The process of conducting research can be a challenge, but then, ensuring you are able to use your data effectively is an even more difficult feat to achieve. As a PhD student or an early career researcher, you may often find yourself contemplating the different ways in which you can capture the essence of your research findings, especially if the original problem statement has been subjected to a lot of modifications over time. Having a structured approach and following key steps after the process of conducting research helps in making sure that the important data is not lost while translating it into a research paper. This article provides a rough template for such an approach, by enlisting five important things to consider after conducting research.
1. Re-examine your data thoroughly
Academicians are often unconsciously drawn into the trap of confirmation bias, where every conclusion/analysis only serves a purpose to confirm a previously observed finding. Therefore, one of the first steps after the process of conducting research is to ensure that the data you have acquired is completely objective and devoid of any personal biases. This can be achieved by re-visiting the data after a short break or by discussing your findings with peers who have not been a part of your project. This allows you to critically examine your data and enhance its quality; it may also save considerable time later, while drafting a research paper.
2. Get feedback from your mentors
Along with peers, you can also request your mentors to share detailed and impartial feedback about your findings. In addition to your PhD supervisor, you can have an external mentor examine your findings to get an objective overview. If needed, you can schedule regular meetings with your mentors during the entire process of converting your data into a research paper. Their rich experience and insights will give you a lot of clarity about how to use your data effectively, making this one of the important things to be considered when writing a research paper.
3. Give relevance and context to your data
Next on the list of things to consider after conducting your research is learning the different ways of capturing the essence of your research findings effectively. You can achieve this by identifying a suitable context and relevance for your findings, based upon your modified problem statement. This can later be inserted within the introduction and discussion sections of your research paper. By drafting a unique research ‘story’, you can make sure that your audience stays connected with and is able to grasp the most important aspects of your research.
4. Create an outline for your research paper
Once you have created a compelling story to convey your research findings, you will need to re-assess your data in view of a manuscript. This usually involves differentiating between the results that need to be used as part of the main text versus those provided only as supplementary material. Additionally, one of the first things to be considered when writing a research paper is to shortlist the journals where you can submit your paper, and have a thorough look at their criteria for publishing as well as their requirements of formatting. This preliminary search will help you draft a rough outline for your paper, with regards to the sections that need to be included, and simplify the process of drafting your manuscript.
5. Set a rough timeline for writing your paper
One of the final steps after the process of conducting research is to actually begin drafting your manuscript. And, while this process might be overwhelming especially if when you are burdened with your regular work, you can help yourself by setting a rough timeline. This timeline can include weekly/monthly goals and deadlines, depending upon the urgency of submission. Even if you do not submit the paper right away, it is always helpful to keep a rough draft ready and to work on it consistently over time, rather than to have the task of writing piled up at the last minute.
Research is always a ‘work-in-progress’, so while you can use these pointers to get some great insight on the important things to consider after conducting research, it is wise to acknowledge that the relevance and context of your findings may keep changing over time, especially when new findings are added to the mixture. However, we hope that this template will help you in formulating a personalized approach toward using your research findings effectively.
