CoP Lecture - Research and Epistemology

This lecture was all about the understanding and the meaning of what 'Research' is, and also how we can apply this to are modules, studio sessions, lectures, and seminars.

Research is often thought as the findings of facts new or old and understanding them, which this is right however, there is more to it. For Example research can be done by experimentations to find out if something works or not and then solving that problem, learning new abilities in creative practical work. Research also comes with failure so you kind of have to embrace that fact and get on with further research as this will strengthen you and your acknowledgement therefore promoting success in the future.

In the lecture Fred (the lecturer) talked about the different ways that you can do your research, whether your reading books or gathering information on the internet or even making a survey. The main methods of gathering research are through Primary, Secondary, Quantitative and Qualitative.

Primary research is where you have research that involves the collection of data that does not yet exist, or research that is developed and collated for a specific end use, usually generated to solve a specific problem. Secondary research is published or recorded data that have already been collated for some purpose other than the current study, and the analysis of research that has been collated at an earlier time. Quantitative research deals with facts, figures and measurements, and produces data that can be readily analysed. Measurable data is gathered from a wide range of sources, and it is the analysis and interpretation of the relationship across this idea that gives the information researchers are looking for. Qualitative research is generates numerical data or data that can be converted into numbers, the gathering and analysing of measurable data, research that is objective and relies on statistical analysis, such as surveys.

Research will always be subjective to an individual because when we research we search for things we don't know making us the centre of our own research. With research we have to remember we can start anywhere as long as we relate it back to are to our own practice so that we gain an acknowledgement.