Data analysis is a key step in an investigation.
An investigation is a process carried out to find out data or find solutions to certain problems . The term is derived from the word "investigate ."
According to the definitions presented by the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) on the word "investigate" (a word that has its origin in the Latin word "investigate" ), this verb refers to the act of carrying out strategies to discover something . It also allows us to refer to the set of intellectual and experimental activities of a systematic nature, with the intention of increasing knowledge on a certain subject.
Research characteristics
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 knowledge), organized (it is necessary to specify the details linked to the study) and objective (its conclusions are not based on a subjective opinion, but on episodes that have previously been observed and evaluated).
Some synonyms for the word investigate are inquire, inspect, explore , examine and track . In its most precise sense, it implies a search for something specific through an exhaustive analysis based on a certain method.
Funding for a research project may include grants and other contributions.
Research work in science
With scientific rigor , research involves 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 establish a conclusion and reach solutions to circumstances caused by them.
The tasks carried out within the framework of a research procedure include observation and measurement of phenomena, comparison of the results obtained and their interpretation based on the knowledge available. Surveys, interviews or polls may also be carried out to achieve the proposed objective.
It should be noted that several aspects are involved in a research process , such as the nature of the phenomenon being studied , the questions asked by scientists or researchers , the hypotheses or paradigms that have been previously established, and the methodology used for the analysis .
The publication of a scientific article in an academic journal is a common mechanism for making the results of research known.
Defining the research problem
When posing a research problem , it is necessary to have interesting arguments that make the work necessary, so that it contributes to expanding the universal knowledge that we have on that subject or to reaching possible solutions to problems that the studied phenomenon presents. To do this, it is necessary to argue convincingly and then carry out the study trying to corroborate or elucidate the gaps that the hypotheses present.
The following issues must be taken into account in this argument :
- Choose the exact question about which we will investigate. This is the problem statement.
- Select the type of analysis to be used.
- Conduct an analysis of the scientific, ethical and social trends surrounding the issue.
- Prevent potential difficulties .
- Create a protocol-type document where we explain our research.
- Conduct a reliable investigation with its subsequent written result .
It is, as we have already seen, a systematic, reflective and critical procedure whose purpose is to interpret phenomena and their relationships with a specific reality.
Some thinkers on the term
According to Fred Kerlinger , critical, empirical and controlled research on natural phenomena must be developed from a theory and hypotheses about the supposed relationships between the phenomena and the consequences.
For his part, Fidias G. Arias says that research should be defined as the set of methods used to solve problems by 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 that seeks to control facts that are the consequence of a specific action or cause and that uses a scientific analysis method for this purpose.
Types of research
Finally, it remains to be said that there are two main ways of classifying research: one is basic research (also known as pure or fundamental research ), which usually has a laboratory as a workplace and allows the expansion of scientific knowledge thanks to the impulse and/or modification of theories ; and the other is applied research , which is characterized by taking advantage of accumulated knowledge for specific questions that arise in practice.
Research can also be classified according to the degree of interaction between the disciplines involved ( multidisciplinary research , interdisciplinary research or transdisciplinary research ).
Experimental research is the type of research that uses experiments to obtain data . The data are then compared to variables that are constant.
It is important to note that not all research is experimental. Non-experimental research includes correlational research : in this case, the principal investigator measures two variables and studies the statistical relationships that exist between them without the influence of other external variables.
When a procedure is carried out to record data as it appears in reality, without incurring in any manipulation of the variables, we speak of field research . Descriptive research , on the other hand, aims to achieve a detailed description of a variable (a phenomenon, a characteristic of the population, etc.).