Research is an inquiry into something which involves collecting information and drawing conclusions. It’s about examination and analysis of information.

Two phrases to take out of this definition are (a) collection, examination and analysis of information (b) drawing of conclusions.

Research is about information (i.e., data) rather than mere assumptions. You will need to collect data, examine data collected and analyze the data in order to successfully draw a reasonable conclusion.  

Imagine that you want to find out the symptoms of malaria in Agege Local Government Area (by the way; Agege L.G.A is located in Lagos State – Nigeria); in this scenario you will need to randomly select people from Agege LGA and ask them a few questions such as;

1. Have you ever had malaria?
2. If yes, what were the symptoms you had?

It is on the basis of the response you get from this selected people that will help you to draw a reasonable conclusion.

It will be totally unreasonable of you to just assume the symptoms of malaria without asking to know other people’s view about Malaria.

Again, you have to understand that before you attempt to carry out research, you must have identified the problem you are trying to solve. Many final year students hastily select project topics, rather than carefully identifying the existing problem before choosing a topic; if a topic is picked in a hurry without having to examine the problem you intend solving, you might run into problems when you eventually start writing a project, most student make this mistake only to discover that what they thought was a problem isn’t one.

For example; if your topic is AN EXAMINATION OF A POSSIBLE CURE FOR MALARIA, it is almost baseless because there are over a million materials on this topic and malaria currently has a cure, so what exactly are you trying to solve? ….the best way around this would be for you to recast the topic to something like “THE SIDE EFFECT OF ANTI-MALARIA DRUGS”. Now, you admit that there is a cure but there appear to be a side effect… so what you will try to solve is “how to manage the side effects of anti-malaria drugs”.

What then is a research problem?

A problem is an obstacle that exists between an intended objective and the current performance.

In a lay man’s understanding, a problem is any difficult situation that has to be dealt with.

A researchable problem therefore is problems over which data can be collected, organized and analyzed.

If data on a particular topic is difficult to collect or scarce, It is advised that you abandon that topic and go for something else, this is because research rely on data, you can’t take data away from research.

Purpose of Research?

There are several reasons why we carry out research some of which include;

• It Trains Students for Research Related Jobs: Are you aware there are certain jobs that require you to do research? Yes, if you work with production companies, you will be required to regularly carry out market research and survey to see what your competitors are doing, the prices they offer and their method of distribution. This is also applicable to sole proprietors or business men and women who want to research on better ways of serving their clients.
• It Improves Student’s Ability to Solve Life Problem: Writing your final year project helps you solve some real-life challenges you might face from time to time. Imagine that you are trying to build a business, a lot of challenges will spring up starting with financial challenge, determination of your target audience etc. Because you successfully pulled off your research project; there is high tendency of you defeating that challenge you face in building your business from scratch.
• Acquisition of Knowledge: Many times i learn new things during literature reviews, some of the information I come across while studying research articles are such that ordinarily I wouldn’t have come across had it not been for research purposes. As long as you do your research yourself, you’ll surely learn new things.
• It Enhances Data Bank and Helps in Planning and Development: I know of a student from the University of Lagos whose thesis contributed in introduction of a local policy. Whenever that policy is mentioned, the students name must ring a bell. That is to say that the relevance of research goes beyond your school walls. The research is always connected to human beings hence, if properly done you could end up solving a major problem that would positively affect the lives of humans whether now or in the nearest future.
• It Helps You Solve Problems and Proffer Possible Solutions: If your research is properly done, you’re solving a problem. Your recommendations at the end of the exercise are about solutions to a problem, this is where you spell out your opinion on what is achievable to turn things around.