combination of ideas, find studies related to each of the original ideas.
For example, the automobile was originally a novel idea that combined the carriage and the combustion engine1. If you were doing studies on this new transportation method in the late nineteenth century, previous relevant studies would have been difficult to get your hands on, but if databases had been in existence, you would use key words that included both the carriage and the combustion engine. You might include studies about alternate methods of carriage conveyance and other transportation systems and compare these to the automobile, maybe looking at speed, cost, and convenience. In addition, you would find articles related to current applications of combustion engines and add a comparative discussion about the application of the engine in an automobile.
The assembly line process, as an example of the evolution of an idea, was inspired by expanding the notion of interchangeable parts that were being used in weapons and ammunition into producing those parts in bulk2. A comparative discussion of this novel idea for research in the industrial engineering discipline might include literature on interchangeable rifle parts in munitions research or continuous flow processes used in the agriculture industry.
A novel research idea is never completely novel. To conduct an effective comparison discussion, you only need to go back to its origins to build a solid foundation for your research.
Tips for creating a comparative discussion for a novel idea
If you’re doing a study on a novel idea, congratulations! Here are some tips that might help you create an effective comparative analysis for your research results.
- Do not rely on only one or two previous research studies. Broaden your thinking and your search to go beyond the obvious.
- First, locate any related studies through a search using different combinations of key words to ensure you find all relevant research.
- If your original search identifies only a limited number of relevant studies, extend the search by using the “cited by” information.
- Cast a very wide net by searching databases not related to your discipline.
- If you cannot find any existing literature that is directly related to your topic, you might really have a novel idea! If this is the case, use studies that are as close as possible to make connections with your research for the comparison discussion.
We hope the information and tips provided above help you create an effective comparative analysis for your research results when you’re dealing with a novel topic.
References
- Loper, C. Where do new ideas come from? Becoming Better. https://becomingbetter.org/where-do-new-ideas-come-from/ [Accessed September 22, 2022]
- Brandt, A., Eagleman, D. Where do new ideas come from? Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/where-do-new-ideas-come-from-180965202/ [Accessed September 22, 2022]
