Why do research?

Research is a demanding and laborious work, and perhaps not only from
an intellectual point of view. Think, for example, of archaeologists who
spend hours unearthing a small relic of our history, or speleologists and
their painstaking analysis of the morphology of caves. The trajectory of
study that leads us to a professional qualification is a long one, and the
career prospects are limited and often financially unrewarding. It’s not
unusual to hear of researchers bewailing their lot, or of concerns voiced
at possible cuts to research budgets. So why, then, do we do research?
Why do research?
Out of curiosity
As the Greek philosopher Aristotle first taught us, mankind has always
wondered about the meaning of its own being and has sought to
understand and decode the world which surrounds it, guided by an
infallible and innate weapon: the will to knowledge. Curiosity, as the
instinct to satisfy our inquisitive desires with regard to the nature of
objects and phenomena, is the fuel on which science and human
studies run: its roots lie in the will to comprehend the infinite dimensions
of our reality and it is in the search for answers to problems (many of them
with no practical applications) that the greatest discoveries and
innovations are made.
To drive growth

Research is the engine of progress and development for the individual

and society in general. As the history of mankind teaches us, research is
also directed at the pursuit of knowledge that has concrete applications
in our everyday lives and is useful for economic well-being andimproved
quality of life. This is why, on an international level, so much attention is
devoted to public and private investment in research: although such
research represents just a small portion of economic output, it leads to
the development of new products and services which in turn generate
employment and growth. The European Union has set the objective of
bringing investment in research to 3% of its combined economic output
by 2020. If this target is achieved, the immediate consequence would
be the creation of 3.7 million new jobs across all sectors of the economy
and society, with increased annual economic output of almost 800
billion euros by 2025.
To look to the future

Our country, and the entire global economy, is undergoing a severe

crisis. We know this because we experience it in our everyday lives. In the
past, innovations deriving from new scientific discoveries have helped
societies to emerge from economic crisis. Growth and development are
themselves based on those factors which allow us to look to the future:
education and training on the one hand, research and development on
the other. By ensuring education and training of a consistently high
quality, a country can raise its level of culture, thereby increasing
employment prospects for its inhabitants, and by investing in research it
can drive innovation. Discoveries by corporate and academic research
institutes, in many areas of knowledge, including physics and the life
sciences, are leading to the emergence of new technologies in the fields
of energy, information and nutrition. These discoveries will shape the
world we live in tomorrow and in the future.

Research is therefore an important investment, from the cultural as well

as the economic point of view. Naturally, the reasons for channeling
huge sums of money into projects with no immediate outlet are not
always clear. But sometimes experience speaks for itself. Take for
example the CERN in Geneva, whose research is not limited to neutrinos
and the other sub-atomic particles which make up the universe: high-
energy physics gave birth to important applications in the social
sciences, information technology and the healthcare sector. It’s thanks
to the work of researchers, using the resources placed at their disposal
by public and private structures such as CERN, that some of the hi-tech
devices we use on a daily basis were first created. Examples? The World
Wide Web, e-books, touch-screen technology or, in the medical field,
magnetic resonance imaging and the biomedical imaging archives
used in formulating diagnoses.

Thus research is not something that only affects those directly committed
to it: it is of fundamental importance for our society not only in cultural
but also in practical terms. Contributing to research means looking to the
future and playing an active part in its construction.
What's a journal?
A journal is a scholarly publication containing articles written by researchers, professors and other
experts. Journals focus on a specific discipline or field of study. Unlike newspapers and magazines,
journals are intended for an academic or technical audience, not general readers.

Most journal articles...

 Are peer reviewed

 Have original research
 Focus on current developments
 Cite other works and have bibliographies
 Can be in print, online or both

Journals are published on a regular basis (monthly, quarterly, etc.) and are sequentially numbered.

Each copy is an issue; a set of issues makes a volume (usually each year is a separate volume). Like
newspapers and magazines, journals are also called periodicals or serials.

A monograph a detailed written study of a single specialized subject or

an aspect of it. For Example:

A research paper is written to record insights in a particular topic in an

academic area either in the arts, the sciences or the social sciences. The
tone of a research paper is serious and no nonsense. It usually deals with
serious topics, are very detailed and follow a strict format of referencing
other books or papers or sources mentioned. This depends on the
discipline. English literature prefers the MLA style of documentation.
Social sciences prefer the APA style of documentation. Research papers
are published in a journal. They can be authored by one person or
several people. For example: papers published in the journal Nature.

A journal a newspaper or magazine that deals with a particular subject

or professional activity and is a collection of academic research papers
or writing from several people based on a theme and published from
time to time (either weekly, fortnightly, monthly, bimonthly, annually,
 biannually). The tone of a journal is serious. A journal has multiple
authors. They are numbered or given seasonal names to keep track of the
issues. For example: Granta Autumn 2014.

A magazine a periodical publication containing articles and illustrations,

often on a particular subject or aimed at a particular readership. There
are magazines based on news (the Week, India Today), features (Open),
science and technology (Wired), natural history (National Geographic),
travel (Outlook Traveller), fashion (Elle, Cosmopolitan) and
photography (Photographer) among others. They are published from
time to time (either weekly, fortnightly, monthly, bimonthly, annually,
biannually) The tone of a magazine can be either serious or light.
Magazines are also numbered to keep track of the published issues.

A book - a written or printed work consisting of pages glued or sewn

together along one side and bound in covers. They can be a collection of
papers penned by one author or several authors. For example: A.L
Basham's 'The Wonder That was India'. PhD theses can be published as
academic books. There are books written on pretty much any subject
under the sun and in any tone.
Academic/Scholarly Current Affairs/ Popular
features Trade Journals Newspapers
Journals Opinion Magazines Magazines
To inform, report, and To report on industry trends, To offer in-depth reporting To entertain and To disseminate
make available original new products or techniques and feature articles without inform without news on a daily
Purpose
research and new findings. to people in a specific trade, scholarly conventions. providing in- or weekly basis.
business or profession. depth analysis.

Often devoted to a single
discipline or subdiscipline.
Subject
Cover practical information Cover a wide range of Often focused on Encompass
related to a field or industry. topics of interest to the a particular current events in
readership. Be aware of subject or hobby politics, sport,
the predominant but may also leisure, religion
philosophical/political cover a variety of and business.
topics.
 stance of the editorial
board.

Articles often reviewed by No peer review process. No peer review process. No peer review No peer review
Peer an author's peers before process, may be process.
Review publication. reviewed by an
Process editor or editorial
board.

Mainly held in libraries or
on subscription-based
databases - few are freely
Access
available on the WWW.
Mainly held in libraries or on Many titles available from Available in Available in
subscription-based major newsagents, public supermarkets newsagents.
databases. Commonly libraries and some and newsagents.
available as part of university libraries.
professional / trade
association membership.

American Economic Advertising Age Bulletin (Sydney) Readers Digest Australian

Review Financial Review
Nursing Times Current Affairs Bulletin National
Australian Journal of Geographic Morning Bulletin
Examples Psychology Drug Topics Scientific American
New Idea Courier Mail
Time (Sydney)
Sports Illustrated

The impact factor (IF) or journal impact factor (JIF) of an academic journal is a measure reflecting
the yearly average number of citations to recent articles published in that journal. It is frequently
used as a proxy for the relative importance of a journal within its field; journals with higher impact
factors are often deemed to be more important than those with lower ones. The impact factor was
devised by Eugene Garfield, the founder of the Institute for Scientific Information.

W Category

Journals having an Impact Factor and included in Journal Citation Report (JCR) of ISI web of knowledge.

X Category

• Journals not having an Impact Factor. • Verified by HEC that they meet all HEC journal criteria and
have paper reviewed by atleast one expert from an academically advanced country in the respective
discipline.

Y Category

• Journals not having an Impact Factor • They meet all HEC journal criteria except review of each paper
by atleast one expert from an academically advanced country in the respective discipline.

Z Category

• Journals not having an Impact Factor. • They meet all HEC journal criteria except. i. Review of each
paper by atleast one expert from an academically advanced country in the respective discipline. ii.
Abstracted / Indexed Internationally by the HEC recognized Agency

Title
Here are examples of 3 common types of titles
  Question: Can PF Correction Increase Profits?
 Summary: Design and Testing of a Small Power Company
 2-Part: Power System Operation: How to Survive an Emergency

Abstract
The abstract is a short (about 100-500 word) summary of the entire paper. It
should include: goals and objectives, results, and conclusions. It is usually
one of the last parts of the paper to be written.
Introduction
The introduction also has three main purposes. First, it provides background
and motivation for your topic (usually includes a review of current literature on
the topic). Second, it describes the focus and purpose of the paper you are
writing. Third, it gives an overview of what is contained in the paper's various
sections.
Methods/Procedure
This section describes what you did, how you did it, gives strategies, sample
calculations, diagrams and circuits, and descriptions of equipment. The goal
here is to give the reader sufficient inforamation to be able to repeat your work
if desired. (Of course some "standard techniques" can be simply referenced).
Results
This section is where you prove your point with the data. Give graphs and
tables of costs, profits, whatever your data is. Also give some description or
guide to help the reader recognize your important points.
Conclusions/Discussion
Here you state what your learned or proved. What are the "take home
messages" or major accomplishments of this work? You may also describe
interesting observations, new questions, and future work here.
Bibliography
A list of the references you used in the work & writing the paper.