Class 1: What is Research

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Class 1 What is Research?
LS 502 Research MethodsSummer Session 2, 2008
Naomi Gold School of Library and Information
Studies University of Alabama negold_at_bama.ua.edu

• LS 502 Research Methods
• Summer Session 2, 2008

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What is Research?

• Here is what it is not
• Information Gathering
• Collecting facts is not research.

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What Research Is

• Research requires both the gathering
• and interpretation of data.
• Research requires the collection and analysis of
  information in a systematic way that leads to
  increased understanding of the subject we are
  studying.
• In the process of research we also anticipate
  communicating our findings to our professional
  community.

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What Research Requires

• Research begins with a question, problem, or
  hypothesis.
• Research requires a clear statement of a goal.
• Research follows a particular procedure.
• Research usually divides the main problem into
  smaller units that constitute sub problems.
• Research requires the collection and
  interpretation of data and the goal of resolving
  the problem that initiated the research.
• Research is helical.

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The Question or Problem

• Research originates with a question or problem.
• Every field is filled with unresolved questions
  and
• problems.
• Questioning is the first step in a chain of steps
• that produces the research process

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Clear articulation of a goal

• Articulating the question clearly is a crucial
  part of
• the process.
• This is because research is a carefully planned
• process mapped out in advance.
• Planning and design cannot be postponed or
• added on.

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Research is Guided by Specific Research Problems

• After you have articulated the problem or
  question and
• analyzed its component parts, you can begin to
  form a
• hypothesis or hypotheses
• A hypothesis is a tentative, educated conjecture
  for the
• phenomenon being investigated.

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Division of Principal Problem

• Breaking down principal problems into small units
  is a strategy we use in
• Every day. What seems like a single question can
  be divided into smaller
• questions that must be addressed before the
  principal question can be
• solved.
• For example, suppose you want to get from your
  town to a town 100 miles
• away. Your principal goal is to find the best
  route.
• This problem involves several sub problems
• Main problem How do I get from point A to point
  B?
• Sub problems
• What is the most direct route?
• How far do I travel on the highway?
• Which exit should I take?

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Collection and Interpretation

• So far, youve accomplished the following
• Articulated the problem
• Analyzed it and identified its sub problems, and
• Formed hypotheses based on the evidence you have
  up to this point.
• Now you need to collect appropriate data, and
  organize
• them in a way that allows for interpretation.

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Research is Helical

• Research evolves in cycles, usually over long
  periods of
• time
• An observation is made and a question or problem
  identified.
• The question is honed and articulated clearly.
• The problem is analyzed and subdivided into
  logical component parts.
• Relevant preliminary data are gathered.
• If the data seem to indicate a tentative
  solution, a hypothesis can be formed.
• Further data are collected.
• The entire body of data is synthesized and
  interpreted.
• A conclusion is formed, and the tentative
  hypothesis is evaluated based on findings
  gathered from the data.
• One cycle is complete.
• However, research is rarely, if ever, conclusive.
  Additional data and new
• problems demonstrate issues that need to be taken
  into account, and the
• process begins again.

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What Underlies It all Methodology

• The data/information you collect and the method
  or methods you use
• to analyze them are interdependent.
• Different questions produce different types of
  data. Different research
• problems require different types of data
  collection, and, therefore,
• different research methods and procedures for
  interpretation.
• The method you use for a particular research
  problem must take into
• account and be appropriate to the nature of the
  data you are working
• with. Data are often compatible with a limited
  number of
• methodologies.
• Another way of stating this is The data dictate
  the research method.

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Assignment 1

• In assignment 1, we will begin to sharpen our
  skills of reading closely and critically, and of
  developing the ability to analyze and evaluate
  written material in the library and information
  studies field.