Introduction
Research is a process that enables people to increase their knowledge through undertaking surveys and experiments that seek to answer questions in the society.
Through research, scientists and other researchers have proved many phenomena, and they have found solutions to problems that the humanity face. In fact, research helps people lead good lives since it is through research that new things are discovered, old things are modified, and other things found to harm a human life disregarded.
The four readings present some techniques used to devise a good research. The works have addressed the issues associated with carrying out perfect research, and they try to prove why some methods of research are better than others.
Each reading gives a systematic way in which to carry out research. However, these readings have differences in their approach and they do not give the best (indubitable) research method.
Critique
Joanne Martin’s article, A Garbage Can Model of the Research Process, tackles research as a process of proving or disapproving a theory.
In this light, the main focus of this method is finding fault with a proposed theory; people already have a notion about what the research to be carried out entails, and they just wait for the completion of the research so as to know whether the phenomenon under research is true or not.
Joanne’s view of research is not appropriate since it gives people some predisposed ideas about the results. Joanne refers to this as the rational model of research (Mcgrath, 1982).
In this model, Joanne says that the first thing that a researcher ought to do is to formulate a problem. Then, the researcher selects the methods with which to carry out the research.
This is followed by the analysis and interpretation of the results. Ultimately, these results are used to prove or disapprove the problem formulated by the researcher at the beginning of the study.
This reading advances the scope of study to a large extent. Joanne takes a careful consideration in outlining these steps. He knows that research should be systematic, and he gives this credit to the steps he outlines.
Stone also advances the field of research by writing two articles that are indispensable to anyone carrying out research. Stone gives many theories of research, and he provides credible examples about some research methods that have been tried and tested.
First, he gives a detailed introduction to research, and he outlines things that are essential to carrying out research. He acknowledges the contribution of various scholars in the field of research, and he seeks to integrate the findings of these people to his own research so as to make his research credible (Stone, 1981).
Stone notes that some people seek to undertake research without understanding the methods of carrying out research. He goes ahead and outlines the importance of knowing research methods.
He makes it known that this is the initiating stage towards a good research. He also says that research should make sense to other people; not to the researcher only.
The results should be interpretable to ensure that the findings are applied by many people. Ambiguous and confusing results lead to ambiguous interpretations making the research not achieve its objectives.
In the following chapter, Stone gives the steps to be followed in the research process. This section gives any researcher a starting point and a guide throughout the whole process of research.
The models of research presented in this chapter can be applied in many fields. They can help researchers in different fields to come up with research that fits those fields well.
This makes these chapters credible in the field of research. In fact, a lot of researchers have successfully applied Stone’s suggestions in their research (Stone, 1981).
Kaplan focuses on behavioral surveys in his writings about research. His writings are mostly applied by researchers in the field of psychology and social sciences because these sciences rely on observation and the use of logic. In fact, Kaplan emphasizes the use of reason in these surveys.
These surveys are challenging since they do not rely on hard scientific evidence. A researcher just observes the test population and derives conclusions based on the common behavior exhibited.
Therefore, these surveys need a socialistic approach as opposed to the empirical approach applied in other forms of scientific research (Kaplan, 1973).
Richard says that research should be an interesting process. In fact, he likens research with some interesting things like reading a novel or a poem.
For this to happen, a person must organize research well for it to look appealing; thus, one will enjoy doing the research (Daft, 1983).
He says that research should follow an organized pattern. According to him, research that has a good organization is easier to interpret than the research that does not follow any organizational order.
Conclusion
All the readings outlined in this unit lead to one conclusion, namely, people have not come up with a research method that is perfect, and they keep on trying to find more methods to do a better research.
However, many researchers (including researchers in the readings above) have argued that a lot needs to be done in the field of research.
People should know that the research requires a considerable amount of energy since gathering relevant information takes a lot of time making it not possible for many people to carry out a perfect research (Mcgrath, 1982).
References
Daft, L. (1983). Learning the craft of organizational research. Texas: Academy of Management Review.
Kaplan, A. (1973). Chapter 1: Methodology. In A. Kaplan, The Conduct of Inquiry: Methodology for Behavioral Sciences. NY: Harper & Row Publishers.
Mcgrath, J. (1982). A garbage can model of the research process. In J. McGrath, J. Martin & R. Kulka, Judgment Calls in Research. LA, CA: Sage Publications.
Stone, F. (1981). Chapter 1: Introduction to organizational research. In F. Stone, Research Methods in Organizational Behavior. Glenview, IL: Scott Foresman.
Stone, F. (1981). Chapter 2: The Research Process. In F. Stone, Research Methods in Organizational Behavior. Glenview, IL: Scott-Foresman.