In the introduction to Researching and Making Claims, Seth Graves makes a point about how research is a rather rudimentary thing and goes further to say that it “provides credibility for our claims.” And if there’s anything needed more in an age in which information is so easily put out and accessed, it’s credibility. Graves cites an interesting study that revealed that the youth of today in high school and university are not super skeptical of the things they read about online, despite certain clues being present or simply hiding in plain sight. One sentence, in particular, struck me in the introduction to the research process, which reads “Many students were unable to discern whether something posted on social media was simply popular or whether it actually was true.” While it’s a fact that more young people consume social media, practically anyone can fall for baiting articles or advertisements. Also, when considering the politicization of social media platforms, and the political bandwagoning and grandstanding of famous celebrities and pop stars, we see it’s easier than ever to persuade masses of people into believing in potentially unsubstantiated or even false claims.
The Research Process proposes a new way to look at research in order to make the task seem less daunting. Rather than looking at research as the grueling task of hunting and gathering facts, one might find it more productive and interesting to see it as an exploration. The authors of the text paint an image of a child constantly questioning things, demonstrating how when one asks a simple question “why?” repeatedly, he gets closer to the bottom of things. I agree with the writers that when stripped down, research really “refers to a process of wanting to know more.” Admittedly it’s difficult to want to know more about something you don’t really care about, and that requirement often takes the fun out of doing research; such is probably the reason why so many students dread the research paper.