Research ideas matter: Guidance for research students and early career researchers

Abstract

This paper draws on the collective experience of the authors as researchers, supervisors and editors spanning the fields of medical science, psychology, analytics, entrepreneurship, accounting, and finance. We provide guidance about research idea formulation for novice researchers, both Higher Degree Research students (HDRs) such as PhD students, and Early Career Researchers (ECRs). Drawing on parallels with business opportunity formulation, we break down the process into three steps: generating, refining and then evaluating research ideas. We present strategies to help generate high-quality research ideas, including five key perspectives for identifying gaps in the literature that are opportunities to be addressed with novel research ideas. We also provide advice for refining research ideas, and provide guidance on evaluating and ranking those ideas. Despite the diverse background of the authorship team, there are many commonalities because of the rigorous scientific nature of the general academic research process. Helpful research tools and templates, as well as examples and suggested readings, are also presented to assist novice researchers in the challenging process of forming research ideas.