Whether you love it or hate it, research is something that plays a crucial role in different facets of our life. Research is important as it helps us to make more well-formed decisions and opinions based on facts, figures etc. and overall allows individuals to gain more knowledge. Be it regarding your job or assignment work, conducting research gives us an upper hand in many ways. Especially at higher levels of study, such as at college and university level, the habit of conducting research is actively encouraged by staff faculty and course supervisors. For various writing tasks, such as for essay assignments and dissertation projects, research is an essential component which cannot be bypassed.
Dissertation research, despite all its importance, is a difficult task due to which students are unable to conduct it in the manner that they wish to, leading them to become frustrated and extremely agitated. Once they can grasp some of the workings of research work with help and assistance from supervisors, they come to realise, in how many ways it can help them.
Research is not only important for the sole purpose of gaining information but rather, its benefits are manifold. First and foremost, research helps students to legitimise their own opinions and thesis statement. Often what happens is that students tend to come up with a certain thesis statement about a topic but feel that it may not be accurate. Upon conducting research and exploring all the topic-related resources such as books, journals, magazines etc. they may be able to corroborate their facts and hence, be able to concoct a thesis statement that is workable.
Additionally, while doing work on a dissertation project, research work comes in handy for another reason. Dissertation project demands that students should not simply present their views and findings but also take into consideration the viewpoints and findings from earlier researches on the same topic. So, by doing some digging and looking here and there, students can gain knowledge of more viewpoints, both that assert and contradict their thesis statement. Doing so allows for a greater chance of exploration and, in the long run, students can write a dissertation that is well-rounded and weighs both sides of the question.
Research methods learnt at educational levels, in a way, also prepare students for the onset of their professional endeavours. All methods of research, be it qualitative or quantitative, learnt at these higher levels of education become much more advanced and part of daily work routine when pupils enter into the professional arena. Since they already have had the formal education that was largely based on research work they find it easier to adjust to the work cycle and can live up to the expectations of the organisation.
In many ways, the learnt research skills continue to help and benefit individuals at the different stages of life. Unconsciously, all of us tend to do some “research” regarding one matter or the other, whether deciding which eatery offers the best steak or which school is the best for your child, all matters big and small involve some solid researching on our part.
