Research Starts with a Thesis Statement

“Our collective belief in the importance of definite answers impacts many areas of our lives, including how we understand the process and purpose of research. Specifically, it leads to a thesis- first research model in which research is only used to verify our existing ideas or theses. In this model, there is no room for doubt or ambiguity. We assume we need to know the answers to our problems or questions before the process gets underway, before we consult and evaluate what others have said.” I believe this is true for each one of us. We all hope for definite answers to our problems. We get curious about many things happening around us and we are always driven by the success of the research or any work than the knowledge itself. If we think that the nature of our research is not certain and time consuming, we most likely drop that idea from our minds. So, we mostly use research as a tool to confirm our doubts and answers and such mindset is harmful.

“And yet, genuine inquiry—the kind of research that often leads to new ideas and important choices— tends to begin with unsettled problems and questions, rather than with thesis statements and predetermined answers. Wernher von Braun, an engineer whose inventions advanced the U.S. space program in the mid-21st century, famously describes research as, “What I’m doing when I don’t know what I’m doing.” by the Association of College and Research Librarians (ACRL). They write that research often begins with open-ended questions that are “based on information gaps or re- examination of existing, possibly conflicting, information.” In other words, research isn’t just for backing up our hunches. It can, and should, also be used as a method of investigating areas of uncertainty, curiosity, conflict, and multiple perspectives.” I really liked the quote “What I’m doing when I don’t know what I’m doing”. This so resonate with my mind that for true research as much as our path of research is unknown but our questions should be understood well. As many a times we skip or overlook what are we looking for and we tend to deviate from our paths. So, understanding our curious, unsettled problems give us a roadmap to actually explore our problems. In my opinion the authoress meant it right that research should be used with open mind and multiple perspective rather than narrow, preconceived facts and knowledge.

“The messiness of research requires us to be flexible, often modifying our approaches along the way. When we enter the research process with a narrow and rigid focus on our thesis, we can become discouraged and inclined to abandon our ideas when the research process does not unfold neatly.” There’s no doubt that research is uncertain and not a linear process. It is very dynamic in nature and sometimes we have to change everything and start from scratch and it is easy for us to get discouraged. The only way we don’t get discouraged when we are driven by curiosity and not by predetermined thoughts. So, we have to be more flexible and motivated to welcome new challenges.

“Berger also recommends that as children go through school, parents and educators can work together to support children’s questioning nature, rather than always privileging definite answers. When students graduate and move into the working world, employers can encourage them to ask questions about policies, practices, and workplace content; employees should be given freedom to explore those questions with research, which can potentially lead to more sustainable and current policies, practices, and content. The same goes for civic and community life, where any form of questioning or inquiry is often misconstrued as a challenge to authority. To value questions more than answers in our personal and professional lives requires a cultural shift.” I completely support this idea that we should never stop learning new ideas and grasping ever growing information. Learning should be promoted from when we born to when we work in different fields. Encouragement and freedom of expression plays a real important role to keep us motivated and curious. We should learn from everything that happens around us; be it any scientific cause or government policies. We should try to grow and develop and keep us updated as new ideas comes.