Answer:The correct answer is B. Choosing a research topic.Here’s why:Choosing a research topic is the foundational step. You can’t formulate plans or collect data without first having a clear idea of what you want to investigate.Let’s look at the other options:A. Formulating plans and methodology: This comes after you’ve chosen a topic. You need to know what you’re researching before you can plan how to do it.C. Data collection: This is a step in the research process, but it can’t happen until you’ve defined your topic and methodology.D. Identifying the general study area: This might be a preliminary step, but it’s not the absolute first thing. You might have a general area of interest, but you need to narrow it down to a specific research topics.Hope it helps.