The process of research came into being due to man’s quest to be at tune with his environment and understand nature. To achieve this, man uses the tools of experience and reasoning available to him. He also makes use of experience and authoritative sources beyond his immediate circle. Experience and authority are rich and major sources of hypothesis, which are based mainly on common sense knowledge and haphazard events, therefore it can be unjustified for drawing conclusions on events. Hence research hypothesis formulation using experience and authority is judged to be unscientific.
Research secures on scientific reasoning is widely regarded as the single most reliable source of new knowledge, which could be inductive and deductive or both. It is a combination of both experience and reasoning and can be said to be the most appropriate way of discovering the truth through observation, precisely relates to lawful relationships. It is a journey from known to unknown.
Research never begins in absence of doubt, question, or problem. A problem is a state of difficulty that needs a solution. And solution may be multiple. Therefore, to reach at the most appropriate solution, a systematic or scientific approach is the most reliable.
Therefore, Research refers to a Process wherein Activities are carried out Systematically to find Solution of the Problem (Sansanwal, 2020).
Research in Education refers to a Process wherein Activities are carried out Systematically to find Solution of the Problem related to some aspects of Education (Sansanwal, 2020).
Research in education is a scientific process of finding an appropriate solution of a problem related to education, discover general principles or interpretations of behaviour that researchers can use to describe, predict, and control events in educational settings.
Research is the application of scientific approach to study a problem. It is the way to acquire reliable and useful information to meaningful questions by applying scientific procedure or steps.
Reference
Sansanwal, D. N. (2020). Research Methodology and Applied Statistics. Patparganj, Delhi, India: Shipra Publications.