ABSTRACT
Preparation is imperative for any type of research: survey, experimental, or historical research; large- or small-scale; long- or short-term. Just looking at surveys conducted and published by campus newspapers, we know it is a rather neglected area. As a rule, campus newspaper reporters would buttonhole and interview students at the student union for an opinion survey, without the necessary preparations a survey requires. Before a house is to be built, the location must be surveyed, the land cleared, the blueprint drawn, the financing secured, and so on. Before a research project is to be implemented, the problem or problem area must be identified and defined; objectives, tentative as they might be, must be established; relevant literature thoroughly and exhaustively reviewed, examined and extracted; and all variables defined and operational terms standardized. All of these are for the purpose of smoothly and sytematically implementing the research project with minimal cost, time, and effort.
