How to proceed with a research subject-for the beginners

Research Subject

Put the research subject in the center.Draw arrows in different directions and write down the different ideas generated on the subject ,from your own observations,life experiences.
For example ,my subject is music therapy.
The ideas I generate are the effect of music on normal children,on retarded children,on normal adults,on geriatrics with dementia ,the type of music best suited,the techniques best suited,the voice liked by all,the effects of music both subjective and objective on patients,data accumulation ,and many others.
Put all these in order,and then learn the different perspectives on each of these ideas from other people,from other works,from other disciplines so that it becomes an interdisciplinary approach with proper references and alterations of my own method or improvisations on it if necessary.
This is an enormous responsibility because you are trying to find out the truth,purging off the false informations and the illfated.When I accept an information I am trusting the sources on the way and if I go wrong in that procedure I may loose my track.So that verification of the data from other sources and matching them with my own data is very important .
When I study music therapy with the Indian classical music and melakartharaaga system and when I depend upon the music of yesudas for that purpose,I am depending upon the fact that he is one person who can sing all the melakartharaagaas and his voice is the best for interpersonal intrapersonal relationship with patients from all the south Indian languages.That is for understanding the critical and noncritical circumstances the surroundings of people ,places ,things surrounding the topic has to be researched and I should know that when I start to explore these circumstances surrounding yesudas I can come across both negative and positive informations which can either negatively or positively shift the outcome of my research.Therefore initial research is important .For that I will have to watch every bit of information available about him (on TV/video/film/music/and talk to or hear opinions of as many people as possible who know him ,read as many clippings from media on him and then have close contact with him and talk to him ).This initial research is over .It is important to be your own jury /and judge in several matters because otherwise the negative opinions of unwanted elements may creep into the research project and spoil it.For this I always keep an established set of research standards and always hold myself responsible and accountable for what I am doing.I am selective to avoid nonestimated projects and take only what is meaningful to me as a researcher.For example if I didn’t have the knowledge that yesudas is capable of rendering all the 72 melakartharaagaas and give peace of mind to people of India speaking different languages I would never have started this research.It is a question of what your inner voice tells you and the verification of it from various other sources.
Usually when someone talks about a research project ,it is very boring and everyone in the room including your own family members leave the room,but with the project of music therapy with yesudas it is the otherway round.People want to hear more about it and like the subject well.A very welcome change for any researcher.

Objectivity is very important to research.
Data collection ,
references for your evaluations
logical flowchart to establish all your observations and evaluations
Keep watch over these important points.The research will definitely be of value to yo u and to the world.
from
Dr suvarna Nalapat