THE ROLE OF RESEARCH IN THE “REAL WORLD”*

Up until now, you have used one or two textbooks in school which contained all the information you were required to know for any subject you were taking. Your teachers helped you understand the material in the textbooks by presenting summaries of the facts on the blackboard which you could then copy into your notebook and later use to study from. In addition, teachers answered your questions about confusing points, prepared exercises to give you practice using new information and tested you regularly to make sure that you really did know and understand the material in the textbook.

As an adult learner, you are now part of a learning system that is designed to create independent learners. As an independent learner, you will eventually be able to find out everything you need to know about a new topic by yourself. In other words, once you become an independent learner, you probably won’t always need a teacher to help you learn.

You are now working toward that goal and you are expected to go beyond the textbooks and modules provided. As an adult learner, your goal is to develop strong research skills in order to learn independently and effectively for the rest of your life. For example, when you are studying a novel, you should not only read the novel itself but also find other books that comment on the story itself, that provide information on the life of the author, or that tell more about the political situation at the time that the novel was written. Your instructor will not necessarily tell you what books to read or even to read extra material. It is simply taken for granted that adult students will quickly begin to take responsibility for their own learning.

This attitude is similar to those you will find in the business world. An employer is not likely to tell you what you need to know or read to complete a given work assignment. It is up you, the employee, to find the information, read it, learn it, and be ready to use it on the job. For example, in the workplace, employees are rarely sent on courses anymore because most businesses feel that it is an unnecessary expense. Instead they expect that employees will be able to find and acquire the information they need on their own. It is not uncommon today for employers to give employees a set of manuals on a new procedure or machine and expect them to put into practice on Monday what they have read over the weekend. It is up to the employees to read and learn the material and gather additional resource material. Sometimes weekend seminars may be offered, but not always.

Similarly, in business, the supervisor may ask for a report on a new aspect of the industry. In order to do this, research is often required. The subject or topics must be investigated in detail. This means that the employee/learner must first find the information available on the subject (often in a library), and then record and organize it. If a report is required, the information gathered must be turned into a piece of writing which clearly explains the information.