RESEARCH METHODS Purposes of research 1. The main purpose of research is to discover new knowledge, This involves the discovery of new facts, their correct interpretation inl practical application, Though there are other sources of knowledge, research remains the most efficient and reliable source of knowledge, Since research seeks demonstratable truth, it is also the most accurate system of securing useful knowledge. The second purpose of research is to describe a phenomenon. Accurate identification of any event involves thorough description, for example, of size, shape, age, weight, colour, height, change over time, etc. Description then provides knowledge that is the basis for the other purposes of research stated below. ww The third purpose of research is to enable prediction. Prediction is the ability to estimate phenomenon A, given phenomenon B. For example, our knowledge about the relative movement of the moon, earth and sun helps us predict with amazing accuracy the occurrence of lunar eclipses. We sometimes use a set of variables to predict a given variable. 4. A fourth purpose of research is to enable control In scientific research, control is concerned with the ability to regulate the phenomenon under study. Many scientific experiments are designed to achieve this objective. Usually one phenomenon is manipulated in order to exert control over another. For example, in a laboratory experiment, a drug that suppresses body growth is administered to a group of rats to investigate its effect on weight gain in rats. Another group of rats is fed on normal diet without the drug. All other conditions are controlled or held constant for both groups of rats.~~ After some time, the average weight of each group of rats is calculated. If the average weight of the rats receiving the drug is significantly less than the average weight of the group of rats, which did not receive the drug, then one can confidently say that the drug controls weight gain in rats. It should be recognized that the control and predictive functions of science are closely related. In predictive inquiry, the researcher is interested in studying naturally occurring associations between phenomena. In control, however, the researcher manipulates one phenomenon to estimate its impact on another phenomenon. This is experimental research and leads to more powerful statements about ,, association compared to predictive inquiry. However, the-nature of