What is the best way to approach a new aerospace engineering research project?

1 Define your problem

Before you dive into the technical details, you need to clearly define the problem you are trying to solve. What is the motivation, the context, and the scope of your research? What are the existing gaps in knowledge or practice that you aim to fill? What are the assumptions, constraints, and criteria that guide your research? By answering these questions, you can formulate a specific and realistic research question that will drive your project.

2 Review the literature

The next step is to review the existing literature on your topic and related fields. This will help you understand the state of the art, the current methods and tools, and the key challenges and opportunities. You can use databases, journals, books, and online sources to find relevant and credible information. You should also critically evaluate the sources and compare them with your own problem and approach. By doing this, you can identify the strengths and weaknesses of the previous work and justify your contribution.

3 Design your method

Once you have a clear research question and a solid background knowledge, you can design your method to answer it. Depending on the nature of your problem, you may use analytical, numerical, experimental, or a combination of methods to conduct your research. You should describe the steps, procedures, and techniques you will use, as well as the data, variables, and parameters involved. You should also explain the rationale, assumptions, and limitations of your method and how you will validate and verify your results.

4 Perform your analysis

The next step is to perform your analysis according to your method. This may involve mathematical modeling, computer simulation, laboratory testing, or field observation. You should follow the scientific principles and ethical standards of your discipline and use appropriate tools and software to collect, process, and analyze your data. You should also document your work carefully and keep track of your assumptions, decisions, and errors.

5 Present your results

After you have completed your analysis, you need to present your results in a clear and concise way. You should use tables, graphs, charts, and diagrams to illustrate your findings and highlight the main trends, patterns, and relationships. You should also interpret your results in relation to your research question and objectives and discuss their implications and significance. You should also acknowledge the uncertainties, errors, and limitations of your results and suggest possible ways to improve them.

6 Communicate your research

The final step is to communicate your research to your target audience, which may be your peers, supervisors, clients, or the public. You should use the appropriate format, style, and language to convey your message effectively and persuasively. You may write a report, a paper, a poster, or a presentation to share your research. You should also include an abstract, an introduction, a literature review, a method, a results, a discussion, and a conclusion section to structure your communication. You should also cite your sources and provide references to support your claims.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?