¶ … Complexities and Simplicities of Research Whether an academic or a working professional, research is often the primary objective of one's daily activity. Research not only imparts knowledge, but also allows one to understand how things work better, whether complex or simple, and present this information to bosses, professors, etc. thereby allowing these individuals to also broaden their knowledge and move the world forward. Research is thus very important. This paper will commence by addressing the question as to why research is conducted, and will continue with stressing the importance of clarity, assumption, literature, quality and data in research.

Why Do We Conduct Research?

The introductory paragraph above touched on this question a bit as well. Research is conducted because, frankly, we could not live our daily lives without knowledge, and this is exactly what research gives us. But what is research, exactly? Well, it could be defined as anything from looking on a map to find a street, to finding that street's significance in history, or its length, or the components from which it is made. We thus conduct research to be smarter, and more successful in our endeavors, but we also conduct it so that we may know more about the world around us and enrich our existence. Sometimes research is vital for life, especially in the scientific fields. Other times, it is essential for someone's success, such as in the political field. Research is conducted for a variety of reasons.

Other Components of Research

Research usually starts with a question, or a hypothesis. This question is vital, for it sets the purpose of the research, but also puts one on a certain track towards completing it. It also helps with clarifying the scope, which will be...

Research, especially, in an academic setting, is often descriptive or meant to evaluate something, since many times academics conduct research for these specific purposes.
Because of the various reasons as to why we conduct research, one must also be clear in his or her scope for conducting research. Clarity is vital not only because it provides a framework for study, but also because it communicates the true nature of the study to the community it addresses or that which reads it.

Clarity of research means that a paper, for example, follows a certain framework. This framework may include, at the beginning, a thesis statement, then a literature review, and a presentation of data. After these paragraphs it is vital to provide a conclusion that not only summarizes the scope of the research very clearly one again, but one that also summarizes the results of the research.

Another part of research is the assumption. Though many of us, when beginning a study, have assumptions as to how the research will manifest itself, or what we will find, we must always strive to base our conclusions on fact, not assumption. Thus, one must be careful to eliminate as many assumptions as possible when conducting research, and analyze any questions that may come up, especially if funding or time is not an issue, so that assumptions may be further eliminated.

Paradoxically, however, all research must start from assumptions. This is how we can move forwards. For example, we assume that something is true, and we test it. If it is not true, our assumption was wrong. However, all research…