Becoming a Researcher

The word research is derived from the French language and its literal translation is ‘to investigate thoroughly’. In the broadest sense, research means ‘to find out something that we don’t know’. However, it is not just about asking ‘what?’ or ‘who?’; it also requires us to ask ‘why?’. In this section you will look at your responsibilities, start to understand the research process and the tasks you will need to complete to be successful, as well as the ‘what’, ‘who’ and ‘why’ questions you will need to start asking.

Transitioning to masters

You may think that a masters course will be the same as your undergraduate studies with lectures, seminars etc., which it will be, but it will also be more intense and you need to be prepared for this. You will have a supervisor who will be there to guide you through the process. However, you will be expected to undertake independent learning and research with a lot of self-study outside of your timetabled sessions. Time management skills will be required, so spend time reviewing the Project Management section of this course.

The next section looks at your responsibilities during the research process.