Chances are, you've done research at some point, whether for a class or personal needs.
The Oxford Learner's Dictionary defines research as "a careful study of a subject, especially in order to discover new facts or information about it." The Frascati Manual defines research as "creative and systematic work undertaken in order to increase the stock of knowledge -- including knowledge of humankind, culture and society -- and to devise new applications of available knowledge." The Association of College and Research Libraries describes research as inquiry: "Research is iterative and depends upon asking increasingly complex or new questions whose answers in turn develop additional questions or lines of inquiry in any field."
Based on your experience, how would you define research? What, if anything, is missing from these definitions?
The graphic below shows steps commonly undertaken by students in a research process. Think about a time when you gathered information in order to answer a complex question or solve a problem. Does this process resemble the process you took? How would you illustrate your research process?
The Research Process graphic by Kim Louie for Lumen Learning is licensed under a CC Attribution 4.0 International license.
