Reading 1 - Leedy + Ormrod

The Fundamentals: What is Research?

Leedy + Ormrod

What is not a research?

1. Research is not mere information gathering.

2. Research is not mere transportation of facts from one location to another.

3. Research is not merely rummaging for information.

4. Research is not a catchword used to get attention.

What is research?

1. Research originates with a question or problem.

2. Research requires clear articulation of a goal.

3. Research requires a specific plan for proceeding.

4. Research usually divides the principal problem into more manageable sub-problems.

5. Research is guided by the specific research problem, question, or hypothesis.

6. Research accepts certain critical assumptions.

7. Research requires the collection and interpretation of data in an attempt to resolve the problem that initiated the research.

8. Research is, by its nature, cyclical or, more exactly, helical.