What are the organizational and administrative issues related to research?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Researchers must determine the organization and management of research work before starting their research. The three main options for the organization of a research team include the hierarchically organized research team, the research team of formal equals, and the collaborative research team. Regardless of how a research team is formed, it should include people with substantive, methodological, and analytic knowledge and experience related to the research topic.

Problems can arise in the research team because people have different research styles, work habits, and ways of thinking. Clearly specifying the roles of the members of the research team helps reduce possible confusion, conflicts, and disputes during project implementation.

If funding needs to be sought, questions of access need to be resolved before a proposal is presented to a funding body. Obtaining access often depends on the presentation of a study design that is meaningful and interesting to those concerned. It is usually necessary to provide a separate, shorter outline of the study for this purpose, focusing on the issues and questions addressed and their relevancy to the collaborators.

Other practical details to be attended to prior to carrying out research include negotiating with the funding agency to work out a protocol; getting familiar with the research site; determining the level of staff support and services needed; reallocating the budget to fit with the actual situation of project implementation; finalizing the research plan with collaborators; recruiting personnel; identifying supplies and logistics; revising or updating the timetable or schedule of research activities; training staff for data collection, processing, and analysis; conducting a human subjects review; revising the data collection instrument; and pilot-testing the instrument.