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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH
What is Research?
Everywhere, our knowledge is incomplete and problems are waiting
to be solved. We address the void in our knowledge and those
unresolved problems by asking relevant questions and seeking
answers to them. The role of research is to provide a method for
obtaining those answers by inquiringly studying the evidence
within the parameters of the scientific method.
The term ‘Research’ can be divided into ‘re’ (prefix) and ‘search’ (root).
Re means (once more, afresh, anew) or (back; with return to a previous state)
Search means (look thorough or go over thoroughly to look something) or
(examine to find anything concealed)
Here are some definitions of ‘RESEARCH’ defined by many scholars.
Research is systematic, critical and self-critical enquiry which aims to contribute towards the
advancement of knowledge and wisdom (Bassey, 1999: 38)
A collection of methods and methodologies that researchers apply systematically to produce
scientifically based knowledge about the social world (Neuman, 1991)
Research is a logical and systematic search for new and useful information on a particular topic. It
is an investigation of finding solutions to scientific and social problems through objective and
systematic analysis. It is a search for knowledge, that is, a discovery of hidden truths. Here
knowledge means information about matters. The information might be collected from different
sources like experience, human beings, books, journals, nature, etc. A research can lead to new
contributions to the existing knowledge. Only through research is it possible to make progress in a
field. (Kothari, 2004)
A detailed study of a subject, especially in order to discover (new) information or reach a (new)
understanding (Cambridge Dictionaries Online, © 2003)
