“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” Albert Einstein
Say you have a research paper to write. Or perhaps, a journal, or even an essay. Whatever your academic writing needs be, you need certain research skills which will help you answer the questions more efficiently. These skills are about your ability to target your goal well, bring together information that is required for your academic work, and being able to integrate and represent this information in an organized way for others. Some of these skills may already be a part of your repertoire, while other you may need to develop with a little extra and conscious effort.
Before you begin…set your goals. Preparation is an essential part of research skills, where setting goals is the very first step. Without a direction it is impossible to head anywhere. Much the same way, here too you need to first set your goals. Goal-setting skills include many things. Its parts include optimization of time, with organization skills and a clear vision. It is also important to create realistic goals and know what resources you have at your disposal.
Data Collection is the lifeline of research skills. The method of gathering data depends on the kind of information you need. Some information is easily and readily available on the internet. The authenticity of the information source must be determined. Some information on the other hand, needs a little extra work like interviews with a target crowd, observation, scientific experimentation and so on. It pretty much goes without saying that books are a very good source of information.
Information analysis. Relying only on one perspective, on one information source, and on one skill is unscientific and unreliable. To determine the validity of the information taken and of the method used, it is essential to double check the findings that you have gathered. Turn to multiple sources, try to see the facts from as many angles as you can. Go to books, databases, newspapers, and other such reliable sources of information.
If we were to simply the research skills needed by you, then it would look something like this:
- Interviewing
- Critical thinking
- Planning and scheduling
- Data collection
- Using various sources for data collection
- Turning to authentic sources on the internet
- Precise report writing
- Information analysis
This list of research skills lays down some of the most essential skills needed. Try to explore them one by one if you are not using any! Do not overwhelm yourself with all of them at once. You will get the hang of them soon enough!
All the best!