State and explain the characteristics of Research Process.

(i) Research originates with a question or problem: The world is filled with many unanswered questions and unresolved problems. Everywhere we turn, there are things that make us wonder or ask questions. And by asking questions, we strike the first spark igniting a chain reaction that terminates in the research process. An inquisitive mind is the beginning of research. He asserts that the hope of mitigating our ignorance lies in the question we ask and the information we gather in whose collective meaning we may find insight.

(ii) Researchers require a clear articulation of a goal: a clear unambiguous statement of the problem is critical. This statement means that ambiguity must be avoided in research and goals must be stated clearly and precisely.

(iii) Research requires a specific plan of procedure: Research is not an excursion into happy expectation of fondly hoping that the data necessary to solve the problem will magically turn up. Rather it requires a carefully planned attack, a search and discovery mission, properly planned in advance. Researchers plan their overall research design and specific research methods in a purposeful way – i.e. to yield data relevant to their particular research problem. The research design and methods to be used depend on the specific research question.

(iv) Research usually divides the principal problems into more manageable sub-problems: The whole is composed of some of its parts. That is, a universal natural law, that is also a good precept to observe in thinking about one’s principal goal in research. Principal problems are broken down much more frequently than is realised. Definitely, most researchers do not take time or the trouble to isolate the lesser problems within the major problem and consequently their research projects become cumbersome and unwieldy.

(v) Researchers are guided by specific research problems; question or hypothesis: A hypothesis is a logical supposition, a reasonable guess, an educated conjecture. It may direct your thinking to the possible source of information that will aid in resolving the research problem through the resolution of attendant sub-problems. Hypotheses are constant recurring features of everyday life. They present the natural working of the human mind. Each of these hypotheses provides a direction for exploration to locate the information that may resolve the problem of malfunction. It is noteworthy that hypotheses are never proved; they are either rejected or accepted. After the hypotheses come data. The data either support or fail to support the hypotheses. Many of the greatest discoveries in science have begun as hypotheses.

(vi) Research accepts certain critical assumption: In research, assumptions are equivalent to axioms in geometry i.e. self evident truths, the sine qua non of research. The assumptions must be valid or else the research cannot proceed. For this reason, careful researchers – certainly in academic research – set forth a statement of the assumption as the bedrock upon which their study must rest. In your research, therefore, it is important that others know what you assume with respect to your study. Note, that an assumption is a condition that is taken for granted, without which the result situation would be impossible. For the beginning researcher, you need to state your assumptions, for it is better to be over explicit than to take too much for granted.

(vii) Research requires the collection and interpretation of data in attempting to resolve the problem that initiated the research: Having isolated the problem, divided it into appropriate sub-problems, posited reasonable questions or hypotheses and recognised the assumptions that are basic to the entire effort, the next step is to collect whatever data that seem appropriate and to organise them in meaningful ways so that they can be interpreted. Data, events, happenings and observations are of themselves only data, events and observations – nothing more. The significance of the data depends on the way the human mind interprets the information from those data. In research, unprocessed data are worthless.

(viii) Research is by its nature, cyclical or more exactly helical: The research process follows a cycle and begins simply. It follows logical developmental steps. What however, seems like a neat circle may never be conclusive. In exploring an area, one comes across additional problems that need to be resolved. Research begets research. To view research this way is to invest it with a dynamic quality i.e. its true nature which is different from the conventional view, which sees research as static, self-contained and an end in itself. Every researcher eventually learns that genuine research creates more problems than it resolves. Such is the nature of the discovery of knowledge. You will note that all this while; we have been discussing Leedy’s definition of research and his eight distinct characteristics of research methodology.

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Kavungya answered the question on March 7, 2019 at 07:12