��ɫ��Ƶ

You were born a scientist.

This is what Jacquelyn Kelly, PhD, associate dean of the College of General Studies, used to tell her high school students when she taught scientific inquiry.

Think about it: “When you were baby, you had to learn what actions would get you the things you needed. You tested how to cry to get your parents to meet your needs. We all use patterns to move forward to get what we need,” she’d tell the class. “You’ve been doing this your whole life.”

Well, a few years have elapsed between your first cry and your first research paper. There’s a difference between conducting scholarly research, and testing an idea, and simply polling your followers on social media. It’s important to know what each type of testing can and can’t do for you. Here’s an overview.��

First, let’s distinguish basic inquiry from peer-reviewed, scholarly research by asking a simple question: What does scholarship mean?

And before you roll your eyes, thinking, I’m just over here trying to pass statistics, so how could scholarly research possibly apply to me, know this: Understanding the different types of research and how each can help you is an asset that can and will come in handy during your college and professional career. From course assignments and job interviews to drafting smart, well-cited, on-the-job reports, being able to answer “what does scholarship mean?” may just be the skill that sets you apart from your peers.

Generally, scholarship or scholarly research follows this systematic process:

1.���������� Literature review (background on previous research into the topic)

2.���������� Methodology (how the researchers conducted their study)

3.���������� Results (what they found)

4.���������� Data (quantifiable findings that support the authors’ conclusions)

5.���������� Discussion (what the authors think their findings mean)

6.���������� Conclusion (recommendation)

For findings to be published, they must be peer-reviewed, meaning they have been vetted (reviewed) by other experts (peers) in the field. And the topics are as diverse as the researchers. Kelly, for instance, has been published recently on topics ranging from to enhancing learning through virtual field experiences .

In other words, it’s not necessarily the what that matters so much as the how when it comes to answering “what does scholarship mean?”

“Scholarly research is generally written for other scholars, but don’t let that deter you from mining [it] and citing it,” Kelly says. “The abstract and conclusion sections may lend solid information to your project.”

We’ll unpack this type of research in a minute, but for now, it’s important to understand that peer-reviewed scholarly research that is published in a scholarly journal is the gold standard for research.

Of course, not everyone (in fact, almost no one) has time to design a research question, conduct a thorough review of literature and design survey methodology. Sometimes you’ve just got to sniff around, survey your peers, throw spaghetti on the wall and see what sticks.

“Any kind of inquiry is important. You’re acquiring information to make decisions,” Kelly says.

It’s just that not all inquiry is created equal. Here’s a basic rundown of different types of research and how they might apply to your project — or your life.

“I did some research on this, and ….”

You hear this in work settings all the time. Yet, what comes after the word “and” really matters. Actually, what comes before the word “research” matters more.

Was it informal research? Did you just ask a few friends on Facebook? Did you base conclusions only on the clients who receive, open and engage with your email content?

Or was it scholarly research that was peer-reviewed and published in a journal? While most of us won’t be checking that box any time soon, it’s important to understand that informal research or basic inquiry is a fairly low level of “research.” Examples might be:

• Looking a topic up online
• Conducting an unscientific, informal poll
• Asking other people how they’re handling a situation and comparing your actions (researchers call this benchmarking)

This kind of testing will be superior to surface-level research. It’s also risky because one successful result from a pilot might lead to a huge investment in a product. (As in a TV pilot that gets canceled after one season.)

You might be testing a message (like an “a” or “b” message in a marketing piece) to see which one has more impact. Or you might be trying to shore up an inefficiency in your company by soliciting feedback from stakeholders and making rapid adjustments. This approach is the way most businesses operate, Kelly says.