This course walks you through the research process as a cycle — asking a focused question, finding and reading sources, organising what you learn, and writing it up — so a daunting project becomes a series of doable steps.

It is for students and new researchers who can find information but want to carry out a genuine piece of research from start to finish.

What you’ll be able to do

By the end of this course you will be able to:

• describe the stages of the research process;
• craft a focused, answerable research question;
• carry out a basic literature review;
• keep your sources and notes organised;
• recognise and apply core research ethics;

The lessons

1. The Research Process Overview — the whole research cycle at a glance.
2. Developing Research Questions — turning a broad interest into one answerable question.
3. Literature Review Basics — mapping what is already known on your topic.
4. Organizing Research — keeping sources and notes under control.
5. Research Ethics — honesty, attribution, and respect for participants.

How to study this course

Work through the lessons in order — each is a short read with a worked example, a quick exercise, and a hand-picked free resource. Use the Previous and Next buttons at the foot of each page to move along. There are no fees and no enrolment barriers; the course is open to everyone, and you can revisit it any time.

This courseware is provided free by FRELIP. Original text released under CC BY 4.0; linked resources remain under their own licences. Curated by the FRELIP Open Courseware editorial team.