MPhil General Research Methodology 11 Oct 2010 - Academic Writing Classnotes

Notes by Binoy C.U., MPhil. Psychology

Research

• A Research becomes a research only when it is published
• The most important idea of research is not reading or writing but providing matter for Academic Debate for further building on of knowledge
• 1904 Einstein came out with five papers and four of them redefined physics (the spirit of real research)
• The structure of academic writing we see today is only Fifty years old
• Looking in to the history – during the times of Socrates and Plato there was constant citing.  But Aristotle did not cite Plato but quoted him
• The first secular university was established only in 1810 at Berlin
• Wars have given rise to most of research break-through
• Many disciplines took birth due to war. A lot of psychometric tests in psychology came in the context of wars, like Vietnam War.  In ELT communicative English method is said to have emerged from the Vietnam War.  Anthropology is a colonial discipline. The discipline of English literature is also a product of colonialism and First World War.
• Research building is always a  community activity not an individual activity
• Only when others comment on your knowledge you can build up knowledge
• Research really means debate with an established system
• Knowledge has no escape from the debate
• In a research your first and foremost duty is to find out ‘when, where and who’ of a statement.  Then establish why you differ from it
• Three approaches to research or theory - 1. Prove it wrong based on researcher’s own arguments in the articles 2. Agree it is right 3. Modify or build on

Academics & Research

• One should not mix these two
• What is an academy – it is an institution where we have formal rules, regulations, protocols
• It is useful to make a distinction between academics and research as two separate domains.
• Every research should push human understanding further
• One should question and crack actual theory and establish something new
• Research is not re-searching  

Work Cited

Pinto, Anil. "Introduction to Academic Writing" Christ University,          Bangalore. 11 Oct. 2010. Lecture.