Research Thoughts

In class today, we talked about the complex nature of academic research. While it can be as simple as “searching for quotes online,” this description barely scrapes the surface of what it means to do effective research. As a starting point for our discussion, we talked about some of our individual habits and past experiences with research. Looking back on this time, I recall thinking first about the various presentations and research projects that I had done in school. However, upon further reflection, I realized that I have conducted a great deal of research outside of the classroom as well.

I am constantly thankful of my ability to do quick and easy research on the internet. For example, whether I am wondering “How many kinds of dinosaurs existed?” or “How many actors have been in all seven Star Wars Movies?” I can find the answer in a matter of seconds by doing a quick
Google search on my iPhone. This sort of research is informal and often unrelated to academic topics, however it is extremely valuable. In fact, this sort of habitual research helped me to develop skills such as search engine navigation and source validation, which are directly applicable to academic research.

Furthermore, as a sales intern, I have learned about database research as well as information organization and management. When conducting research at work, my goal was not only to gather information, but to sort and organize it into useful and meaningful formats. This skill is applicable in all sorts of research. For example, when writing a research paper or essay, it is equally important to gather quotes and statistics as it is to organize them into an effective argument.

My personal experience seems to echo the focus of our class discussion in the sense that the vast majority of my research is conducted on the internet. When I approach an academic research project, I usually begin with the same informal methods that I utilize in my everyday life and then transition as needed towards more formal techniques, like those I used in my internship. For example, I might start by doing a simple google search and seeking out scholarly sources. However, If this doesn’t work, I might instead try searching an online database. All the while, I will be considering the material I find and evaluating which sources might work well with one another to support, contradict, or investigate a particular issue or idea.

Another student’s perspective on research is illustrated in, “The Great Research Disaster.” Through reading this article, I was able to recognize some of the mistakes that I have made when conducting past research and evaluate the ways in which I might improve my research process. Above all else, the article stressed that research takes time. Any attempt to rush the research process will result in diminishing quality of results and for this reason, it is my goal to manage my time effectively and allocate plenty of time towards research in the upcoming quarter. 

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