The Way Researchers Investigate and Present Their Findings When Investigating an Issue (Unemployment Rate)

Researchers use several guidelines and steps to perform a normal research exercise, without considering the type or style or research being undertaken (DiFranza). The first Step is to Identify and define the issue being researched. This involves the researcher coming up with questions such as:

- What issue is to be researched?
- Importance of researching on the issue?
- What is the purpose for the research?
- What content is readily available on the research?

This step is very important in that it aids in identifying the problem to be researched on by the researcher. For example, USA has a high rate of unemployment or low unemployment rate. Similar research may exist showing that a certain percentage of the youth are unemployed. In this case we have to find out what are the causes and impact of the high/low rate of unemployment in the country. One is suppose to consider that other facts and evidence already exist so that we can come up with solutions basing on that fact.

The second step is to decide the direction by identifying a focus and coming up with the question. Here the researcher asks him/herself the following questions: What is the main importance of the research? What answers need to be provided to answer rising questions? The step aids to come up with targets and objectives of the research to be done. For example, the aim of the research may be to show the rate of unemployment in USA as a whole. Section of the research findings of importance is to provide a title for the research findings like "What causes unemployment in USA and its effects. Aims to be achieved will ensure it is easier to come up with objectives for the research, for example: to investigate the causes of unemployment in USA, to find out the areas affected by unemployment in USA, and to measure the social and economic impacts of unemployment on the economy of USA. The third step is to organize the work so as to be able to determine the type of information needed to answer the questions, the best research methods to be used, the best person to do this research, the work to be done and by who, and the time limits. This step involves organizing the work and choosing the methods that will be used perform the research.

The fourth step taken by researchers is to come up with solutions to help answer the questions coming up. This step consists of the real collection of information that deal with the research work itself. This involves the fieldwork where the researcher uses the methods of data collection to collect the data required. This may involve the use of questionnaires and interviews to help get the reasons of unemployment in USA. The 5th stage is to organize the information collected and deleting unnecessary ones. This step involves organizing and analyzing the information collected in the previous step. To analyze means to apply mathematical formulas such as additions to get a real scientific representation of the issue in hand. This process may be in the form of tables, graphs, percentages, etc. It involves comparing the different causes of un employment for example poverty and lack of adequate education and skills.

Step 6 involves coming up with conclusions. This step deals with discussing the findings and making conclusions. The findings are often in table, graph, or percentage form. The discussion involves using words to describe the content collected. The discussion part is where the researcher gives opinions based on the findings of the research work. The researcher then comes up with conclusions and may make recommendations based on the findings on the research work done already. Its ending can be like this, "Rate of unemployment is mainly caused by poverty and lack of adequate funds to start income generating projects .The 7th stage involves making and creating the final research report. The report is necessary as it leaves a body of evidence that can be used by politicians, businessmen, community organisations and future researchers. A final report generally has six parts: i.e. introduction, literature reviewing, methodology used, the research findings, used discussions, and conclusions and recommendations.

The last step is to evaluate the work that has already been done. The step mainly involves the reflection to decide on what action is needed and what steps should be taken to use the research in an effective way. It may include a schedule for communicating the research results to community members and decision makers. More research may also be needed to give solutions to questions brought up by the research conducted.

Countries, community based organisations, nongovernmental organizations and other users make use of findings to improve life (Mirea). These users are required to come up with new ways of achieving this. Existence of many institutions of higher learning and colleges and public institutions carrying out investigation make it very hard to differentiate between "good" and "bad" research work. Research often informs the decisions that are made. Poor research leads to poor decisions. The report may show the method used in the work process, including a description of the participants, the coming up with, the measures, and the procedures used to evaluate the information and details. This is followed by answers section in which the researcher describes the results. The next section of the document is the discussion that provides an interpretation of the results and the implications of the study. This is followed by conclusions and recommendations.

Conclusion on a research on the rate of unemployment may involve the main causes of the problem and the available solutions to solve this problem. The solutions may be short tern or long term. Users of such research findings may be able to apply the research findings to solve current unemployment issues or even future problems. Researchers therefore need to be very keen in conducting their research to ensure that the rate of accuracy is maintained. Lastly researchers need to present their findings in a manner that can be understood easily by its users; so as they can easily interpret the contents of the report.

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