How do you create your own coaching research projects?

2 Define your research question

Once you have a clear topic, you need to define your research question, which is the specific problem or issue that you want to investigate. Your research question should be focused, feasible, and meaningful. A focused question is one that can be answered within the scope and resources of your project. A feasible question is one that can be addressed with the data and methods that you have access to. A meaningful question is one that has implications for your coaching practice and contributes to the coaching knowledge base. For example, a good research question could be: How does executive coaching affect the emotional intelligence of female leaders in the tech industry?

3 Select your research design

The next step is to select your research design, which is the overall plan or strategy for collecting and analyzing data to answer your research question. There are different types of research designs, such as experimental, quasi-experimental, correlational, descriptive, or qualitative. Each design has its own strengths and limitations, and you need to choose the one that best suits your research question, your data sources, and your ethical considerations. For example, if you want to compare the effects of two coaching interventions on emotional intelligence, you may use an experimental design with a pre-test and post-test. If you want to explore the experiences and perceptions of female leaders who received executive coaching, you may use a qualitative design with interviews or focus groups.

5 Communicate your findings

The final step is to communicate your findings, which is the process of reporting and sharing the results and implications of your research project. You can communicate your findings in different ways, such as writing a research report, presenting at a conference, publishing in a journal, or creating a blog post or a podcast. The format and style of your communication may vary depending on your audience, your purpose, and your medium. However, some common elements that you should include are: an introduction that summarizes your research question and background; a method section that describes your research design and data collection and analysis; a results section that presents your main findings and evidence; a discussion section that interprets your findings and relates them to the literature and practice; and a conclusion that highlights your main points and recommendations.