Research is Neither an Invention Nor Discovery
Generally people get confused with the terms invention, discovery and research and intermixed all. These are somewhat related terms still have differences.
Discovery finds real things which are existing such as how the earth orbit around the sun whereas Invention is to develop new things which do not exist as invention of bulb.
Research is next step of invention. It finds relationship between existing data and new facts. Like people researched on traditional bulb and produced CFL bulb, later researched on CFL bulb and produced LED bulb. Research is all about to collect existing data and then analyses and investigation of that data to discover new facts. Researcher also does experiments of new thoughts on existing data to derive a new product or application.
For e.g.:
- Derive a sorting method which requires less time compared to existing, sorting n number of elements
- Addition of timer with traffic signal light.
- Design a product manufacturing machine with less power consumption.
- Design a more secure encryption method than existed used in case of payment transfer over internet.
Research Life Cycle
Research is an iterative process where you analyse data then identify the problem in data. After that you choose research type and then start experimenting on existing data to resolve the problem. Once you get some result, you analyse that result, identify problem, choose research type and experiment again.
Types of Research
Before starting about the way to do good research, we must know the types of research to be done by researchers basically categorized on the basis on user group, methodology used in research and type of problem to be solved through research.
- Basic Research: Basic research is to enhance the scientific knowledge level. It does not aim to invent a new application/product. For eg: How our body parts work when we walk.
- Applied Research: Applied research focuses on the practical real life problems and develop innovative solution for those. For eg: To reduce travelling time from source to destination
- Descriptive Research: Descriptive research focuses on discovering new facts based on what is already existed. For eg: Find out the literacy rate in a rural area.
- Analytical Research: A statistical study of relationship between two or more than two variables is carried out in this research. For eg: Devise a hypothesis such as “a new medicine is more effective than previous one”. Now conduct research either experimental or survey based to conclude it.
- Qualitative Research: Qualitative research deals with the entities which are not quantifiable such as behaviour of an entity etc.
- Quantitative Research: The aim of quantitative research is to develop a mathematical model or theories through statistical or computational technique. It includes a collection of data, modelling and analysis, and conclude a result based on experimentation. For eg: which data structure is most suitable to store census data so that data retrieval can be fast.
Who should do Research?
A person who is curious about new things and has enough knowledge about a particular field in which he/she want to carry out his/her research can initiate the process.
Conclusion
A good research leads to the expansion of knowledge and discoveries in various fields such as a new product or application helps to increase economic growth. Enhanced knowledge in relevance area improves techniques to make better environment to live. Invention in medical science causes a healthy life for a human being and many more.