Combining and using source material - Essay Example

THE DEFINITION OF RESEARCH by Sur 11 March The Definition of Research In our everyday life we face the necessity to do this or that research no matter it is personal or scientific purpose. In this respect it becomes interesting whether our understanding of the word “research” the same with others or not. Let’s clear it up with the help of different vocabularies. Our belief is that research is a process of learning or studying of actual in some way issues, questions or problems by the means of doing practical assignments which are able to prove your own theory/ point of view or the one of another researcher.

Both the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (2003), and Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (2004) define research as a learning of an object in order to get new data. Howard and Sharp (1983), in his “Doing Your Research Project”, and Wisker (2008), in his “The Postgraduate Research Handbook”, have a similar view but add that there must be methodological processes which can gain benefit for research. These fairly general definitions are further expanded by Nunan (1994), “Research Methods in Language Learning”, who argues that research must include three elements or components such as 1.

a question, problem or hypothesis, 2. data, 3. analysis and interpretation of data. For Wisker what is key is that research has an effect on the world, which is in research results, and finds the realization in our behavior in society. Dawson(2002), however, gives a less general definition and focusses specifically on the purposeful examining of the conduct of other people with the aim of better understanding them or adding new information to knowledge. For the purposes of this essay, the word “research” will be used to mean specific studying of an object with a particular aim and special methods.