What is Research? Research is the gathering of information or ideas. It is usually defined as a systematic investigation of materials, facts or ideas in order to develop or support new conclusions. In practice, it is what we do every day when we try to find the best deal on, say, a car or a new phone - we look at all the possibilities, compare what’s available, weigh up which is right for us and then make some decisions as to what we are going to do. When we research at university or school, we are looking for the materials that help us to understand the topic or issue we want to know more about. We are especially looking for the authoritative or leading information on our subject. We need to have a range of possible ways or methods of doing this research, and we add the dimension of reading critically. This means that we do not necessarily accept at face value what an author has written. We are looking for evidence that supports their argument, or to see that they have put the ideas together in a coherent and logical pattern: an argument. We also go about our material gathering in a systematic and organised way. This means that we can create research plans that tell us how to find what we need. We also need to keep records of what we have found, or noticed, and ultimately be able to show where some idea or fact has come from. Later in this unit we will look at both note-taking (keeping records) and referencing (showing where ideas are from).