Introduction
It is worth spending some time unpacking a general definition of research. Most of us will have an implicit understanding of the term, however a clear and explicit formulation can help to structure how we think about improving research practice. Many definitions exist, however they often share core elements. For example:
“research is defined as a process of investigation leading to new insights, effectively shared.” [1]
“[Research] has to do with (i) linking (that is a ‘conversation’) what has been done (the past) with what has to be done (the present and/or future) in a way to generate new knowledge and (ii) objectifying what you are doing in a way to contribute to your chosen field (or community).” [2]
We will highlight two key aspects from these definitions and briefly discuss why they matter.
- Research is dynamic and acts upon itself. It generates new knowledge which in turn determines the direction of future research.
- Research is a social endeavour. It involves ‘conversation’, contributes to communities, and the knowledge produced is generally shared.
Research has a huge impact on the world, both through its direct application and the way it shapes our collective understanding. It also commands a significant portion of global resources. As such, this raises important questions for the knowledge generation aspect of research. This requires us to understand what counts as knowledge, how best to generate more of it, and what distinguishes it from belief or conviction (see Epistemology).
The idea that all research contributes to a shared store of human knowledge is a powerful one. Whether a particular project is purely theoretical, applied, or somewhere in between, all research is embedded within and affects our social groups at different scales. It is important therefore to think carefully about this relation: how is research affected by its social embedding and what outward effects will it have on this? Visit the page Historical Context for more on this.
Finally, because it is people that do research there is necessarily a degree of subjectivity present. This manifests itself through decision making at all stages of the process. For example, we may need to interpret which aspects of a hypothesis are supported by the results or how some source of information relates to the question at hand. Research projects rarely yield simple answers and interpretation is always needed. Many research frameworks seek to eliminate subjectivity through things like systematic methodology or peer-review. It is not clear whether this is entirely possible given that subjectivity can occur both at individual and group levels. Therefore, this aspect of research challenges us to think carefully and openly about how decisions may be guided by researcher idiosyncrasies (see Reflexivity).
Thinking critically about what is meant by the term ‘research’ helps identify key areas in which research practice can be improved. Research is dynamic and acts upon itself, it is also inherently a social endeavour. We have highlighted why these are of particular importance to inclusive research and suggested how we might start to ask questions about them.
Activities
Ask other people you know what they think research is, then think about or discuss the following:
- What are the things you agree or disagree on?
- What are the consequences of these similarities or differences and are these important?
- How does this conversation change when you speak to researchers from different fields?
- How does this conversation change when you speak to people outside of research?
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is a public body that has a large amount of oversight on the research conducted in the UK. Have a look into the different research councils that compose it and think about the different kinds of research that exist.
References and Further Resources
[1] The first definition of research comes from the Research Excellence Framework (REF), the UK’s system for assessing the quality of research. See the REF website
[2] The second definition of research comes from ‘What is Research?’ by Dong-Wook Song
All research is underpinned by a specific research philosophy. This YouTube video, Research Paradigms & Philosophy by Grad Coach, introduces the general idea and explains the ‘big three’; Positivism, Interpretivism, and Pragmatism.
We rarely engage critically with the nature of research or the choice of research philosophy. It can therefore be easy to forget that there are many valid challenges to the philosophical assumptions which underpin our research. It is important to spend some time thinking about our own responses to these and to acknowledge that a wide array of views exist. For example, in Against Method, Paul Feyerabend develops a highly polemical view about the nature of scientific progress, advocating anarchism over rationalism. The book itself is fascinating, if very technical. We suggest looking at some reviews (Goodreads) as a starting point.
