Which is the main objective of research ?

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Accepted Answer

Correct answer: D — Research is a systematic, objective inquiry undertaken to advance knowledge. Standard definitions state this directly: Redman and Mory describe research as a systematised effort to gain new knowledge, and Clifford Woody frames it as defining a problem, formulating a hypothesis, collecting and evaluating data, and reaching a conclusion. The defining aim of such an inquiry is therefore a change in what a discipline knows - either facts that were not on record before, or a new reading of facts already on record. The stem asks for the main objective, that is, the end towards which the whole activity is directed, and not the steps that support it or the outcomes that may follow it. Adding previously unrecorded facts and reinterpreting known facts under a fresh framework are the two ways in which the stock of knowledge in a field is extended, so together they state that end. Comparing the offered activities by what each one does: Activity What it does Reviewing the literature A preparatory stage of the research process: it maps the published work on a topic and locates the gap a study will address, so it serves the inquiry rather than being its aim. Summarising what is already known The function of a synthesis or survey report, which consolidates findings that are already on record without extending them. Getting an academic degree An institutional credential that may follow research work; it describes the researcher’s qualification rather than the aim of the inquiry. Discovering new facts or making a fresh interpretation of known facts A direct statement of knowledge generation, which is what the definition of research turns on. Hence the main objective of research is to discover new facts or to make a fresh interpretation of known facts.

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A. To review the literature

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B. To summarize what is already known

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C. To get an academic degree

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D. To discover new facts or to make fresh interpretation of known facts

Activity	What it does
Reviewing the literature	A preparatory stage of the research process: it maps the published work on a topic and locates the gap a study will address, so it serves the inquiry rather than being its aim.
Summarising what is already known	The function of a synthesis or survey report, which consolidates findings that are already on record without extending them.
Getting an academic degree	An institutional credential that may follow research work; it describes the researcher’s qualification rather than the aim of the inquiry.
Discovering new facts or making a fresh interpretation of known facts	A direct statement of knowledge generation, which is what the definition of research turns on.