Sunday, January 17, 2010

Reading Assignment 1 - What is Research?

Author: Leedy/Ormrod
Source: p. 17,18

Connotation/Idea:

What research is not.
  • It is not just info gathering
  • It is not a just transportation of facts from one place to another
  • It is not just rummaging for information
  • It is not a catchword used to get attention

Source: p. 18, 22

Connotation/Idea:
What research is.
  • Research is a systematic process of collecting, analyzing and interpreting data in order to increase the understanding of the phenomenon being researched.
  • Research originates with a question or problem
  • an inquisitive mind is the beginning to research
  • the ignition point of all research is the questions we ask
  • Research requires clear articulation of a goal
  • it is important to clearly state the goal of your research
  • Research requires a specific plan for proceeding
  • on top of having a clear goal, you must also have a clear path to follow in order to reach that goal
  • Research divides the principal problem into more manageable sub-problems
  • large problems can often be solved piece by piece
  • divide the large problem into smaller ones, and you will reach your goal much faster
  • Research is guided by the specific research problem, hypothesis, or question
  • by simulating many possible outcomes of the research, you may find sources of information that will lead you to your goal
  • Research accepts certain critical assumptions
  • there are often self evident truths that may help guide the research these are assumed, and must be valid in order for the research to have meaning
  • Research required the collection and interpretation of data in an attempt to resolve the problem that initiated the research
  • the data is insignificant until the researcher extracts meaning from it
  • without human interpretation, research is useless
  • Research is, by nature, cyclical or, more exactly, helical
  • research usually follows a cycle
  • first a question is asked, then, the researcher goes through above steps, and after all the data is interpreted, more questions are formed, and the cycle begins all over again

No comments:

Post a Comment