Research

Research

According to the definitions presented by the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) on the word investigate (word that has its origin in the Latin investigate), this verb refers to the act of carrying out strategies to discover something . It also makes it possible to mention the set of activities of an intellectual and experimental nature of a systematic nature, with the intention of increasing knowledge on a specific subject.

In that sense, it can be said that an investigation is determined by the investigation of data or the search for solutions for certain inconveniences . It should be noted that research, especially in the scientific field, is a systematic process (information is obtained from a pre-established plan that, once assimilated and examined, will modify or add knowledge to existing ones), organized (it is necessary to specify the details linked to the study) and objective (their conclusions are not based on a subjective opinion, but on episodes that have been previously observed and evaluated).

Some synonyms of the word investigate are: investigate, inspect, explore , examine and track . In its most precise sense implies a search for something precise through an exhaustive analysis based on a certain method.

With a scientific rigorresearch is a series of procedures that are carried out in order to achieve new reliable knowledge about a fact or phenomenon that, once found can help us to draw conclusions and solutions to circumstances caused by them.

The tasks that are carried out in the framework of a research procedureinclude the measurement of phenomena, the comparison of the results obtained and the interpretation of these based on the knowledge that is possessed. Surveys or surveys can also be carried out to meet the proposed objective.

It should be clarified that several aspects intervene in a research process , such as the nature of the study phenomenon , the questions that scientists or researchers formulate , the hypotheses or paradigms that have been established previously and the methodology used for the analysis.

When it comes to raising a research problem , it is necessary to haveinteresting arguments that make the work necessary, so that it contributes to expand the universal knowledge that is had on that subject or to reach possible solutions to problems that the studied phenomenon I presented. For that it is necessary to argue convincingly and then carry out the study trying to corroborate or elucidate the potholes that the hypotheses present.

In this argument, the following questions must be taken into account:
* Choose the exact question about what we will investigate;
* Choose the type of analysis that will be used;
* Carry out an analysis on the scientific, ethical and social trends that exist around the problem;
* Prevent possible difficulties ;
* Create a protocol document where we explain our research;
* Carry out a reliable investigation with its consequent written result.

It is a systematic, reflective, and critical procedure whose purpose is to interpret the phenomena and their relationships with a specific reality.

Some thinkers in front of the term

According to Kerlinger , it is a critical, empirical and controlled research on natural phenomena that develops from a theory and hypothesis about the supposed relationships between phenomena and consequences.

For his part, Arias says that research should be defined as the set of methods used to solve problems, carrying out logical operations that start from specific objectives and use scientific analysis to provide answers.

This leads us to say that from the point of view of theoretical thinking , research consists of a formal process that is carried out systematically and intensively and seeks to control facts that are the consequence of a specific action or cause and that uses a method of scientific analysis.

Finally we must say that there are two major ways to catalog an investigation: one is that of basic research (also known as pure or fundamental ), which usually has a laboratory as a workplace and allows the expansion of scientific knowledge thanks to the impulse and / or the modification of theories ; and the other is that of applied research , which is characterized by taking advantage of accumulated knowledge for concrete issues arising in practice.

Research can also be classified according to the degree of interaction among the disciplines involved ( multidisciplinary , interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary ).