Specify the information you need.
Look at your assignment and identify the key pieces of information you need and break those up in smaller pieces. Focus on the smaller pieces of the puzzle rather than searching for the entire holy grail.
During this orientation phase, you will get an increasingly clearer picture of your subject. This will help you define your subject and, in the end, formulate specific research questions
Create a mindmap.
Creating a mindmap can be a great tool do this and be a starting point for your orientation.
Example
In this example we have derived the following research questions from the management issue and the objectives.
Main research question
Sub-research questions
Looking at the research questions above, which aspects of the business environment would you need to research?
Words such as “industry”, “macroeconomic”, “market” and “trends” may come to mind. Look at each of these aspects of the business environment and break these up in smaller parts. In case of “Industry”, you might think of words like “retail food", ”supermarkets”, "dairy", "canned fruit", “competitors”etc. By writing these down for each aspect of the business environment, you gain perspective on your topic and subjects that you may encounter.
Tips!