The Research Fallacies

A fallacy is an error in reasoning, usually based on mistaken assumptions. Researchers are cery familiar with all the ways they could go wrong with the fallacies they are susceptible to. Here, I explain two of the most important. The Ecological fallacy  occurs when you make conclusions about individuals based only on analyses of group data. An Exception Fallacy is sort of the reverse of the ecological fallacy. It occurs when you reach a group conclusion on the basis of exceptional cases.  Both of these fallacies point to some of the...
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Philosophy of Research

Probably think of research as something very abstract and complicated. It can be, but you'll see that if you understand the different parts or phrases of a research project and how these fit together, it's not nearly as complicated as it may seem at first glance. A research project has a well-known structure - a beginning, middle, and end. Before the modern idea of research emerged, we had a term for what philosophers used to call research - logical reasoning. So, it should come as no surprise that some of the basic distinctions in logic have carried...
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Sources of Research Topics

One of the most common sources of research ideas is the experience of practical problems in the field. Many researchers are directly engaged in social, health or human service program implementation and come up with their ideas based on what they see happening around them. Others aren't directly involved in service contexts, but work with people who are in order to learn what needs to be better understood. Many of the ideas would strike the outsider as silly or worse. The health care industry has develop a number of approaches, many of the educational,...
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The Nature of Research

Research is both a science and art. It is a science because the researcher is guided with the well established principles and guidelines. It is also an art because the researcher needs to be creative in determining the appropriateness of the methodology which is suitable to the problem being investigated and it is considered a cycle. It starts with a question and supposedly ends with an answer. However, the answer by one researcher may be the basis of the problem for another researcher. Research involves an electric blending of an enormous range...
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Background Of Research

What is Research? Research is a human activity based on intellectual investigation and aimed at discovering, interpreting, and revising human knowledge on different aspects of the world. It is also a scientific investigation of phenomena which includes the collection, presentation, analysis and interpretation of facts that link man's speculation with reality. Research is a careful explanation to discover new information or relationship and to expand and verify existing knowledge. Why is Research Important? Research provides basis for an appropriate...
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