ABSTRACT
The term ‘research’ is often defined in terms of ‘systematic inquiry’. Simply expressed, research involves finding out something which was previously not known, or shedding fresh light on an issue or problem. People often seem to regard research as something mystifying which is only conducted by professional researchers. In practice, we are all engaged in one form of research or another in our everyday lives without being necessarily conscious that we are doing it. Many attempts have been made to provide formal definitions of the activity of which the following are but a few.
