LECTURERS: Mrs Abdulsalam Nike and Mr Mathias Orhero.
This course is designed to equip students with the knowledge, methods and technicalities of research writing. In every institution of the world, students must submit a form of research work or another as a pre-requisite for graduation. This research usually adopts names such as project, long essay, thesis, dissertation, term paper, etc. It is mandatory for students to show how well they know their area of study and contribute to the general frontiers of such area of study. This is why this course is important because it provides students with the framework and methods in which they can undertake their own research work. .
The Concept of Research Research is the systematic study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions. The word research can better be understood when broken into two and hyphenated. That is, re – search. According to the Microsoft Encarta (2009), the prefix re – means again, anew, backward while the word search means to examine something thoroughly that is to look into, over, or through something carefully in order to find something. It also means to discover something by examination -to come to know or find something by examination. When both words are put together, we see research to mean the systematic process of collecting, analyzing and interpreting information concerning a subject matter. Methodology on the other hand is simply the way, procedure or system of carrying out the research. Thus, methodology encompasses the principles, philosophical underpinnings and rationale. Interestingly, Romberg's (1975) definition is in line with this view. According to him, the word research has as its stem "search," which means 'look for' with the prefix 're' which together means ' to look for again, more carefully, more exhaustively.' It then means that research has to do with carefully searching out or looking for something in order to understand whatever one is examining.
