Читать книгу Demystifying Research for Medical and Healthcare Students - John L. Anderson - Страница 16

Many people are put off doing research because they don't think they can achieve the ‘perfection’ needed for good research. Don't panic! That is a myth. There are very few research projects which might be described as ‘perfect’. Many are weak in some regard. But most are ‘good enough’ – good enough to provide us with answers which can advance our knowledge – at least by signposting us to other questions which still remain unanswered.

My dear friend Mick Bloor and I ran a brief research course together once in the Highlands of Scotland for senior service managers. They were all terrified of the prospect of learning about research, let alone doing it. So, in this course Mick described research thus:

Research is the art of the possible.

I always think that this is a very liberating and empowering statement. What he meant was that it is OK to do research that is as good as we can do – that is, it is good enough. Very few studies have the massive funding that is required in, for example, the testing of a potential new drug to treat cancer. We do what we can within the resources available to us. And we should do it with pride. We say what we have done, we alert people to the limitations of what we have done, and we do it. Do not be put off by thinking that ‘my study is not as good as one I have read about’. Go ahead. Do it. Be thorough and systematic and you will likely succeed. The fact that you have picked up this book shows that you are trying to be systematic.

Always remember:

You are already a natural researcher.

By being thorough and systematic you will be a ‘scientific’ researcher.

‘Research is the art of the possible.’