Research Resources

How to Start a Research Project

Considering a research project, but not sure what to focus on, what’s feasible, and where to start? Below is a list of steps to help you begin your research journey.

Define Your Area of Interest: Begin by identifying a specialty that genuinely intrigues you.

Form a research question, or at least a general idea of what you are interested in.

Explore Existing Literature: Dive into existing research papers, articles, and books related to your chosen area. Familiarize yourself with the current state of knowledge and identify gaps or areas that need further investigation.
- What questions come up for you as you read these articles?
- Talk with our librarians! Set up a research consultation meeting with the PNWU Library. Our librarians are incredibly knowledgeable in finding information, ensuring credibility, and narrowing down your research question.
Seek Guidance: Don’t hesitate to consult mentors, professors, or experts in your field. They can provide valuable insights and steer you in the right direction. Reach out to our office for further assistance.
- Ask faculty about projects they’ve worked on, how their projects got off the ground, what’s feasible for a student, and if they are looking for help from students currently.
- Talk to other students. Some can clue you in on the research process and some might be able to include you in their own project.
- Talk with the Office of Scholarly Activity
  - Fill out the following form to receive assistance with research project development: Tell the Office of Scholarly Activity what kind of Scholarly Activity/Research you are interested in.
    - OSA keeps information on faculty research interests, active research projects, and research opportunities for students that we can refer you to once you’ve completed the information in the REDCap survey.
  - We can give you examples of projects that previous students have completed to give you an idea of what kinds of research are feasible for students to complete. Flip through our 2020 Research Symposium program to see what students worked on.
Formulate a Research Question: Based on your exploration and the advice from your mentors and peers, formulate a clear and concise research question. What specific aspect do you want to explore? What problem do you aim to solve?
Consider Feasibility: Assess the feasibility of your research. Do you have access to necessary resources, data, and tools? Can you realistically carry out the study within your constraints?
Plan Your Methodology: Decide on the research methods you’ll employ. Will it be qualitative, quantitative, or a mix of both? Consider whether you will conduct literature reviews, case studies, empirical research, or quality improvement.
Create a Timeline: Set milestones and deadlines for your research. Break down the process into manageable steps, from data collection to discussion and analysis.

What is “Research”? Is Your Project Considered Research?

Determining whether or not a project meets the federal definition of human subjects research is a two-step process. It must first be determined if the project meets the federal definition of research, and if so, then if the project includes human subjects.

Research means a systematic investigation, including research development, testing, and evaluation, designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge.

Systematic investigation: A detailed or careful examination that has or involves a prospectively identified approach to the activity based on a system, method, or plan.

Generalizable knowledge: The information is expected to expand the knowledge base of a scientific discipline or other scholarly field of study and yield one or both of the following:

Results that are applicable to a larger population beyond the specific subjects studied or the site of data collection
Results that are intended to be used to develop, test, or support theories, principles, and statements of relationships, or to inform policy beyond the study.

Human subject means a living individual about whom an investigator (whether professional or student) conducting research:

Obtains information or biospecimens through intervention or interaction with the individual, and uses, studies, or analyzes the information or biospecimens; or
Obtains, uses, studies, analyzes, or generates identifiable private information or identifiable biospecimens.

If your potential research activities include developing information about a drug, medical device, or biologic substance, please contact the Institutional Review Board at research@pnwu.edu.

Office of Human Research Protections (OHRP) Human Subject Regulations Decision Charts

Certain activities are considered not to be research, including the following:

Scholarly and journalistic activities (e.g., oral history, journalism, biography, literary criticism, legal research, and historical scholarship), including the collection and use of information, that focus directly on the specific individuals about whom the information is collected.
Public health surveillance activities, including the collection and testing of information or biospecimens, conducted, supported, requested, ordered, required, or authorized by a public health authority. Such activities are limited to those necessary to allow a public health authority to identify, monitor, assess, or investigate potential public health signals, onsets of disease outbreaks, or conditions of public health importance (including trends, signals, risk factors, patterns in diseases, or increases in injuries from using consumer products). Such activities include those associated with providing timely situational awareness and priority setting during the course of an event or crisis that threatens public health (including natural or man-made disasters).
Collection and analysis of information, biospecimens, or records by or for a criminal justice agency for activities authorized by law or court order solely for criminal justice or criminal investigative purposes.
Authorized operational activities (as determined by each agency) in support of intelligence, homeland security, defense, or other national security missions.

Next Steps

Once you have determined that your project meets the regulatory definition of research with human subjects, you must submit your plan to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) for review. Still unsure or would like proof that your project is not human subjects research? You may make a request for a formal determination of Not Human Subjects Research (NHSR) through the IRB management system, Mentor IRB. For more information about the IRB and human research protection, click here.

Helpful Pages

Library

Human Research Protection and the IRB

REDCap

Helpful Forms

Research Project Identification

Biostatistician