There are personal real-life applications of the research process when this is internalized. Sociologist Peter Berger described internalization as the result of socialization at different levels to become a member of a particular group or society.
In the case of the academe, research is one of the training requirements to become an expert in a certain field or discipline. However, research is objectively real and subjectively meaningful. Only some appreciate it. Others hate it or have had no beautiful experience. They have research anxiety.
Let me dissect the research process to connect each phase to real-life experiences for dealing with personal problems and coming out of decisions. This exercise is a way of appreciating research as something with personal value beyond the associated scholarship.
The background of the research provides the context of the investigation on why and what is to be asked and answered as the solution. It gives the reasons for investigating and using the data after completing the research process. Knowing the problem allows for setting hypotheses or tentative answers; thus, the direction of the research process is clarified.
In real life, knowing the background of our problem allows us to find what needs to be prioritized and resolved, i.e., the real cause rather than the symptoms. Possible solutions are pursued while also open to alternative courses of action.
A problem is fundamental to research. It guides what related literature to review to understand what has been known. The review provides ideas on explaining the phenomenon and offers more possibilities to develop a more appropriate framework for understanding it. Along with the variables identified in the research problem, a conceptual framework is formulated to guide hypothesis testing, either to accept or reject the hypotheses.
In real life, we should not surrender if more options or solutions are available. It only requires us to understand better how life works and identify what qualities to acquire or change because they are vital to achieving our most valued goals. Hindsight and foresight are essential for adapting to rapidly changing work, community, and family demands.
Methodology includes the research design, locale, tool, respondents, data gathering, and analysis. These are all linked with the research problem, which they aim to provide answers to. Appropriateness, reliability, validity, and generalizability are essential qualities of the methodology.
In real life, how we address our problems—personal, familial, social, economic, political, or environmental—always relies on our assessment of their nature, urgency, and intensity. Do we have the right approach, capacity, tools, and resources to confront these problems at the right time, place, and tools?
The data gathered are systematically analyzed and logically presented to address or answer the research objectives or problems. The interpretation and implications of the data that comprised the discussion are guided by the study framework established earlier in the case of quantitative research. Or are directed toward the framework the study will develop as an output in the case of qualitative research.
In real life, the answers to life questions or personal problems depend on our ability to process various information, often conflicting, and a failure to weigh what matters most results in more problems. Every day, we are confronted with several symbols or signs, and how we interpret them determines our conclusions and actions.
After the conclusion, the ultimate output of research includes the recommendations we make to realize the significance of the investigation forwarded and how the data generated becomes useful. The recommendations are also anchored on the conclusion.
In real life, we need evidence-based solutions to our problems or judgments about others, including people and organizations that we directly or indirectly deal with and interact with. Trial and error efforts to confront life problems are minimized when our actions are grounded on the root of the problem.
Life is a research process.
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Author’s email: enriquegoracion@su.edu.ph
