Lesson 1: Definition of Research

Etymologically, research came from “re” and “search”.  "Re" is a prefix that means again and search is a word which means to look for. Therefore, research is to look for something (Chapman 1979). 

There are two (2) things that we need to take note

  First, research is not only about the discovery of something unknown, it is coming up with a new explanation of something that is known.

Second, research is a process. It is a process of searching for something to solve an existing problem or difficulty to solve.  

Research is also understood as a systematic investigation or inquiry entailing collection of data, documentation of critical information, analysis, interpretation of information (Williams 2007). From the given definition, this highlights the manner how research is conducted. It is systematic.

The question is, how does it becomes systematic and what makes it systematic?

The term systematic entails the structure. Therefore, whenever collecting data, documenting information, analyzing, and interpreting information are conducted, a particular method is used. 

On the other hand, research can be also viewed as the formation of new knowledge and the employment of previous or existing knowledge into a new and creative way (O’Donnell 2012).

       Imagine these two (2) scenarios: mother giving birth to a baby and a potter molding a pot. The creation of new knowledge can be compared to a mother giving birth. The mother stands for the research itself and the baby is new knowledge. Thus, through research, new knowledge is born. On the other hand, a potter molding a pot can be paralleled to the use of existing knowledge in a new creative way. Here, the potter stands for the researcher, the clay as the existing knowledge, and the pot itself is a new knowledge made creatively.