To prepare to embark on the honors thesis, you should read widely in your discipline, especially in the journals from your field of study. See the librarians in the WIU libraries for help identifying and locating journals that would be beneficial for you to read. Once you find a journal, notice the writing style, tone, length, and organization of articles. Think about questions about your discipline that intrigue you. Talk to your professors about their research. Develop a research question, and then start reading articles or books that relate to your research question. See a librarian at the Center for Research and Creative Activity to help you find relevant literature.
If your research will involve data collection from human subjects, you must obtain Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval before you begin to collect data. It is extremely important that you secure IRB approval before you begin any data collection. If you collect any data before you have your project approved, you will not be able to use that data for your thesis. Discuss with your honors thesis advisor if this step is necessary for your particular research project. See http://www.wiu.edu/sponsored_projects/compliance/hs_irb.php for more information.