Research is “THE '' skill that ultimately finds its way in every field. This blog won't glorify something already glorified enough, this blog will help you gradually pave your way up in the world of research, basically get good at it. Research for an essay, for an MUN, debate or research for a full fledged research paper, I hope this helps you get the much needed head start. And no, chatgpt won't give you this level of comprehensive research. So let's dive in…
Break up the AGENDA
It’s important to Know the difference - A simply framed research topic can be a VAST RESEARCH topic too, because those few words often hold a lot of weight. Sometimes a complex looking research topic would be more niche and specific. So, breaking up the agenda to get those keywords is a smart strategy as they can be used as the search terms.
Let's see with 3 examples, from a beginner friendly topic to a complex research topic-
SIMPLE -
How obesity affects your health?
This topic is very simply framed, however, the keywords are broad.
Keywords : Obesity and Health
(Child's play, ain't it?)
MODERATE -
Growing ed-tech, a mere business model?
Key takeaway phrases :
Education-technology integration, edtech as a business
COMPLEX -
Suggest and explain one function that a national or international agency could perform to mitigate the existential risks from advanced artificial intelligence.
Intimidating huh? With this one, not only the sentence is never-ending but also the terms used are intensive and extensive, both.
Key words/phrases: Advanced artificial intelligence, existential risks, existing policies on AI, potential policies on AGI.
Once, you've the search terms ready to get a broad idea of the research. Second step would be to -
SCAN THROUGH RELIABLE SOURCES
Need Credible research sources?
For building up the core evidence/fact based research, people generally should refrain from using OPINIONATED sources. Wikipedia has long been infamous for this, be it MUNs, debates or research papers, picking up facts from the site might not be the best idea!
Some credible sources include -
Any University Published research paper - preferably on the university’s website itself.
These sites, being national sites of their respective nations can seem to be biased and quite bold with their statements and captions, but facts wise, almost always have comprehensive information.
Reuters
BBC
The Economist
ORGANIZE - COPY & PASTE comes handy!
I don’t mean to say that you should copy & paste any/all material you find while researching for your essay, speech or paper. However, in order to retain that information and later use it in your content, it is good for you to copy paste the relevant information. And wait… blindlessly copying anything and everything that you “feel” will help later isn’t going to cut it, there’s a way you should do this, which brings me to my next tip!
FRAME QUESTIONS/STATEMENTS you need to elaborate on
Your speech/debate/research paper/essay, NEEDS to have a structure depending on the topic, you should know what questions your final content should be answering. And it goes without saying, to find answers, questions need to be formed.
Using the MODERATE topic as an example -
Growing ed-tech, a mere business model
Is ed-tech having a healthy influence?
Are ed-tech businesses offering quality education? Are they serving their purpose?
Pros of Integrating ed-tech at the school level
Current examples of booming ed-tech companies and their practices.
Framing these questions also comes handy when you need to structure your content and develop it.
TAKE YOUR TIME & WORK ON THE INTRICACIES!
Undoubtedly, well researched content answers all the intricate questions, displays nuances, provides evidence, and is structured beautifully! So, reading those lengthy articles and research papers (LITERALLY 200 PAGER PDFs) will be worth it. It takes time but give it a shot.
BONUS - (Ahhhhh I am running on a deadline!!!)
1. Don’t have time to read the research papers and sites?
Understanding that you don’t even have time to skim read the pdfs and sites, open the pdf you want to pick up points from on adobe reader (or files on mac or iPad) and search the keywords you framed up in the search bar. By this time, in the blog, I hope the pdfs you’ve picked up to copy paste points from are relevant and have some of the keywords your topic requires :) This will shorten your time to get to the most apt chapters, paragraphs and lines in the pdf.
2. Use chatgpt :)
Knowing the audience today, I know Open AI’s wonderful creation chatgpt is everyone’s first and last choice to write up their wonders. But when running on a deadline, chatgpt can act as the search engine, giving you the filtered information. Just to be safe, please fact check any chatgpt content you are doubtful of.
3. Structuring
Structuring is crucial everytime, even when you have time and especially when you don’t, so that your content does not come across as chaotic.
Pro tip is to always structure first (frame those questions you need answers to) and then delve into researching just those.
4. Video interviews and explanations
This tip, again, is for those who have ample time to research and those who are in a hurry. You must’ve come across those video explanations on YouTube of renowned news channels, journalists, educationalists, or YouTubers explaining topics. If you see the bigger picture, those videos consist of well researched points, facts and figures that you can use in your speech, debate, essay etc.
Another reason why I actually like to watch those videos is because, even though they can sometimes be quite opinionated based on the Topic, but they simplify the topic for me, they break down those complex concepts and help me understand what it is that I’m looking at and looking for. I remember watching Tarek Fatah's YouTube video covering the Israel Palestine conflict, for my 2nd MUN’s stellar opening speech (it helped so much!)
Disclaimer: Goes without saying, keep your eyes open and fact check the video research points too!
Some channels I often visit for “topics simplified” and to discover current unique affairs -
WION
Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell
New Delhi times - Tareek Fatah
Abhi and Niyu
ThinkSchool
Geodiode
Soch by Mohak Mangal
Another disclaimer: the political stance and facts presented in these videos can be biased, at times. So, if you are looking for political research, it is again better to fact check, that being said, you might actually be able to take guidance for structuring your content better with these videos and potentially come across some interesting facts and assumptions, which will surely make your research process more enlightening!
I have full faith that this blog, RESEARCH 101, will help you with your remarkable research endeavors. Leaving you with a quote by me before signing off.
“The research outcome is proportional to the researcher’s interest in the research topic” - hey budding researcher! Found that topic yet?