{"id":4557,"date":"2012-12-04T13:40:59","date_gmt":"2012-12-04T18:40:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.morningside.edu\/thecr\/?p=4557"},"modified":"2019-11-14T14:28:38","modified_gmt":"2019-11-14T19:28:38","slug":"the-challenges-of-doing-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.morningside.edu\/thecr\/archives\/4557","title":{"rendered":"The challenges of doing research"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Gustav Hollnagel–<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"Doing hands-on research on campus has become more and important and encouraged by the college and by faculty. The biology, physics, and psychology departments now have requirements either in classes or senior theses to immerse one\u2019s self into research.<\/p>\n

I have been doing quite a bit of research work myself, and it\u2019s not always an easily managed process. It requires organization, commitment, patience and discipline.<\/p>\n

Librarian Jim Fisk said, \u201cYou first start a process and it seems like \u2018I\u2019ll never be able to do this\u2019. But then it becomes you, like a part of you. Your mind is never really at rest, but that depends on the scope of research and personality of the student I suppose.\u201c<\/p>\n

When I started this semester, I had two big-time research projects to do. I found myself freaked out at times and emotionally challenged to remain focused. Of course, getting started was one of the biggest challenges.<\/p>\n

Fisk said, \u201cSometimes students will wait longer than they should to start.\u201d Then they may go seek Fisk for his library services. \u201cMost come when they don\u2019t know what to do and they\u2019re stuck,\u201d Fisk explained.<\/p>\n

Another issue with doing research is to set a goal that is attainable for you. Dr. John Pinto said, \u201cI have observed student research and what I am most concerned about is the Einstein syndrome, the idea that the research has to be definitive. Students may not understand that 99 percent of research is just one brick in the wall. It\u2019s about community and a learning process.\u201d<\/p>\n

It has been a great deal of learning for me too this semester. It used to feel like research was something tedious and something that most of us may be inexperienced in.<\/p>\n

\"\"Pinto said research is \u201ccreative in terms of ideas first, but it\u2019s really a very logistic approach and it\u2019s tedious of course.\u201d He explained it involves a literary review, a specific design, collecting data, analyzing data, and writing results in appropriate format. \u201cIt takes both left and right brain to do very good research,\u201d Pinto said.<\/p>\n

Dr. Susan Burns, associate dean for academic affairs, explained, \u201cWhen I was a student I didn\u2019t necessarily see research in a good way. But then I fell in love with it. It fosters your ability to think analytically.\u201d<\/p>\n

Burns pointed out that the challenges to hands-on research on campus lie in the ability to get a big enough sample size, and coming up with the research design might be the hardest thing overall. Of course, she also said, \u201cIt\u2019s a time commitment and the writing part of it can be a lot to handle, unless you love writing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The student population that carries out research on campus has steadily been growing, partly thanks to the annual Palmer Symposium and other research-facilitating events or intradepartmental requirements.<\/p>\n

Pinto said, \u201cIt\u2019s heartening to see how much is being done. It\u2019s really nothing more than problem solving, just sophisticatedly. Research is not just for a few disciplines. I am most pleased with the change towards a more research-oriented campus.\u201d<\/p>\n

Burns agreed, \u201cWhen I came to Morningside we did research, but now its actually part of our organizational culture here. Students are expected to carry out research.\u201d<\/p>\n

The emotional and cognitive challenges of doing research can certainly be a reason why not everyone is made for a huge research project, but everyone can do research in any scope, shape or form.<\/p>\n

\"\"Fisk encourages students to come have a conversation with the librarians if you want to get started or face hard times during the research process. \u201cSometimes interests may change when students talked to us, they regain clarity and focus. Some students seem to have a belief that books are the best source for them, but if you come and just ask for help, we can find articles, save time, and we\u2019ll teach people,\u201d Fisk said.<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cWe\u2019re all in the same boat together. We co-depend on each other. What might be tough for students might not be easy for us. There\u2019s always stuff to find. And once you get used to it it\u2019s fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

And indeed, once you get used to the process and you have an attainable goal paired with a good time-management strategy, it becomes your (research) baby.<\/p>\n

Burns has supervised many thesis works, individual and group research. She said, \u201cYou\u2019ve got the fall to get stuff done, but conferences to present are in the spring. The spring is usually for the write-up, analyses and presentation. Writing can be something unenjoyable, but I absolutely loved presenting.\u201d<\/p>\n

After countless hours of doing research myself, I have to agree with my interviewees. Research is a tough process, but it\u2019s also a learning process. There are always things to take away from it. Plus, when you do it for your own progress, it really does become more interesting and valuable. At least to me it did. Take on the challenge and go seek help if you need to. Dr. Pinto has helped me out a great deal, and I found many of my sources through library support.<\/p>\n

Oh and one more thing, try to support each other in research. This may be socially to cope with all the associated stress, or simply by participating in your peers\u2019 work. College is truly about community and solidarity \u2013 take a little but always be sure to give as well\u2026 \u2018Tis the season after all.<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Gustav Hollnagel– Doing hands-on research on campus has become more and important and encouraged by the college and by faculty. The biology, physics, and psychology departments now have requirements either in classes or senior theses to immerse one\u2019s self into research. I have been doing quite a bit of research work myself, and it\u2019s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":80,"featured_media":4561,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46913,4287],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4557","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorials","category-features"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.morningside.edu\/thecr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4557","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.morningside.edu\/thecr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.morningside.edu\/thecr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.morningside.edu\/thecr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/80"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.morningside.edu\/thecr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4557"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.morningside.edu\/thecr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4557\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10911,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.morningside.edu\/thecr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4557\/revisions\/10911"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.morningside.edu\/thecr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4561"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.morningside.edu\/thecr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4557"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.morningside.edu\/thecr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4557"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.morningside.edu\/thecr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}