Lecture 1

Knowledge Creation and

Effective Researcher
Skills

DR SADIA FAROOQ
Definition and Purpose of Research?

Systematic investigation of a subject in order to find

something new i.e. Creation of New Knowledge
Definition and Purpose of Research?
 What kind of new knowledge?

 Description - observe and write up what you consider typical, specific,

or accidental

 Explanation - answer the question: why?

 Categorization - form a typology of works, personalities, objects, etc.

(e.g. a psychological typology may classify people on basis of
personality types)
Purpose of Research: New Knowledge
 Comparison - list the similarities and differences in order to
better understand one or both of the compared things

 Evaluation - make judgments and compare to a norm, scale,

typology, etc.

 Correlation - do two phenomena influence each other? How?

Are there links between two things? Or, are they independent?

 Prediction - on the basis of past correlations, tell how probable

a future event, action, outcome, etc. could be.

(Nicholas Walliman: Research Methods: the Basics. Routledge, 2011)

Requisite Skills

 Curiosity
 Creativity
 Academic integrity
the moral code or ethical policy of academia. This includes values such as
avoidance of cheating or plagiarism; maintenance of academic
standards; honesty and rigor in research and academic publishing.
Requisite Skills
 Knowledge of the field
 Diligence: careful and thorough
 Passion, focus, interest, enthusiasm
 Good communication skills
 Strong problem solving skills
 Critical and analytical thinking