Research is not an excursion into happy expectation, of fondly hoping that the data necessary to solve the problem will some how fortuitously turn up. Researchers plan their overall research design and specific research methods in a purposeful way-that is, to yield data relevant to their particular problem. Depending on the specific research question, different designs and methods will be more or less appropriate. These questions merely hint that planning and design cannot be postponed. Each of the questions above must be answered early in the research process.
Research usually divides the principal problem into more manageable subproblems.
The whole is composed of the sum of its parts. We break down principal problems much more frequently that we realize. Let's take an everyday problem to see how it breaks down into a number of subproblems. Suppose you want to get from your hometown to a town 50 miles away. Your principal goal is to get from one location to the other as expeditiously as possible.