Research Methods

Eongar

Dagobah Resident
I have one question. I like to do independently, my own research on things that I read and I are coming. Indeed I do, but many times I locked and do not know how to find information. I have no means and I do not know where to look. My question or request is: what methods, how you can make a good research? I do not like relying on the writings of other good they are, I develop my own conclusions.
 
Álvaro said:
I have one question. I like to do independently, my own research on things that I read and I are coming. Indeed I do, but many times I locked and do not know how to find information. I have no means and I do not know where to look. My question or request is: what methods, how you can make a good research? I do not like relying on the writings of other good they are, I develop my own conclusions.

Hello, Álvaro,

what I like to do is first to check out the forum and as well the sott page first for information and also I prefer texts in English for that matter.
And then reading, reading, checking libraries (when I found a good source I try to get to the source what a person really wrote), comparing and formulating my own conclusions.

And then it depends also if you can do your own "experiments" or if you can just rely on already written stuff.

Maybe before doing some research it is helpful to create a mind map, to find out in what you are interested in and that you can narrow things down.
 
Hi Álvaro,

What exactly do you mean by:

Álvaro said:
I have no means

If you have a subject that interests you, you can for example search in the net for books related to the subject. I tend to use Amazon but I am sure that there are other sites from where to dig for books. Then, read as much as you can on the subject, preferably from authors whose backround you can check, take notes of whatever you find relevant, add post its to a few book pages, and compare. Slowly you might start getting a clearer picture of what you are researching.

You can also search within the forum for whether that subject has been discussed, and look on what others have said. It might give you ideas on how to proceed.
If it hasn't been discussed, you can start a thread and take it from there.

I think it is important to start. Once you do, the research often takes it own course, one things leads to the other and before you know it, you are studying material that you initially hadn't connected to your subject of research. The result of a research can be really surprising.

These are just a couple of ideas, others might share some more.

EDIT: I see that Gawan has already addressed a few points I've mentioned :)
 
Gertrudes said:
Hi Álvaro,

What exactly do you mean by:

Álvaro said:
I have no means


Problems of translation from Spanish into English. I'm not saying I can not, if I do not know where to go.

Thanks for responses. In SHOTW Laura said, in summary, that came to the original source of the original source to discern information. As research is also the author, his ideas, his work, the intention with which he wrote, and so on. Much work!
 
I am running into same issues. I have no training in professional research whatsoever. I'm looking through the web and putting it together but could definitely use some input from this forum on how to research properly. Whatever "research" I've done so far consists of reading more or less opinion pieces on the internet and that too in a chaotic manner to the point where my knowledge base is scrambled and somewhat tainted with a lot of (probably) false information. The concept of not believing everything you read is somewhat new to me. I used to believe almost anything I read and mistook opinion for fact. I'm learning to be more critical.

So rather than making my own thread regarding this topic, I found this one while searching so thought maybe to resurrect it. When you guys talk about "research," what form are you referring to? There is formal research like how academics do it, but there is also an "informal" way as well, kind of what is being talked about on this thread.

I'm currently doing research on how to research! It's kind of overwhelming. Search results are telling me I need to network with academics and need to go to university and get a masters or PhD in order to learn how to research efficiently! Is this true? Or is there a difference between formal research and informal research or a mixture of both.

Point is: I don't know where to begin. I want to develop research skills to investigate any field I want to investigate, not just one specific one, and am yet to really understand the technical terms and what they mean. I'm reading and "researching" this right now, but would love to get some information from you guys regarding this topic.

How to extract as much objectivity from research? What methods and tools and resources should I use? Do I need to keep it formal like how academics do it or is there a more flexible "informal" way to do it? Is it wise to mix it up? etc., etc. It was kind of discouraging to read that I need to go to university in order to learn how to research...I'm definitely somewhat open to that but wa wondering if there were other ways I could do it... anyways I hope people can understand my confusion.
 
Hi Andrey,

When you are learning, you open yourself to a wide range of information (frequencies). Some of it positively affects you, some of it negatively affects you. But remember, reality, as portrayed by those who seek to constrict knowledge, is built on a mountain of lies. So the probability that you encounter false information while navigating unknown territory is extremely high. This can be frustrating and discouraging especially when you are looking for a objective assessment. Fear not, it is also part of the learning cycle!

Laura mentions that she is doing research with a 'beginner's mind'. Basically, she is not dismissing information based on her preconceived beliefs about a research subject. She is building a probabilistic foundation of knowledge that is, in a sense, flexible. Later, if additional, more truthful information were to "shake" the foundation, it would be seen as a necessary condition for progress.

But the mind wants to be "right" all the time...
It is an ego thing. It is rather unpleasant to walk on a shaky foundation even though it may become stable in the future.
In fact, it is exactly what most academics have been avoiding: a confrontation with truth. This approach became the living standard
for "research". They have built a rigid foundation, with strict rules and false rewards. Whoever wants to "play" their game is subject to authoritative measures. Is this truly the way somebody is supposed to learn?

The beauty of life is that you can make choices. You can decide how you want to learn. You can determine the ingredients which will facilitate the acquisition and the application of knowledge. There are no barriers other that the ones you have imposed on yourself.
 
There's a lengthy (9 pages) discussion on research methods with the Cassiopaean Experiment as its main subject.

It doesn't answer your question directly but shows from different angles which methods are available and to what purpose they may be used.

Reading it may give you sufficient background for further endeavors in this field, I think.

Here it is: my ignorance
 
Research has been so much overused since the start of the ‘New Age‘ that I’m afraid it will be pushed into oblivion by complete loss of meaning.

In the first instance, one has to become familiar with and get to know the subject. That means learning the entire range of notions to a comfortable degree of detail so that one can create a map and navigate with ease between different concepts.

In the second instance, one has to acquire a functional knowledge about the subject and understand its relationships and dependancies with other subjects from the same knowledge family.

In the third instance, when one has exhausted the basic and intermediate stages, one can go into details thereby grasping the reason for going through first and second instances.

In the fourth instance one will have to deal with disillusion and disappointment and such, critical thinking will lead to formulating questions, assumptions, teories, a method to prove the theory. That is Research.
 
I have one question. I like to do independently, my own research on things that I read and I are coming. Indeed I do, but many times I locked and do not know how to find information. I have no means and I do not know where to look. My question or request is: what methods, how you can make a good research? I do not like relying on the writings of other good they are, I develop my own conclusions.
La investigación se ha abusado tanto desde el comienzo de la "Nueva Era" que me temo que será empujada al olvido por una pérdida total de significado.

En primera instancia, hay que familiarizarse y conocer el tema. Eso significa aprender toda la gama de nociones con un grado de detalle cómodo para que uno pueda crear un mapa y navegar con facilidad entre diferentes conceptos.

En segundo lugar, se debe adquirir un conocimiento funcional sobre el tema y comprender sus relaciones y dependencias con otros sujetos de la misma familia de conocimientos.

En el tercer caso, cuando uno ha agotado las etapas básica e intermedia, uno puede entrar en detalles, captando así la razón para pasar por la primera y la segunda instancias.

En el cuarto caso, uno tendrá que lidiar con la desilusión y la decepción y tal, el pensamiento crítico conducirá a formular preguntas, suposiciones, teorías, un método para probar la teoría. Eso es Investigación.
 
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