Research
[1] It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to controlling sources of bias and error.[5] Research has been defined in a number of different ways, and while there are similarities, there does not appear to be a single, all-encompassing definition that is embraced by all who engage in it.In a formal sense, it is a systematic study of a problem attacked by a deliberately chosen strategy, which starts with choosing an approach to preparing a blueprint (design) and acting upon it in terms of designing research hypotheses, choosing methods and techniques, selecting or developing data collection tools, processing the data, interpretation, and ending with presenting solution(s) of the problem.[7] The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines research more generally to also include studying already existing knowledge: "studious inquiry or examination; especially: investigation or experimentation aimed at the discovery and interpretation of facts, revision of accepted theories or laws in the light of new facts, or practical application of such new or revised theories or laws".In some subjects which do not typically carry out experimentation or analysis of this kind, the originality is in the particular way existing understanding is changed or re-interpreted based on the outcome of the work of the researcher.[10] The degree of originality of the research is among the major criteria for articles to be published in academic journals and usually established by means of peer review.[citation needed] This research provides scientific information and theories for the explanation of the nature and the properties of the world.In this sense, a hypothesis can never be proven, but rather only supported by surviving rounds of scientific testing and, eventually, becoming widely thought of as true.Humanities scholars usually do not search for the ultimate correct answer to a question, but instead, explore the issues and details that surround it.Historians use primary sources and other evidence to systematically investigate a topic, and then to write histories in the form of accounts of the past.Other studies aim to merely examine the occurrence of behaviours in societies and communities, without particularly looking for reasons or motivations to explain these.It is the debatable body of thought which offers an alternative to purely scientific methods in research in its search for knowledge and truth.As such, it is similar to the social sciences in using qualitative research and intersubjectivity as tools to apply measurement and critical analysis.[42] Quantitative research is concerned with testing hypotheses derived from theory or being able to estimate the size of a phenomenon of interest.[42] If the research question is about people, participants may be randomly assigned to different treatments (this is the only way that a quantitative study can be considered a true experiment).[citation needed] If this is not feasible, the researcher may collect data on participant and situational characteristics to statistically control for their influence on the dependent, or outcome, variable.Peer review methods are employed to maintain standards of quality, improve performance, and provide credibility.[56] It was observed that publications from periphery countries rarely rise to the same elite status as those of North America and Europe, because limitations on the availability of resources including high-quality paper and sophisticated image-rendering software and printing tools render these publications less able to satisfy standards currently carrying formal or informal authority in the publishing industry.The open access movement assumes that all information generally deemed useful should be free and belongs to a "public domain", that of "humanity".[57] This idea gained prevalence as a result of Western colonial history and ignores alternative conceptions of knowledge circulation.On the one hand, "digital right management" used to restrict access to personal information on social networking platforms is celebrated as a protection of privacy, while simultaneously when similar functions are used by cultural groups (i.e. indigenous communities) this is denounced as "access control" and reprehended as censorship.[57] Even though Western dominance seems to be prominent in research, some scholars, such as Simon Marginson, argue for "the need [for] a plural university world".Focused on emphasizing educational achievement, East Asian cultures, mainly in China and South Korea, have encouraged the increase of funding for research expansion.A 2003 study by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences found that 70% of articles in a random sample of publications about least-developed countries did not include a local research co-author.[67][68] In several national and private academic systems, the professionalisation of research has resulted in formal job titles.In present-day Russia, and some other countries of the former Soviet Union, the term researcher (Russian: Научный сотрудник, nauchny sotrudnik) has been used both as a generic term for a person who has been carrying out scientific research, and as a job position within the frameworks of the Academy of Sciences, universities, and in other research-oriented establishments.The kinds of publications that are accepted as contributions of knowledge or research vary greatly between fields, from the print to the electronic format.[71] It has also been suggested that all published studies should be subjected to some measure for assessing the validity or reliability of its procedures to prevent the publication of unproven findings.The Social Psychology Network provides a comprehensive list of U.S. Government and private foundation funding sources.The total number of researchers (full-time equivalents) per million inhabitants for individual countries is shown in the following table.
Research (disambiguation)ResearchEDResearcher (disambiguation)Research designEthicsProposalQuestionWritingArgumentReferencingInterdisciplinaryMultimethodologyQualitativeArt-basedQuantitativePhilosophical schoolsAntipositivism ConstructivismCritical rationalismEmpiricismFallibilismPositivismPostpositivismPragmatismRealismCritical realismSubtle realismMethodologyAction researchArt methodologyCritical theoryGrounded theoryHermeneuticsHistoriographyHuman subject researchNarrative inquiryPhenomenologyScientific methodAnalysisCase studyContent analysisDescriptive statisticsDiscourse analysisEthnographyAutoethnographyExperimentField experimentSocial experimentQuasi-experimentField researchHistorical methodInferential statisticsInterviewsMappingCultural mappingPhenomenographySecondary researchBibliometricsLiterature reviewMeta-analysisScoping reviewSystematic reviewScientific modellingSimulationSurveyCommunicationHistoryGeneral aspectsCommunication theoryInformationSemioticsLanguageSociologyLinguisticsMass communicationOrganizational communicationPragmaticsSociolinguisticsPublic speakingDiscourseCultureArgumentationPersuasionResearchRhetoricOutlinecreativesystematicknowledgeevidencebasic researchapplied researchdocumentationdiscoveryinterpretationresearch and developmentepistemologiesscientifichumanitiesartisticsocialmarketingpractitioner researchtechnologicalmeta-researchsocial scientistphysicschemistrybiologyastronomyzoologyProfessional associationsAristotleMiddle FrenchOld FrenchJohn W. Creswellprimary-sourceanalyticalresearcheracademic journalspeer reviewGraduate studentsdissertationMicroscopyIdaho National Laboratoryresearch vessel