New Perspectives in Research Writing

Beneath the rule of men entirely great the pen is mightier than the sword. Lord Lytton Is the pen truly mightier than the sword, or are these timeless words mere hyperbole? The pen and the sword are literal instruments for dealing with the world around us. But they are also metaphors for shaping our actions by brain or brawn, wit or muscle. Writing can change the world for the better. Knowledge is ower. It is not the !uantity that ma"es the difference# It is the !uality of research papers which ma"es the difference. $ohn %ash wrote his doctoral thesis is less than &' pages and the foundation he laid there for non(co(operati)e games has gi)en rise to mighty structures in the domains of competition and strategy. *uality of +esearch writing should be e)aluated on two basic grounds, %umber one is the minimum re!uirement of meeting the conceptual and technical re!uirements of the concerned field and the second and important ground is the direction it can gi)e to the humanity at large to lead a better life, to li)e harmoniously with fellow human beings, other li)ing beings and nature without conflict. Technical mastery can be achie)ed by researches by continuous practice in writing research papers which are clear and simple in their language and ma"es the understanding similar to all the readers. +esearchers ha)e de)eloped this process so far )ery elegantly. -onceptual mastery could be achie)ed by )oracious reading on a sustained basis so that the conceptual building bloc"s built so far by eminent researchers are not discarded but at the same time the bloc"s which no longer rele)ant are discarded and new building bloc"s created. Knowledge creation has mostly been a process of standing on the shoulders of giants. ./cept a few instances when "nowledge creation brea"s new grounds with something fundamentally new and its widespread acceptance has ta"en long time. 0)erall human de)elopment without conflict with fellow li)ing beings or nature should be the fundamental guiding principle for all researchers. The ma1or and critical problems we face in the areas of en)ironmental pollution, unsustainability of con)entional energy sources, military aggression across national borders, greed for more and more of what nature has gi)en us etc can be sol)ed by researchers in different fields li"e basic science, social science, economics, sociology, history, literature etc. +esearchers should de)elop a strong belief that they carry a moral responsibility for the society and its impro)ement. That belief should concretise into strong con)iction and commitment. +esearchers should feel proud that an opportunity to study and de)elop upto the present research scholar le)el is not possible for more than 23 percent of the population and researchers are the highly educated group in a society. The other less opportune members of the society loo" up to the researches to sol)e their day to day problems and long term problems. 4o, +esearchers should ta"e it upon their shoulders, the responsibility of pro)iding a guidance and direction to the less(fortune members who do not ha)e the wherewithal to "nowledge.

In simple terms, research is substantial in!uiry into a !uestion, problem, or sub1ect which re!uires the identification, collection, and ob1ecti)e treatment of e)idence on all sides of an issue to reach a well(reasoned, defensible conclusion. +esearch is an e/ploration in critical thin"ing, not a polemical e/ercise# an in)estigation, not a crusade# a !uest for truth, not a )ehicle for propaganda# e)idence in search of an answer, not an answer in search of e)idence. 5 broad(based education e/pands and fuels the self(guided growth of one6s hori7ons. It de)elops the intellect and inculcates the spirit of in!uiry for a lifelong pursuit of learning. The measure of education, far from being the le)el or e)en the sum of formal schooling, rests morein the degree of open(mindedness and acti)e mental engagement it engenders. 5ny institution that relies on professionals for success and see"s to maintain an authentic learning climate for indi)idual growth must re!uire its members to read 8to gain "nowledge and insight9, discuss 8to appreciate opposing )iews and sub1ect their own to rigorous debate9, in)estigate 8to learn how to as" good !uestions and find defensible answers9, and write 8to structure thoughts and articulate them clearly and coherently9. What is the )alue of doing research? :or one thing, it adds to our "nowledge. 5t least that should be its intent. 0nly by loo"ing beneath the surface can we escape the wages of ignorance. Ignorance is not bliss. It is the height of irresponsibilitya breeding ground for incomprehension, incompetence, and intolerance. What we don6t "now will hurt us# e)en worse, it can hurt others. We are surrounded by a flood of informationmore than e)er before. But information is 1ust an input to the thought processes that supposedly produce "nowledge. ;ore, or e)en better, information does not necessarily lead to more, or e)en any, "nowledge. In fact, relati)e to the amount of information a)ailable, there now may be less "nowledge. Is that possible? -ould we literally "now less than our forebears? The e)idence must spea" for itself. It certainly is true that the more we learn, the more we reali7e the e/tent of our ignorance. It also is true that for e)ery !uestion we answer, new ones arise that beg for yet more answers. $ust as we are inundated with information, so too are we deluged by opinionon e)ery concei)able topic. Li"e information, opinions are not "nowledge. +ather they )alidate the truism that a little "nowledge is a dangerous thing. 0pinions often deri)e from nothing more substantial than impression, assumption, or speculationthings !ualitati)ely !uite distinct from reasoned 1udgment born of concrete fact. Where there is a foundation of "nowledge, it is typically only partial "nowledge that obscures its own incompleteness and feeds the sort of false con)iction that can so easily mutate into 7ealotry or bigotry. 0ur great poet Tagore means this only as <Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high# where "nowledge is free = into that hea)en of freedom, my :ather, let my country awa"e>.

It is "nowledgenot preconception, predisposition, or con)entional wisdomthat we ought to stri)e for. That is what research helps us ac!uire. ;oreo)er, doing research is a window to the process of reasoning. It is one thing to hold attitudes or beliefs. It is another to understand how we arri)ed at such imperfect conceptions of realitywhether by way of gut or brain. ./perience arms us almost always with con)iction, hardly e)er with wisdom yielding what is, to our minds, unassailable recei)ed truth. These con)ictions often blind us to real truth and, in the process, lead us to deny the )alidity and e)en the legitimacy of alternate points of )iew. ?nbiased ideas should stand the test of time. Time alone can tell what true "nowledge is all about. Writing has two conse!uential purposes. :irst, it enhances our ability to thin". In fact, it could be called a high(stress performance test for the mind. 4econd, it is a way to lea)e something tangible to posterity. :ew of us thin" about legacies. But when all is said and done, ideas, schools of thought, and world)iews are the lifeblood of institutions, regimes, and societies. +esearch writing can lea)e a wealth of "nowledge as legacy to new generations. This legacy can mould the way the new generations articulate their ideas, and form opinions and beliefs. By changing the belief systems, we can change the society. en is mightier than sword. @r Karuthiah andiyan. @irector, BI;