After successfully presenting a research proposal, the next step is to do the research itself. There are many different methods and approaches to research. For some types of research, especially theoretical research, the research is done in incremental steps. For other types of research, especially experimental research, the experiments are planned and executed, and then, results are evaluated to see if new research results can be concluded from the experimental results.
For most students, the first research results will be obtained by working closely with the advisor. As students learn how to do the research and learn what types of results are considered research results, they will often design and implement their own experiments to obtain original results. In this manner, students become researchers in their own right and make original contributions to their field.
In order to assess a student's progress, the student and Advisory Committee should plan to meet at least once each term after the dissertation proposal has been approved. Prior to these meetings, the student should prepare a summary of research activities since the last meeting (or since the dissertation proposal.) The level of detail in these summaries depends on the student's recent research activities and the requests of the members of the Advisory Committee. However, the student should always be prepared to go into detail during these quarterly meetings. Further, after a quarterly meeting one or more members of the Advisory Committee may wish to meet with the student to further discuss her/his (recent) research activities.