Dear Research Student
Until now you have done fairly well by studying a body of knowledge and
passing your
exams. Now you stand before two paths: a path to work and a path into
inquiry. Research is
all about daring to ask questions. Why is it so? This is essentially
the path of a
scientist. Understanding why things happen. To understand the work of
each small part and
its place in the whole. However an engineer is always required to think
outside the box.
What if we change this? Can we make it better? This brings in some
amount of risk too. All
this makes research interesting and adventurous.
What do you need to join the fun. An open mind or as the Zen masters call it a Beginners mind. It doesn't mean a blank mind. We need skills such as ability to understand and describe a phenomenon, ability to link concepts etc. And of course a basic competency in the subject of research. These skills speeds up the process. We also need perseverance, ability to stick it out through the periods of drought. And last but not least to be truthful to oneself and the work we are doing.
So do you have it in you to join the exciting world of research?