As a verb, research means the process of finding information. As a noun, research means the product of some investigation. At SMC, you are all student researchers who will both consume and conduct research.
At SMC you will read articles and books about research, including what it is, why we do it and how to do it. You will also read books, articles and websites detailing research other people have done. It is helpful to know what the authors mean when they use terms like methodology, variables, quantitative data, sample, case study and so forth. This guide will walk you through important terminology and definitions.
At SMC you will ask research questions and engage in original research studies. This will require you to collect and survey the existing research around your topic as you would do in a literature review. This also requires you to understand the research process, design and methodologies. This guide will point you to resources to help you conduct your own research.
Check out the video below for a basic overview of research methods. Making Friends with Research Methods focuses on research in sociology and can be applied to all social science research. You may have to log in to your SMC account to view.
Here is another resource that explains more about research and research methods:
https://sagepub.libguides.com/research-methods/researchmethods
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