What is Research – And Why It Matters Even for Kids and Teens!

 You don’t need a lab coat, electron microscope or a telescope with a PhD to do research! You don’t have to wait until college or become 18, start small, start now and ask endless questions. All you need is curiosity, patience, and a little guidance.

Research is a majestic word that discourages us rather than making us curious being often related to something fancy-sciency! Research is that peak of curiosity where you pause mid-stroke while painting, wondering how to make the pigments last longer; it is a spark that’s beyond textbooks and classrooms.
 It is giving a thought to everything instead believing into everything heard and read. To become a researcher you need embrace every problem and everyone’s problem as yours which is what brings us to finding solutions or at least identifying the gaps and need for improvements.

Today’s world has been blessed with AI than no longer basic tasks require human intervention. However, the abilities we possess as consciousness, awareness and comprehension will enable the use of AI efficiently even for research.

To start with your first tiny research article, here’s a step by step guide:

1. Be curious:

Curiosity killed the cat! Remember about not being overly curious, stay out of trouble. Ask! Ask questions, big and many questions because it builds critical thinking and that includes permissions too. A simple question to yourself, “what I want to understand more today?” can give you a starting point. 

2. Be an explorer:

You don’t have to pack your bags yet! Read everything and raise a question. Read every flyer, newspaper, book or even watch nasa, discovery kids shows or YouTube. Don’t be afraid to question facts! To whom would you questions them? To your teachers, parents, friends or even your pet! The idea is giving thought to everything. Don’t expect answers or judge, listen and note every detail. Keep notes, that avoids the feeling of getting overwhelmed.

3. Dive-in:

Now that you have found what has peaked your interest today dive-in deeper. 

4. Organise:

The most basic and significant organisation one can apply is using a timeline. It can be hourly, daily, monthly any timeline. Log the day or what you found, what’s interesting, why this happened on your handmade Calendar or a notepad you started asking questions. Use colours, markers, stickers to categorise it. Draw block diagrams or a simple drawing with a pencil or a flowchart that will eventually lead you to a mind-map. Create a mini poster and pin it on your pinboard or use a fridge magnet.

5. Share:

Sharing in any form gives us benefit because it helps in establishing communication, perception, identifying errors and misinformation. You can create a canva flyer or PowerPoint presentation or just a handwritten document to show it to your teachers and parents or grownups. Take those critics as peer reviews or second degree checks as it can help us gain broader insight.

6. Publish:

It doesn’t always has to be in a journal you can start with school activity board, school magazine, local newspaper or social media considering the ethical age with the help of your teachers, parents or grownups. The most important step before publishing with your name is to make sure the content is original. This in future will lead you to create plagiarism-free research. Make sure to consider copyrights by giving credits to all the resource and references by simply saying, “this session was inspired by the quotes of mark twain”. That will prepare your bibliography marking the end of your first research work.

Everyone can be a researcher! So the next time you wonder “why?” grab a handy dandy notebook and note it down! 

Pro-tip: everything that you think note it down, keep a notebook to just write random thoughts! Oh yes WRITE over type because writing helps in creating mind maps in the brain!

-Gandhalee Manohar-Ramnathkar