A difficult journey indeed----- a note to research students

Doing research in whatever area warrants a few things from us. Some are given below:
1. Understand the terms, terminology and vocabulary that is related to the research area: It would help if we could insert the use of certain words in our everyday banter with family and friends. Actually I find explaining it to someone (usually my 25 year old son is my victim) who does not know anything about the area proved to be very helpful. Formal presentations and discussion among fellow researchers also contribute to the understanding of terminologies and concepts. Always having a dictionary close by is also necessary so that we can look up the meanings of certain unfamiliar words that we encounter.

2. Understand the history of the area: This might not contribute directly to the current research area but it is nice to know how and where everything came from. It will help us appreciate the area more and who knows it might uncover certain things that could prove valuable to our current research area. I find that wikis provide a fast way of doing this. Of course we cannot cite wikis in our academic work, but wikis help in providing us with a starting point to finding out more about a research area. Some good entries do provide good references that we can look up on our own.

3. Look for parallels of the area that you are researching in with other 'similar' areas: Usually an area of research is related to other different areas of research. "No area is an island" so to speak. So, during literature review, always keep an open mind and try to see the parallels and intersections of the your area of research with other areas. This is especially warranted for those doing masters by research or PhD. It will prove valuable in the early stage of research when you are still groping around to find your research problem.Finding good review papers in the area would be a place to start.

4. Seminal papers in the area must be read and cited: Sometimes examiners specifically looked for this and with Google it will just take them a second to find out what these papers are and whether you did read and cite those papers. If you did not and it was found out that a particular paper was cited 2,000 over times by everyone else doing research in the same area, then it will throw some doubt about the depth and breadth covered by your research. We definitely do not want an examiner who doubts our work during viva.

5. Keep notes: I have mentioned this before in my post on writing and research. The value of keeping notes on ideas and summaries of the literature that we read cannot be underestimated.

6. Taking ownership and responsibility: The supervisor does not know all. Research students must take ownership and responsibility for their own learning and research. Research students must be aware that the supervisor's role is to facilitate and to point them in the right direction if and when they seemed lost. The supervisor is also someone that will make sure that you are on the right track. However it will be a grave mistake if the research students think that the supervisors know the answers to everything. In fact it is the student researcher himself/herself that will ultimately be the expert in the area.

So, you see, doing research is hard work. It requires a lot ( I mean, a lot) of reading and some serious thinking and reflecting. Not to mention a lot of hours doing development or analyzing loads and loads of data. It also requires major personal sacrifices and understanding from family and friends. After all it is a journey of jihad fisabilillah.