Henry Whittemore Library
Today's Hours:
Broadly defined, all research is systematic inquiry designed to further our knowledge and understanding of a subject. By this definition, much of the work done in college is research. Students and professors seek to discover information about people, objects, and nature; to revise their findings in light of new information that comes to light; and to interpret experience and communicate that interpretation to others through writing. Researchers in the disciplines have customary ways in which they formulate questions and test hypotheses. Anyone who is learning about a specific discipline will also be learning how to argue a case and present evidence in that discipline. Evidence can vary from quantitative (e.g., using statistical and numerical data) to qualitative (e.g., using observations and interviews). Data can be presented in the form of visuals such as tables, graphs, and charts, or it can be described in case studies, narratives, or stories. Information can be gathered either through primary sources (firsthand data collection) or through secondary sources (reading and reporting on the work of others).
