Understanding Research
On a semantic
note, Research means to search again.
This implies conducting prior search. On
a given day, we are exposed to various topics, of which some appeals to us. It
may be as diverse as technology, philosophy, science, sports, literature,
political and social news or updates. We ponder over some of them and pose a
question as an attempt to understand. We seek answer to this query in the
chosen subject. Ex – How does the internet
work? What are the effects of rise in dollar value on a common man? Etc.
Once we gather
answers and assimilate them, we tend to apply them. If it works, it becomes a
handbook or a guide. If it provides answers beyond our expectations and
comprehension, we again seek to identify the reasons, probably from the pool of
knowledge and the factors or the circumstances where we applied the
lesson. This iterative process of
searching, absorbing, contemplating constitutes the process of doing research.
It reaches a finite end when the researcher finds a satisfactory, if not the
best, solution or answer to the query at hand. The researcher is able to interpret the
outcome and describe it. The answer finds its way back to the knowledge bank to
be used by others.
Attributes of a good research
question
1. Relevance
– the question must be worth analysing. There must be a potential benefit,
quantifiable in terms of the value added.
2. Researchable
– the question must be answered by framing hypotheses, experimenting and
drawing conclusions based on the results.
3. Novel
– the solution is not too obvious or state of the art. It is not worthwhile to
invest time and resources to reinvent the wheel.
4. Balance
of the scope – the topic should not be too broad to be infeasible nor too
narrow to limit its applications.
5. Contribute
– the solution should supplement the knowledge base, not summarise it.
To be continued..................
