"...one of the most important things any researcher should do when starting to develop a new research proposal is to read widely in the literature related to their proposed topic. There are at least two benefits to this approach, in addition to the fact that one becomes knowledgeable in the field. First, the researcher learns what questions have already been studied around the topic and what the answers to those questions were. Secondly, one also learns what research designs and methods have been used to investigate these questions. As a result of learning these facts, the researcher is better able to identify a “next step” needed in the study of the topic."