What is research? — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:00[Music]
2. 0:04what comes to mind when you think about
3. 0:06research
4. 0:07probably a laboratory with test tubes
5. 0:09microscopes and scientists wearing white
6. 0:11lab coats
7. 0:13this setup is ideal for researchers in
8. 0:15some disciplines
9. 0:16such as virologists studying viral
10. 0:18infections
11. 0:19physicists developing new electronic
12. 0:21devices
13. 0:22or chemists creating new materials other
14. 0:25possibilities
15. 0:26such as someone digging through
16. 0:28historical archives
17. 0:29or someone distributing surveys about
18. 0:31consumer preferences may also come to
19. 0:33mind
20. 0:34that's research too so what is research
21. 0:38what unites these very different
22. 0:40approaches they share the same
23. 0:42fundamental goal
24. 0:43the creation of new knowledge or ideas
25. 0:47every good research project begins with
26. 0:49a question that has no known answer
27. 0:52these questions vary from field to field
28. 0:55a research product can be something
29. 0:56tangible such as a new drug for curing a
30. 0:59particular disease
31. 1:00or it can be intangible such as a new
32. 1:02understanding of an archival text
33. 1:05many people associate the idea of
34. 1:07research with the scientific method
35. 1:09a cyclical process of posing questions
36. 1:11and reaching conclusions
37. 1:13the first step in this process is making
38. 1:15observations
39. 1:18and asking questions
40. 1:21then the researcher formulates
41. 1:23hypotheses or educated guesses
42. 1:26that try to answer those questions and
43. 1:28develops experiments to collect data
44. 1:30and produce results the results help the
45. 1:33researcher to form a conclusion
46. 1:38the final step of the scientific method
47. 1:40is sharing the results of the research
48. 1:42with other scholars
49. 1:44so that they can observe verify and ask
50. 1:46their own
51. 1:47questions this process is an ongoing
52. 1:50loop that pushes discovery and
53. 1:52innovation forward
54. 1:55but the processes and principles of the
55. 1:57scientific method aren't limited to the
56. 1:59sciences
57. 2:00when a literary scholar reads a number
58. 2:02of texts by authors writing in the same
59. 2:04time period
60. 2:05and notices thematic similarities
61. 2:07they're making observations
62. 2:09when they ask why these themes are
63. 2:11important to the writers in this time
64. 2:13period
65. 2:13they're asking a research question
66. 2:17then they might argue that the
67. 2:19particular themes they are seeing
68. 2:20are a result of certain economic or
69. 2:22social conditions
70. 2:24that characterize that time period this
71. 2:26is a hypothesis
72. 2:28in order to collect data the scholar can
73. 2:30read more texts from that time period
74. 2:33and contrast them with texts from other
75. 2:35periods to see if there are sufficient
76. 2:36similarities and differences
77. 2:39finally they can publish their work and
78. 2:41allow other scholars to study it
79. 2:43and ask their own questions maybe you
80. 2:46have a burning question that you'd like
81. 2:48to solve
82. 2:49or perhaps you're itching to join an
83. 2:50existing research team
84. 2:52luckily there are numerous ways that you
85. 2:54can get involved with research
86. 2:57one pathway that leads to a career in
87. 2:59research involves attending college and
88. 3:01eventually pursuing an advanced degree
89. 3:03such as a phd
90. 3:04but even people who don't have a college
91. 3:06education can contribute to research
92. 3:08projects
93. 3:09for instance by participating in surveys
94. 3:12or helping researchers gather data
95. 3:15through research you can contribute to
96. 3:18tackling major obstacles of our
97. 3:19generation
98. 3:20from conserving endangered species to
99. 3:23monitoring public health crises
100. 3:26as long as you're curious and
101. 3:27hardworking research is for you
102. 3:31[Music]
103. 3:54you