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logo    Is Perfect Research Possible


Some claim that there is no hope of doing perfect research. Well what foolery!

Diction is an important component of all good writing. The words a writer uses not only set the tone (archaic, slangy, colloquial, formal, idiomatic, legalistic, bureaucratic, etc.) of a composition, they set the level of precision of the writer's thinking. Since language is the medium of human thought, imprecise diction is often a sign of imprecise thinking and renders any claims made by the writer suspect.

When someone asks whether perfect research is possible, the person being asked is placed in a quandary. Research is delimited by tasks. Some are simple; others are not. If a seeker wants to know how to replace the heating element in an electric oven, just reading the directions printed in the user manual will usually yield the required information. The research is perfect; it is faultless. But if a diplomat wants to know how to eliminate the dangers of nuclear weapons, no amount of research is likely to provide an answer. Research can, at best, provide only different levels of achievement. Just as a writer can select different words or phrases for different contexts, a researcher can attain only different levels of success for different tasks.

Reading the advice given by those selling research papers is scary. Look at this paragraph:

People who are in their academic career, usually requires a research in the assignment provided by their schools / universities. Sometime throughout their college careers, most students face the challenges of writing a research paper. Even the professionals / working people they also require a research for preparing their presentation or gatherrng information from other sources. I love doing research; I involve myself in the theme, it helps me to understand the topic more easily. You have to be cautious with the research you are doing. It should be understandable by the reader. My research tools sometimes includes some search engines, they are the lifesavers. There is No Hope of Doing Perfect Research Yes, I agree.

Would you trust this person's research? Not I! Note the bad grammar and syntax and that the paragraph comes from a site named cheathouse. Indeed!

Or again, consider this paragraph from another source:

Developing a virtuous research paper question is the most important aspect that is to be initiated in the preliminary or planning stage of the research paper, the research paper questions are to be derived even before the finalization of the ‘Topic’ of Research writing assignment because the topic will be chosen based on the final and chief question(s). Essaycapital.com provides its essay writers with specialized training that helps them comprehend with the research paper requirements in an enhanced manner. The research question is the most crucial part of a qualitative research paper as the whole paper is bound to revolve around the particular question or a set of inter-linked questions. The perfect research question should never be too broad, that is, the question should only focus on a sub detail of the major issue. At we will provide you with an example to show you how to create a good research question.

The style of this paragraph is bureaucratic. Would you buy a research paper from essaycapital? Not I!

And finally, consider this excerpt:

Research paper writing has a specific focus and should not be confused with essays or thesis writing. A research paper is not designed to offer new evidence or report on developing work but as a collation and presentation of existing work. The research is to uncover existing knowledge of a topic and synthesize a focused and coherent report on this subject. A research paper is not intended to prove a hypothetical point but to present an existing fact. There are three directions you can take in designing your research paper. A simple analytical approach discusses the major points of your subject, evaluates them each in turn and then concludes with an evaluation of the research to the reader. An expository research paper does not so much offer altering viewpoints on your topic as it seeks to inform and explain what the subject matter is. A much more involved research paper is the argumentative form. In this type of research paper you pick a point of view and present your research findings to prove your opening statements."

Unfortunately, how the author of this sagacious wisdom distinguishes between "essays or thesis writing" and "the argumentative form" is a mystery.

In summation, consider this passage from James Lester's Writing Research Papers:

Why write a research paper? The answer is twofold. First, you add new information to your personal storehouse of knowledge by collecting and investigating facts and opinions about a limited topic from various sources. Second, you add to the knowledge of others by effectively communicating the results of your research in the form of a wel1-reasoned answer to a scholarly problem or question. . . . Any adequate research assignment . . . ask[s] you to inform, interest, and, in some cases, persuade the reader. You must be able to judge critically the merit of the evidence which you have compiled . . . and then be able to express precisely demonstrable conclusions about it. Such a task requires concentration and, more importantly, demands an imaginative molding of your material. . . . [Y]ou might attempt to compile a paper by paraphrasing a few authorities and by inserting quotations abundantly. But such a compilation would prove seriously inadequate since it would merely be presenting commonplace facts and opinions . . . [Y]ou would have offered a recital of investigations without the personal expression and explanation that is the ultimate purpose of all research. . . . (Lester, James D. Writing Research Papers, 2nd Edition. Glenview, IL. Scott, Foresman and Company, 1976.)

So, is there hope of doing perfect research? Of course there is—sometimes! It all depends on the whether—whether the subject is limited and whether the researcher can write and is intelligent enough to adequately evaluate the evidence. Unfortunately, many sites on the Web are peddling research but are selling Polish sausage. Not a pretty picture. (4/22/2010)

©2010 John Kozy