Propagating Additional Ideas, Thoughts, Conceptions and Ideals

¶ … propagating additional ideas, thoughts, conceptions and ideals for perusal by other interested parties who wish to do the same. Research is constant evaluation and re-evaluation of methods, conclusions and other research that may enhance the public and private welfare of others. One recent study found that "public health is concerned both morally and practically with the political, social, and health condition of populations" (Taylor & Johnson, 2007, p. 296) while another concluded that it helped researchers to keep "up-to-date with relevant knowledge, research methods, and techniques, through the reading of relevant literature, peer consultation, and continuing education activities" (Sinclair & Pettifor, 1992). Research can also be inclusive of experimental processes that offer enlightenment on a wide array of subjects including medical, social, psychological and physical concepts previously untested or unproved. Research can also confirm or contest the conclusions of other studies and enhance the resulting debates leading to a more comprehensive understanding of the everyday environment of mankind.

2. What are some common misconceptions about research?

Some of the misconceptions about research include the idea that only academia can conduct or benefits from current research. Other misconceptions are that the only people that care or benefit from the research are the same individuals who conduct the research in the first place. There are also misconceptions held by the researchers themselves that oftentimes likely affect the outcome of studies conducted by the researchers.

Some additional misconceptions include the fact that many individuals believe that when qualified people do the research the results are always unbiased, or that it is an acceptable practice to modify the results if they do not provide the 'correct' analysis. According to Meyer et al. other misconceptions could include that there is only one method to interpret the research results or that research is all about gathering data to support a thesis, or that there will always be positive results from studies if they are done correctly (Meyer, Shanahan, Laugksch, 2005).

3.How has research contributed to our economy?

Research has contributed to the economy in a variety of ways including studies on medicine that open the doors to less expensive drugs, studies on medical procedures that will ensure the cost effectiveness of those procedures, studies on the economy that can ensure the viability of economic policy and studies on business that bring about new methods, products and services. One recent study determined that stem cell research in Texas could save the state as much as $140 million per year on five procedures helped by stem cell research. The study found that "the potential benefits from stem cell enhanced treatments that reduce these costs by as little as one percent would save almost $140 million each year (and) over a thirty-year period, these cost reductions would sum to $4.2 billion" (Weinstein, 2009).

4. What are the ethical responsibilities concerning research that includes human subjects, technology and proprietary information?

Ethics is a huge concern for researchers who wish to have their studies taken seriously be their peers. If the study is determined to be flawed in any manner, it will usually negate any of the study's findings and can cast an aura of disrepute not only on the work, but on the researchers themselves. Ethical standards are therefore almost always set before the study takes place, the majority of the time by the researchers themselves, although it is likely that the researcher most often will be constrained or guided by ethical standards already decided for the researcher beforehand. Ethics can apply to almost any area of the study, including the participants, the technology, and the proprietary information. One recent study determined that psychologists from Canada were guided by a Code of Ethics that is based on "clearly-articulated principles, values and standards that constitute a best practice model" (Cannie Stark, 2007, p. 202) while another study determined that there was a "plethora of diverse research ethic guidelines available to child researchers" (Bell, 2008, p.11) regarding the treatment of children used in research studies. Some of those guidelines provide for the humane treatment of children, the protection of proprietary information and the use of technology regarding various studies.

5. How has advancement in technology contributed to research?

Technological advances in research have allowed for the 'speeding-up" of the conducting of certain studies. The physical gathering of data has become much more efficient in its methodology, while the conceptual use of technology has opened the doors to avenues heretofore undiscovered. The instant accessibility to online literature, journals and studies allows for a much more comprehensive discernment than was previously available to researchers as well. Technology has also made the sharing of results with other like-minded individuals a simpler task, and instant results oftentimes can lead to other motivated studies along the same lines. Technological advances have also meant the inclusion of many additional people interested in research in all areas. With the advent of the internet, and now the internet on hand-held portable electronic devices, more and more people wish to know more and more. Technology makes that knowledge attainable.

6. What are some of the challenges with collecting web-based data for academic research?