The cycle

When you do research, you go through a simple cycle from question to answer, which in turn can lead to new questions.

  1. Ask your question
    What do you want to know?
    Example: A physiotherapist comes to you. She would like to know whether it is possible to do her sessions remotely, so that patients do not necessarily have to come to the practice to receive the necessary care, for example when they are in quarantine. The following question comes to mind: How can you most conveniently measure body movements in such a situation?
     
  2. Collected data
    What information do you need to answer your question? How do you obtain it?
    You dive into that frequently-used search engine in search of existing solutions. You encounter a number of possibilities and their properties, such as cameras and motion sensors (such as the gyroscope in your smartphone). In order to determine which solution is most useful, you will look at how easy it is to use by the patient, but also whether the information that the solution would provide is good enough for physiotherapy.
     
  3. Analyze the data
    How do you have to process this data in order to answer your question?
    You put the possibilities and their most important properties in a table. You have also included a column for "easy to use" and "suitable for physio" in the table, the key criteria.
     
  4. Draw conclusions
    What is the answer to your question based on your analysis?
    Because you have put the data in a clear table based on the criteria, you can see the conclusion at a glance. Although cameras provide less precise information about the movement than motion sensors, it is much easier for the patient to use. You have a new question: What kind of cameras could provide the best motion information?