WHAT IS RESEARCH? WHY DO I CARE?

The Office of Research Integrity defines research as a “systematic investigation, including research development, testing and evaluation, designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge.”

Another definition is the creation of new knowledge and/or using existing knowledge in a new and creative way to generate new concepts, methodologies and understandings.

One thing most students struggle to understand is that the purpose of education is to create knowledge. It is done on large and complex topics, such as completing complex tasks that allowed scientists to discover the Higgs boson, and it is done on much smaller and less complex topics such as determining which type of shoes are the most comfortable. The key is that it is SYSTEMATIC (having, showing or involving a system or plan).

WHAT IS INFORMATION LITERACY? WHY DO I CARE?

According to the American Library Association, Information Literacy is “a set of abilities requiring individuals to ‘recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information” (American Library Association. Presidential Committee on Information Literacy).

You should care because if you don’t know when you need more information about a topic, you can’t A) learn about it fully, and B) you can’t engage in a conversation about it. If you catch the end of a story that sounds interesting, you may find yourself engaging in research to find out more so that you can make an informed opinion. Research is simply engaging in a conversation about a topic.

WHAT IS SCHOLARSHIP AND IS IT DIFFERENT FROM RESEARCH?

Short answer: Yes, but don’t worry about it. Long answer: Scholarship is a curated activity base of knowledge that an individual maintains. Meaning: If you REALLY like learning about horses, and every academic article you write is researching another question about horses, then your scholarship is focused on horses. When you are doing research, you are sifting through the scholarship of other researchers (people who gather information). You may be conducting your own experiments or studies, and in doing so, you’re making NEW knowledge with it because you are joining their conversation.

HOW DO WE USE RESEARCH IN ACADEMIA? THE REAL WORLD?

Academics use research to continue learning about their topic of specialization.

For example: If you are taking a political science class, or a history class, those professors have a topic of specialization (Perhaps your Poli Sci instructor focuses on the governing systems of a foreign country, or your history professor focuses on the restoration era of American history). So that your professor can continue to help you and others understand the world at large as it is an ever-changing entity, your professor will continue to do research in their field of scholarship. They will visit sites of importance and read all the documents stored in dusty old libraries so that they can teach you the most important and up to date information.

We use research as non-academics for the same reason. Let’s say you are lying on the couch one rainy Saturday afternoon, and you are just scrolling through your favorite social media platform. You find out a celebrity has been cancelled, but you don’t know why. You have two choices:

(1.) Ignore it. Move on. Who cares. Or,

(2.) Go to google and read what was written about the topic. Listen to the interviews with the important parties. Watch videos that are posted.

It may feel like this kind of research isn’t as important as say, studying ways in which The Cold War still affects the everyday life of Americans 30 years after it was considered over, but the processes are the same.

WHAT IS UNIVERSITY LEVEL RESEARCHING – DEFINITION

When your instructors say “research” in the classroom, they usually mean LIBRARY research. The process of inquiry that strictly looks at primary, secondary, and tertiary sources housed in the library on your campus and through the use of interlibrary loan, libraries across the world.

So, what are the different types of sources?

These are discussed elsewhere in greater detail. For now, just know that the difference exists.

Empirical research is described as “a way of gaining knowledge by means of direct and indirect observation or experience” (Wikipedia, 2019). This is the type of research you probably imagine when you think of scientific research. The type of research that scientists do in the laboratory. At our level, you cannot engage in most types of empirical research, because doing this involves getting permission from the university. The university has a lot of safeguards in place to ensure the safe and ethical treatment of your research subjects. Obtaining permission for this type of research is controlled by an Institutional Review Board (IRB).

In your classes, you will typically work with the process that deals with acquiring information to create new knowledge. This is the purpose of academic research. Academic research is not finding five sources that agree with your preconceived idea. No, Academic research is gathering credible resources to build or expand the current knowledge and understanding in a research area. As you will find out, academic research is considered a conversation among scholars or experts in a field of study. Recall earlier when I mentioned that your professor may study specific kinds of knowledge? They then write presentations and publish articles to tell other scholars about their findings on that topic. These research articles are the credible sources you find when doing library research. This is a conversation between scholars.

Research is done for several reasons: curiosity, work, enjoyment, understanding and more. You want to make a certain meal for dinner, so you look up how to make it. You read in the blog that the blogger made the recipe but added an extra ingredient that he thinks really makes it taste good, so you tried it and agreed.

This is research.

Someone asks you if you want to go see the new movie with that cute actor, but you’ve never heard of it and aren’t sure if you want. to spend the money. So, you look up a trailer, read a couple reviews and think ‘Nah, I’ll watch it when it comes to streaming.’

This, too, is research.