Stages of the Research Process

Stages of the Research Process

In stage one of the research process, the research question must be clarified. Cooper, D.R., & Schindler, P.S. ((2014)) “A useful way to approach the research process is to state the basic dilemma that prompts the research and then try to develop other questions by progressively breaking down the original question into more specific ones.” In stage two the research proposal is prepared and incorporates decisions made during project planning, including the management–research question hierarchy and exploration. Stage three is research design. Cooper, D.R., & Schindler, P.S. ((2014)) “The research design is the blueprint for fulfilling objectives and answering questions.” Stage four is data collection and preparation. Cooper, D.R., & Schindler, P.S. ((2014)) “The method selected will largely determine how the data are collected.” Stage five is data analysis and interpretation. Cooper, D.R., & Schindler, P.S. ((2014)) “Data analysis usually involves reducing accumulated data to a manageable size, developing summaries, looking for patterns, and applying statistical techniques.” Stage six is reporting the results. Cooper, D.R., & Schindler, P.S. ((2014)) “Finally, it is necessary to prepare a report and transmit the findings and recommendations to the manager for the intended purpose of decision making.”

Article One: Purpose of the Business Research

The first article chosen is “Setting Wildfire Evacuation Trigger Points Using Fire Spread Modeling and GIS.” The purpose of the research used in this article is to determine if trigger buffers can be identified to decide who should evacuate, when they should evacuate, and if the evacuation should be mandatory, recommended, or voluntary.

Article One: Determine the Research Questions and Hypotheses Being Researched

There are three research questions asked in this article. The first question is “who is at risk?” The second question is “how long will it take to evacuate?” The third question is

“how much time is available?” Other things to consider include how people behave under different warning and hazard conditions, and the estimated time it will take to evacuate a defined area given traffic generation, trip distribution, vehicle routing and supporting transportation infrastructure, wind direction and speed, topography, and fuel.

The hypotheses being researched include, “if the fire is spreading