One of the most important things discussed in this week's reading can be found at the bottom of page 145. It says, "And you need to adopt an ethical attitude as a researcher, which means being open to what the research shows you and being willing to change your position if you cannot support it through the research you do".
The reason that I think this is such an important thing to know as a researcher is because I have been in this position many times. I get set on a position and then get stuck on not being able to find research that supports my position. Being able to adapt your position based on the research available to you is very important. You cannot have a position without research backing it up.
The same is true when researching for a paper. Sometimes you can get stuck on a topic but you can't find research that backs it up. However, if you are willing to adapt and alter your topic, the research is easier to find and the paper is ultimately easier to write.
Reading Blog- Week 8 (Kristin Shrack)
Posted February 26th, 2008 by kshrack
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I'm glad you brought that up.
I think this is an important point to have mentioned to us. I've tried to write many a paper about a topic without much supporting evidence. It's hard! You seem very uninformed, and that would be so painful during a presentation the most, it's hard to believe their message!
You're so right about being
You're so right about being open minded and willing to change your stance. Since I'm stubborn and refuse to do such a thing, I often end up with minimal information backing up my position. In most instances I just have to find another topic or position to research. Sometimes though, I feel passionately about my stance for some reason or another and find that it would be difficult to report about the opposite belief. For example, if I strongly believed that abortions were morally wrong but couldn't find sufficient information as to why (although theres plenty out there, this is just an example), I'd have an extremely hard time writing about why abortions arent morally wrong. This is an extreme example but it was the first one that came to mind.