1. Identify the context for the research and the objectives of the research.
2. Critically review and synthesize the relevant literature in the subject area
to construct a conceptual framework to underpin the research
3. Appraise the key debates in the philosophy, ethics and epistemology of
science to justify the relationship between philosophical approaches and
choices of qualitative and quantitative methods
4. Evaluate a variety of data collection methods
5. Formulate a research question