There is always room for learning, regardless of a person’s career path. The same applies to students who, through research, learn and develop vital skills as academic scholars. Many students perceive research as mentally draining and find ways to evade it. However, with research, students can have intellectual growth. Through research, students enhance their knowledge and problem-solving skills, dispels various myths, and help improve their reading and writing skills. In addition, part of the research process entails referencing. Students have to acknowledge their sources of information to avoid plagiarism. Every research entails information and ideas drawn from other scholars. Through referencing, students give credit and respect to the intellectual property rights of the scholars. Therefore, every student must get accustomed to research and referencing to gain knowledge, add to existing knowledge, and reference to give other scholars credit.
Research
Research is a systematic inquiry that describes, explains, predicts, and controls observed phenomena (Simaremare et al., 2021). It relies heavily on the inductive method, which analyzes observed events, and the deductive method, which verifies the event. The main purpose of research for students is to enable efficient learning, learn how to provide truthful evidence, encourage curiosity, build credibility, and help in future career employment. While teachers do a great job teaching and giving students all the information they require, engaging in the practical nature of searching for information is necessary for students to understand the importance of academics. Future employment entails researching the market and better penetration strategies while healthcare employees research illness and prevention. Thus, with research knowledge, students prepare to deal with the reality of life in society as they explore, explain and describe issues.
Research helps students in their employment prospects. Various organizations invest a lot in research and development to gain industry insights into the market. Cetindamar Kozanoglu & Abedin (2021) observes that research and development help organizations discover working strategies to develop a sustainable and profitable future. Thus, employees must have adequate knowledge of the research process to meet the organization’s needs. Therefore, by engaging in research at school, students are getting ready for their career path by learning essential aspects and becoming more skilled in the research process. The research aims to gain new insights and help solve problems that make students creative, innovative, and problem-solvers.
Reading and writing are at the core of research. Students must have adequate knowledge of reading and writing to become efficient in their academic pursuits. Research allows students to study various articles, books, and journals to gather information about their research topics. Reading helps students gain new ideas, facts, and knowledge that makes them informed. Conversely, writing makes sit possible for students to express themselves through communication in a constructive manner. Students absorb logic and become more creative, leading to a healthy curiosity.
Research aids in building student credibility. People trust information from people that express signs of being informed. Through research, students build solid foundations which assist in expressing their opinions. It can be quite challenging to have a conversation with experts when a student needs more understanding of the focus of the conversation. Moreover, students’ proposals gain approval due to an immense understanding of their areas of study. The confidence that comes from being informed about an area of study also motivates students to love research and pursue personal courses for skills gain.
Students become aware of social issues as they conduct on-the-ground research. Issues such as gender inequality, racism, and climate change may seem difficult to understand in the classroom (Hwang et al., 2020). nonetheless, through interviewing people, students become more knowledgeable and derive interest in finding solutions. Such awareness helps in appreciation of others, less judgment, and a desire to assist minorities in overcoming barriers.
Referencing
References are the sources of information students cite in their research through in-text citations or at the end of their work. Research papers entail much information derived from other scholars’ work or new data from surveys, interviews, or observations. Thus, students must acknowledge any information obtained from other secondary sources to avoid plagiarism and offer new insights into the existing body of knowledge. Referencing is important because it allows students to give credit to borrowed words, ideas, and experiments.
Plagiarism occurs when students fail to acknowledge the sources of information in their research. Based on Gregory & Leeman’s (2021) perspectives, students commit literary theft without including authors of the various information, ideas, and insights. Such an act qualifies as a very serious offense in academic words as it violates academic and professional integrity. There are also serious consequences for stealing and passing information as your own. Hence, when students understand how to reference, it becomes a good behavior in academic and professional fields.
Referencing is vital in ascertaining claims and assertions. When students include references in their research, they show that they understand the experts in their field of study. For instance, students must use sources written by education-based scholarly authors for authenticity and credibility when researching an educational paper. Such references also give students enough time to understand their discipline for queries and search for possible solutions.
The research becomes more persuasive through referencing. Students can only create excellent research by showing they understand more about the research topic. The only way to do this is to have a list of references and input in-text citations. From such references, students build their claims and come up with conclusions and recommendations. Existing information serves as a viable background for students to learn about the research topics to validate their hypotheses. Moreover, it shows that students took time researching instead of writing information from their minds.
The students’ research becomes informative due to the inclusion of references. Those reading the research strive to see new information that has adequate backing of information through relevant sources. It is the only way such research can serve as the basis for solving a particular societal issue or create awareness for policymakers to make changes that can benefit people. Such sources could be a magazine; research appears in journals and even specialized books such as encyclopedias. It all depends on what research topic a student pursues in an area of study.
Including references also offers readers sources that they can explore for more exposure to the research topic. While research may be great, readers may want to understand it from a different point of view. Therefore, they examine the sources used to gather new ideas and ways to improve the research. Through such means, readers give research a healthy criticism to help improve it by adding more knowledge (Aksnes et al., 2019). Commonly, peers review research by evaluating sources utilized to see whether or not they are credible or relevant to the research.
The world has advanced due to research. New developments and ways of doing things have a basis in credible research. Students engage in research to become professionals in their area of study. Each sector strives to have something new that can positively impact people’s lives. Thus, the need for researchers is immense in the labor market. For that reason, teachers dedicate most of their time to allowing students time to research because it is the cornerstone of technological and other developments. Students must learn what makes good research by knowing the importance of references and why they must include them in research proposals and papers. Research without references lacks credibility and authenticity leading to ethical issues.
References
Aksnes, D. W., Langfeldt, L., & Wouters, P. (2019). Citations, citation indicators, and research quality: An overview of basic concepts and theories. Sage Open, 9(1), 2158244019829575. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/2158244019829575
Cetindamar Kozanoglu, D., & Abedin, B. (2021). Understanding the role of employees in digital transformation: conceptualization of digital literacy of employees as a multi-dimensional organizational affordance. Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 34(6), 1649-1672. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEIM-01-2020-0010
Gregory, A., & Leeman, J. (2021). On the perception of plagiarism in academia: context and intent. arXiv preprint arXiv:2104.00574.
Hwang, G. J., Xie, H., Wah, B. W., & Gašević, D. (2020). Vision, challenges, roles and research issues of Artificial Intelligence in Education. Computers and Education: Artificial Intelligence, 1, 100001. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeai.2020.100001
Simaremare, R. J., Simanullang, M., & Hutasoit, R. (2021). The Use of Direct Method to Improve the Eighth Grade Students’reading Comprehension of Smp N 1 Satu Atap Tampahan In Academc Year 2021/2022. Tapanuli Journals, 3(2), 242-255. https://doi.org/10.2201/unita.v3i2.264
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