ABSTRACT
‘Research’ is a very broad term. Teachers use Wikipedia and similar sites to ‘research’ the content of lessons and to find imaginative ways of presenting content. Journalists ‘research’ news stories, often by interviewing people, close to the event. High quality research is defined in terms of its significance, originality and rigour. It is significant because it addresses important, non-trivial issues, original because it generates new knowledge, and rigorous because it is done systematically, carefully and according to well-established, scientific procedures. Academic research is expected to investigate matters of importance and is evaluated by standards that include its significance, originality, and rigour. It is published in journals or books after a peer-review process that is designed to ensure that published research is of high quality. Research starts with two parallel processes: reviewing previous research about the chosen topic for research, and formulating the ‘research question’.
