I do agree with Griffiths,” There is no hope of doing perfect research”. The definition of perfection is: ”something lacking errors and omissions”. It is absolutely impossible to conduct a research without errors, faults ,or flaws. The fact that research is done by humans is one of the main reasons. People have different views, and opinions, so if there is no room for individual differences then your goal of doing perfect research cannot be accomplished. It is not possible to avoid errors even if the research is conducted with a lot of accuracy and competence. This is what is called error in experimental psychology.
According to research, Microsoft Encarta dictionary. This is the investigation into subject methodically with an aim of discovering facts, establishing ,or revising a theory, or developing a plan of action using the facts discovered as the basis (2009).According to Research Wikipedia ,there are two types of research: Qualitative and Quantitative. If the goal of the researcher is an explanation ,or a verbal account of something then qualitative research is the best option, but if testing theory is the goal , the most appropriate option is quantitative research .This implies that , the method of research applied depends on the goal of the researcher.
Lester ,James D reported that , there are two main reasons as to why students write a research paper:First,when they carryout collection ,and investigation of facts ,and opinions concerning a given topic from different sources , they become knowledgeable as a result of the new information gained. The second reason is being able to contribute to the knowledge of others when the results of the research are communicated effectively. Any adequate research assignment should have the capacity to inform the reader sufficiently. The merit of the evidence which you have compiled must be judged critically and demonstrable conclusions expressed precisely. These are the most important elements in a research work. Such a task requires concentration of your material. It is not advisable to compile a paper by engaging in paraphrasing of a few authorities, and inserting many quotations. The compiled material would lack adequacy since the facts would not be presented in a manner that is consistent. The main objective of research would not have been attained as a result of doing improper investigations (1976).
Memory takes me back to 2004, when I was in high school. My colleague suggested that we do an experiment on how to extract oil from nut seeds, and the idea seemed prudent.So,I hurriedly crushed nut seeds in a mortar using a pestle, added a suitable solvent, and continued crushing, poured the resulting solution into an evaporating dish, vaporized the solvent using energy from the sun, and finally placed a piece of plain paper in the liquid left in the evaporating dish.Although,we strictly followed the chemistry teacher’s instructions, it was discovered the extracted oil was harmful for human consumption since it contained propanone.
My communications lecturer also gave me an assignment a couple of months ago to do a research on the effects of the post-election violence to students in colleges ,and universities after the disputed presidential poll results. My first task was to develop a questionnaire, and distribute among the students in colleges and universities. I gathered the data within a time-frame of six weeks. At some point, I had to make my own assumptions since most of the students from the neighboring countries, who were on Christmas holiday at the time ,did not understand most of the questions.so,at the end of the research ,there were errors and omissions detected. These two experiments left me with a conviction that, ”there is no perfect research”.
Bibliography.
Lester, James D.”Writing Research Papers”, Second Edition.Glen view,IL.Scott,Fores man and Company,1976.
Research. Microsoft Encarta.Dictionaries.Microsoft Encarta 2009 (DVD). Redmond, WA:Microsoft Corporation, 2008.
Research.Wikipedia.org. Web. April 1, 2010.
John Paul Oguta,”There is no hope of doing perfect research”,Associated Content by Yahoo!.