Quote:
Originally Posted by Cerebral
Well, a lot of research in the Political Science field is pretty theoretical in nature but there is also a lot of research being done for practical purposes. You look at studies done on issues like election financing - these studies are the research that will likely eventually contribute to a change in legislation or policy. Something like Canadian Arctic sovereignty is certainly theoretical right now but the findings can end up having an impact on future policy decisions.
I don't view research as focusing on something completely new and undiscovered, I see it as simply working towards advancing the bulk of knowledge in one particular area.
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I'm trying to think of a way to ask this without sounding obnouxious (I only do that when I'm looking for a reaction
) but I'm having trouble seeing a research vs. application for this after giving this some though. Academic is more serious then hockey
To your 2nd paragraph, if you are focusing your work towards developing stuff like that (ie. taking already known concepts or knowledge and applying it in a constructive means) how is that research? I'm not trying to bash it and say its nothing, but it seems as though the "research" being done here is just application. Looking through that research being done at the UofC, it seems primarly criticing, comparing and talking about whats already been done, with some application to it. To me, I don't see criticing, comparing and talking about whats already known as a kind of research that you see in an engineering (I guess the caveat of comparing different fields) but I can vaguely see how application is kind of research.
When a PS researcher goes to work at a university, what do they do for the 50-60 hours they are at work? In sciences, you conference, do theory, do experiment, do writeup. What does a PS or Economist or Accountant do?
The clearer question would be... whats the difference between a PS researcher at a university and a PS working in industry?
I guess the frame of mind I'm seeing "research" vs "development" vs "process" vs "application" to be more distinctly defined in science then the arts.