What do you do in research?

Research is a process of systematic inquiry that entails collection of data; documentation of critical information; and analysis and interpretation of that data/information, in accordance with suitable methodologies set by specific professional fields and academic disciplines.

Research is conducted to...

• Evaluate the validity of a hypothesis or an interpretive framework.
• To assemble a body of substantive knowledge and findings for sharing them in appropriate manners.
• To help generate questions for further inquiries.

If you would like further examples of specific ways different schools at Hampshire think about research, see:

School Definitions of Research »

What is "research" that needs to be reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board at Hampshire before proceeding?
 Research should be reviewed by the IRB only when human subjects are involved, and the term research should be considered under a more narrow definition. Specifically, when the researcher is conducting research as outlined above AND has direct interaction with participants or data linked to personal identifiers, it should always fall under the purview of the IRB. Even if you have not directly collected the data yourself, as the researcher, your research may fall under the purview of the IRB.

In reviewing such research, the IRB is concerned with the methodology of data collection in the "field" (e.g. collection, experimentation, interview, participant observation, etc.) and the use of the data.  The broader validity of the hypotheses or research questions, and the quality of inferences that may result (unless, of course, the research methodologies severely compromise the data collection and data usage directly), is not something they will be evaluating.

What if I am using information that is already available?

If you are doing research that is limited to secondary analysis of data, records, or specimens that are either publicly available, de-identified, or otherwise impossible to be linked to personal identities, you may still need IRB approval to do your project. Sometimes a data use agreement between the researcher and the data custodian may still be required to verify that the researcher will not have access to identifying codes.  This "de-linking" of data from personal identifiers  allows the IRB to make this determination. Regardless, you should submit an IRB proposal so the IRB can determine whether your project needs IRB review, and if so, the type of review required.

For specifics of what research should be reviewed by the IRB and the category of review required, see the flow chart and examples provided.

Research begins when we want to know something. Research is concerned with increasing our understanding. Research provides us with the information and knowledge needed for problem solving and making decisions.

Research is sometimes divided into pure (or basic) and applied research in order to make a distinction between research that is carried out to further our knowledge and that which seeks to apply pre-existing knowledge to real world problems. Our focus here is applied research for decision-making for public policy. In this context the purpose of research is 'problem solving'.

Research for problem solving

Problem solving can be broken down into a number of separate components, each of which requires information and analysis:

• identification of problems
• diagnosis of causes
• identification of potential solutions
• decision for action
• monitoring and evaluation of action and outcomes

Information for policy-making will therefore serve one or more of the following functions.

• Description - to provide baseline data or simply a picture of how things are.
• Explanation (analytical) - to understand why things are the way they are, what factors explain the way things are.
• Prediction - to predict how systems will change under alternative scenarios (modelling).
• Prescription and planning (decision-making) - prescription and planning relating to changes in existing systems.
• Monitoring and evaluation - monitoring and evaluation of the effects of changes during and after they have been made. Investigations may be made to compare results in practice with predictions, or to monitor the effects of a policy, management technique or treatment.

Examples of research serving the functions listed above:

Many problems are multi-disciplinary and require investigation of both natural and social processes (for example, in health or agricultural research). Write down for each function above an example of multi-disciplinary research.

Information, knowledge, and power

Behind the list of problem-solving activities or research functions is a set of very important social and political questions about who is involved and who is in control at each stage.

• Who identifies problems?
• Who diagnoses causes?
• Who identifies potential solutions?
• Who decides on action?
• Who monitors and evaluates action and outcomes?

These questions emphasise the central role of decision-makers in decision-making. This may seem rather obvious, but it is important to recognise that different people have different objectives, different information, different views of the world, different access to resources and power. Research for policy is therefore far from being a neutral, objective process.

Current observations, knowledge, and policy concerns therefore tend to influence both the selection of topics to be researched and the way that they are researched. How may this relationship between policy and research limit the benefits of research for policy-makers? How may this relationship between policy and research pose problems for researchers?

Research can limit policy change or stimulate it. Thus if current policy sets the agenda for research, then research that conforms to the broad objectives and assumptions of current policy and uses easily available data may not ask enough questions to challenge the fundamental approach of policy. It may then promote more effective design and implementation of an ineffective or inappropriate policy, without questioning the policy or looking for alternatives. This is an important danger that researchers must be aware of. We sometimes need to question basic assumptions, and break out of the 'box' of current thinking. Political currents and pressures, the demands of clients willing to fund research, 'fashions' in development thinking, an emphasis on technology or modernisation, our own experience, and the availability of data and information can all, consciously or unconsciously, strongly affect our choice of problems to research and the questions we address in our research. This is a danger that all researchers have consciously to guard against.

The research-client relationship

Research clients usually have a say in the topic of research and in the definition of research objectives. These objectives will normally be related to overcoming problems that the clients define as important.

If certain categories of stakeholders (in particular the socially disadvantaged) are not considered as research clients, their particular interests and problems (as they define them) are unlikely to be investigated. This will then affect the focus of the research, how it is conducted and the research findings. The cycle of learning and doing, research and action, may thus exclude particular groups of people and their interests. This may occur even when individual research studies are conducted using apparently sound and objective research methodologies.

There are methods that explicitly recognise this relationship between research, information, and development, these are participatory research methods. They attempt to involve different stakeholders (and, particularly, more vulnerable groups) in the definition of research problems and objectives and in the interpretation of research findings. The process of different stakeholders reaching agreement about information on problems and their solutions makes participatory research an implicit part of a participatory development process.

Clients (often the research funders) are key drivers in determining the focus, methods, and findings of research. Consequently, research may not necessarily focus on issues that researchers may consider most important, but rather what the client is willing to fund. Research findings should be considered in the light of the client-researcher relationship. Clients and researchers may have a vested interest in the outcome of the research and results may be presented to prove a point. For example, a client may commission an experiment to show that the insecticide they manufacture is more effective than one manufactured by another company. The results may show that their insecticide is indeed more effective than that of their competitor under the specific test conditions. However, are the results repeatable and do the insecticides perform in the same manner under different test conditions?

The results should be critically assessed bearing in mind the focus and presentation.

This discussion shows that applied research topics and methods are closely related to the philosophy, objectives, and approaches of researchers and their clients.