Original Research

I took a psychology class in high school were we conducted original research. We researched how car dealerships treat men and women differently. We did this by having a girl and guy from our group go to 3 different dealerships and ask them a series of questions about the same vehicle. We also did a group project where we researched what seniors and juniors future plans were. We did this by conducting a survey. With original research a person can creates questions, finds answers, and analyzes the data themselves. With library research you do create questions and find answers but you cannot go out and find them. You just have to rely on others research to answer the questions for you. Library research can guide original research because it can give background information and raise further questions while also helping answer these questions. Some pros of original research are that you can learn and experience for yourself. Some cons can be that it is difficult to get exact answers and it is less structured. Some pros of library research are that it can be done at any time and the information is easily accessed. Some cons of it are that sometimes research has not been done on the specific question you are researching. The critical thinking skills I think are involved are relevance, breadth, logic, and significance. I think breadth is the most important because it can extend a person's research by raising further questions which can also result in better analysis and results.