Question:- Define research. What is the objective of research? What makes people to undertake research?
Answer:-
Meaning of Research:-
Research in common parlance refers to a search of knowledge. One can also
define research as a scientific and systematic search for pertinent information
on a specific topic. In fact, research is an art of scientific investigation or
interrogation. The Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English has lays
down the meaning of research as “a careful investigation or inquiry specially
through search for new facts in any branch of knowledge”.[1]
Redman and Mory, define research as a “systematic effort to gain new
knowledge”.[2]
Some people consider research as a movement from the known to the unknown. It
is actually a voyage of discovery. This curiosity is the mother of all
knowledge and the method, which man employs for obtaining the knowledge of
whatever the unknown, can be termed as research.
Research
is an academic activity as such the term should be used in a technical sense.
According to Clifford Woody, research comprises, defining and redefining of
research problems and formulating hypothesis or suggested
solutions;collecting,organising and evaluating data; making deductions and
reaching conclusions: and at last carefully testing the conclusions to
determine whether they fit in the formulating hypothesis.
D.
Slesinger and M. Stephenson in the Encyclopedia of Social Science define
research as “the manipulation of things, concepts or symbols for the purpose of
generalising to extend, correct or verify knowledge, whether that knowledge
aids in construction of theory or in the practice of an art”.[3]
Research is, thus, an original contribution for making for its advancement. It
is the persuit of truth with the help of study, observation, comparison and
experiment. In total, the search for knowledge through objective and systematic
method of finding solution to a problem is research. The systematic approach
concerning generalisation and the formulation of a theory is also known as
research. As such the term ‘research’ refers to the systematic method
consisting of shoveling the problem at hand and formulating a hypothesis ,
collecting the facts or data, analyzing the facts and reaching certain
conclusions either in the form of solutions towards the concerned problem or in
certain generalizations for some theoretical formulation.
Objective of Research
The
main aim of research is to find out the truth which is hidden and which has not
been discovered as yet. Though each research study has its own specific
purpose, we may think of research objectives as falling into a number of
following broad groupings:
1. To
gain familiarity with a phenomenon or to achieve new insights into it (studies
with this object in view are termed as exploratory or formulative research
studies);
2. To
portray accurately the characteristics of a particular individual, situation or
a group (studies with this object in view are known as descriptive research
studies);
3. To
determine the frequency with which something occurs or with which it is
associated with something else (studies with this object in view are known as
diagnostic research studies);
4. To
test a hypothesis of a causal relationship between variables.
What makes people to undertake
Research?
The
possible motives for doing research may be either one or more of the following:
1. Desire
to get a research degree along with its consequential benefits;
2. Desire
to face the challenge in solving the unsolved problems, i.e., concern over
practical initiates research;
3. Desire
to get intellectual joy of doing some creative work;
4. Desire
to be of service to society;
5. Desire
to get respectability.
Many
more factors such directives of government, employment conditions, curiosity
about new things, desire to understand causal relationship, social thinking and
awakening, and the likely may as well motivate (or at times compel) people to
perform research operations.
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--Dr. Deepak Miglani, Email
id.:- legalbuddy@gmail.com
End Notes:-
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