how worldview affects research and how to conduct research

1. Discuss your process for conducting a search. What resources will you use to explore the literature in your field and how will you evaluate the quality of the articles selected?
My field of interest at the doctoral level is on how people with different personalities can work together to achieve organizational goals. Conducting research on my topic requires creative and critical thinking. I will be able to use the resources available at the university library, both digital or online sources, as well as print sources. All peer-reviewed sources that appear in academic or scholarly journals will be preferable to sources from websites, but occasionally I may initiate my academic inquiry with cursory online searches. Online searches can sometimes stimulate my creativity and show me what subject areas I can investigate later. For example, my research might lead me to articles in the field of personality psychology, trait theories of leadership, and also organizational psychology.
To evaluate the quality of the articles I include in my doctoral research, I will first recognize the value of citing peer-reviewed academic journals. Peer-reviewed academic journals are generally easy to identify because they will be catalogued in proprietary or private databases like Ebsco. On the other hand, sources that are less reliable will be simply placed on any website, blog, or popular culture website. Newspapers are not considered scholarly sources, but they can be woven into the fabric of my research as long as the information they contain is both relevant and substantiated by peer-reviewed sources. Articles that are authored are usually preferable to articles published under an organization’s name, or with no author credit at all. Finally, some articles published by organizations may be reliable depending on the organization’s own credibility.
2. How might worldview influence the role as a scholar and researcher? How can a worldview, Christian or otherwise, enrich research through a union of faith and academics? How might one handle perspectives, topics, and research that may challenge his or her worldview?
Worldview is the framework we use to conduct our research. Because worldview may occasionally reveal researcher bias, it is important for the researcher to explain their frame of reference or philosophical perspective early in their research paper or dissertation to alert the reader to their point of view. Disclosing worldview can be considered part of academic research ethics and honesty. Worldview does not necessarily imply the researcher is biased, but does show that the researcher’s method of inquiry and hypotheses are guided by an overarching belief system. Moreover, a researcher’s worldview informs the theoretical framework they use for guiding their investigations. A theoretical framework aligns the work with other work within the same field.
A worldview, Christian or otherwise, can enrich research tremendously by providing a focus and contributing to related areas of study. Worldview impacts the types of questions a researcher might have, as well as the methods used to purse the line of inquiry. Similarly, a researcher can unify their ethical or religious worldview with that of science or academic investigations. All research should be conducted ethically and professionally, and the researcher has a responsibility to align the goals and purpose of their research with their personal ethics or spiritual beliefs. One can handle perspectives, topics, and research that might be challenging or controversial more easily when the researcher’s worldview is disclosed honestly. A researcher can, for example, understand that some research was motivated by different value or belief systems. Research can and often is grounded in worldview without invalidating the conclusions or validity of the study.