Research: B2+. Anneli Williams

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      Quiz

       Self-evaluation

      Read the statements, then circle the word which is true for you.

       What is research?

      In simple terms, when you do research, you are looking for information in order to answer a question. In academic settings, research can take many different forms depending on the subject discipline and the kind of question you want to answer. If you are studying a scientific subject, your research may take the form of an experiment to answer a question which begins with the phrase: ‘What will happen if … ?’. If you are studying a social science, your research may take the form of a survey of a group of people’s thoughts, feelings or experiences. In any case, no matter what your subject discipline, at some point you will have to do some research which involves investigating what other scholars have said about the topic you are interested in. In other words, you will have to do some library based research.

       Glossary

      subject discipline In an academic setting, a subject discipline is a particular topic or specific area of study.

       Why do you have to do library based research?

      When you do library based research, you usually have to work on your own. This gives you the opportunity to become a more independent learner and to show that you can think for yourself. These are qualities that are highly valued in academic settings within the English speaking world.

      However, working independently does not mean that your research is not connected to the work of other people. One of the main purposes of universities is to produce knowledge, that is, to create, evaluate and disseminate new information and ideas. Producing knowledge usually involves many scholars working in different times and places. When you do research as part of your course, you are learning skills which will allow you to participate in that wider effort. You have the opportunity to develop the ability to:

       Glossary

      evaluate If you evaluate something or someone, you consider them in order to make a judgement about them, for example about how good or bad they are.

      disseminate To disseminate information or knowledge means to distribute it so that it reaches many people or organizations.

       How do you know if your research is good?

      In some parts of the world, students are judged according to how well they retain information given to them. In the English speaking world, when your essay paper is being marked, the marker will normally use other criteria for judging how well you have demonstrated the skills involved.

       These are the questions the marker may ask themselves:

      1Has the student understood the question?

      2How well does the student know what other scholars have written about the topic?

      3How skilfully has the student evaluated the work of other scholars?

      4To what extent has the student synthesized the information and ideas available to produce a convincing argument?

      5How clearly has that argument been conveyed?

      6Has the student learned what they were supposed to learn from the course?

       Glossary

      synthesize If you synthesize different ideas, you combine these ideas.

      Some of these criteria may be more important than others, depending on the task you have been set. However, in most cases, students who are good at 3 and 4 tend to receive higher marks. That is because they demonstrate good critical thinking skills.

      Generally speaking critical thinking involves viewing issues from multiple perspectives and weighing up the strengths and weaknesses of arguments. When you do this you demonstrate that you can make fair judgements and take an independent stance.

       For more information on critical thinking skills, see Chapter 7.

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