What is Research
Knowledge and information have always been seen as resource that could change the course of a war, generate great fortunes, lead to important development in medicine and so on. It is easy to take for granted the access to information and knowledge we have today in the age of Internet and computers. But while we now have access to knowledge like never before, one thing still remains: this knowledge must come from somewhere – from research.
You may think of research as something alien and strict, something that only men and women wearing white lab coats would deal with. But soon you will realise that you yourself are an active researcher. You may surf on the Internet for that great recipe that will improve your reputation as a waffle maker, or maybe you are reading computer magazines on order to know which graphic card is the better one for the latest installment of World of Warcraft. In fact, never have information and knowledge been easier to access 24/7. In many ways we can literally say that research is everywhere around us, and that understanding research methods will help you understand how we came to know things we accept as facts.
We know that doing cardio (jogging, rowing etc) regularly reduces the chance of cardiovascular heart diseases. We also know that a proper diet is important for child development, and that alcohol reduces your ability to drive safely. We may also read in the newspaper that Big Joe’s hamburgers are better than the hamburgers from Big Moe’s. But how do we know these things?
We wouldn’t know, unless someone actually conducted a study and found these findings. But that does not necessarily mean that you agree with the stated “facts”. Most of us would probably agree with the statements about cardio and the value of proper nutrition, but maybe disagree when it comes to the hamburgers. We would like to know just how the researchers found this result. Maybe they had interviewed only people who just came out of Big Joe’s. The fact that the participants of the study already had gone to Big Joe’s in the first place, could mean that they had a preference for Big Joe’s. Thus this result can hardly be surprising or fair?
These types of questions put the light on the methods the researchers used when they investigated something. And I will later show that there are a variety of techniques that people use when studying a given phenomenon, and that good research methods don’t just happen. Rather great effort is needed in order to design research to give maximum accuracy.
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