Research is different from simple searching of facts in that it is done to broaden understanding of wider topics and the relationship among variables within such topics. Research is motivated by curiosity and often leads to more questions, going beyond what is easily accessible around you. Research also involves creating new knowledge that isn’t readily available. This concept is related to the following progression:
Data —> Information —> Knowledge
First, the investigator recollects facts in their rough form, known as data (e.g. a set of temperatures in degrees Farenheit throughout the day, a month, or a season). Then, the investigator interprets this data, turning it into knowledge (e.g. realizing that temperatures are colder during certain times of the day or days in which they were measured). Finally, if the learning process goes more in depth, the investigator uses this information to create new ways of understanding of the world around us, thus creating new knowledge (e.g. concluding that, in relation to previous years, there’s been less colder days during the same period temperatures were taken in the current study, thus suggesting this could be the effect of global warming).
Searching for facts isn’t bad in itself. It is how we begin learning about a subject. Through proper, targeted searching of facts, it is possible, for example, to establish an adequate research question. Searching for information is part of studying anything. Therefore, searching for facts is necessary for learning.
When doing research, it is important for students to know how to discern between good and bad sources of information. For this, it is very important to ask questions about the source’s reliability, quality, and utility of the source. Some resources, such as Wikipedia and other Wiki resources, might be extensive but lack proper citations and may not have completely verifiable information. Wikipedia, though, has a vast amount of information, significantly more than other encyclopedias, such as Encyclopedia Britannica. Yet, the latter has verifiable sources, meaning it has been thoroughly reviewed for accuracy, something that Wikipedia still lacks in a large number of its articles.
In the process of searching and researching, it is also relevant to know how to enter key terms (boolean operators such as AND, OR, etc.), know which search engines to use (e.g. www.search.com), and know what types of research exist, and which of those are more useful for our current research (cross-sectional, cohort, metaanalysis, etc.).
Sources:
Lesson: module 6, slide 3, 9, 10, 14-18, & 20-22.