Week 1

I see research as being the process of investigating a topic with the aim of discovering new information or answering a question about that topic. Most of the time, it should begin with a question or hypothesis which will help guide the direction of the investigation. The question should be something meaningful that you (the researcher) are genuinely interested in or else it will be difficult to find the motivation to do a thorough job. The hypothesis/guiding question should be used initially to guide the investigation, which will begin with some background reading to ensure a complete understanding of the current body of knowledge on the chosen topic.

Once background information is obtained, experiments can be run. Of course, depending on the discipline, the procedure for running experiments can vary greatly. Regardless of discipline, experiments should be done in as a controlled environment as possible. It is imperative to be meticulous in your methods so as to avoid human error and ensure reproducibility. All of the data that is obtained over the course of the research should be clearly documented and recorded.

After obtaining the data, the next step is to perform analysis of that data. This could consist of running statistical tests or interpreting the data in a variety of contexts. It is worth noting that research is an open-ended process and should be treated as such. One cannot simply come up with a hypothesis and then get data supporting that hypothesis before calling it a day. It may turn out that an initial hypothesis is not supported by the data, or a different and more exciting piece of information may be uncovered. In this case, the researcher should be ok with changing direction and be careful not to let their initial bias affect the conclusions they draw. At any point, new insights could lead the researcher to try a new experiment or redo earlier stages of the research process.

The final step in the process is to interpret the results obtained so that others can see and understand them. This will likely involve creating illustrative graphs and incorporating them into a research paper for review. If the paper is judged to be valid and meaningful then it will hopefully be published for the world to see.

Research is extremely important to the academic world and the world at large. It is the best and most reliable way to augment the body of knowledge that all humans rely on.