Is Research for Everyone?
March 29, 2007
Who Me? Do Research?
Yes, you can do research. Believe it or not. The only real requirement is being able to find a question you want answered. This is by far the hardest part in research and most people don't progress beyond this point.*
Support & Mentoring
Especially when starting out, having the support or mentorship of a knowledgeable person makes for greater learning and better quality research. Hook up if you can with someone who has had previous research experience, possibly through a university or other organization. Share ideas regularly, and get the person's critical feedback on your ideas and research as it progresses. Research is not really research unless its subject to peer review and public scrutiny, and so its important that your work is supported from an early stage by someone who can help to guide your efforts.*
Research is Not for Everyone
But evaluation is. No matter where someone finds themsleves in our field simple measures can be taken to begin beneficial evaluation of his/her programs. Moreover, good documentation of the evaluations prove invaluable to researchers in our field. Thus, if one is not a researcher (s)he can be an advocate for it by evaluating, documenting, and making your data known about and available to researchers.
Read Evaluation: A begining for more information on evaluation.
Visit Research Methods for Studying Psycho-Social Change Programs for useful tools, aids, information, and direction in research.
*Excerpts from Wilderdom.
posted by Jay @ 3/29/2007,
