Starting research
Could research be right for you?
Scientific research does not require a single personality type or a fixed checklist. Curiosity, persistence and confidence all develop through practice.
A more useful question is whether you enjoy asking why, working through uncertainty and improving ideas that are not yet complete. Claude Shannon’s 1952 lecture “Creative Thinking” offers a helpful way to think about these habits.
Four useful research habits
These are habits to develop, not admission criteria you must already meet.
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Curiosity and drive
A genuine desire to understand how things work matters more than already knowing every answer.
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Constructive dissatisfaction
Research often begins by noticing that an explanation, measurement or design could be improved.
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Reframing
Looking at a problem from different viewpoints can reveal hidden assumptions and possible solutions.
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Decomposition
Large problems become tractable when they are divided into clear, testable steps.
“You have to have some kind of a drive, some kind of a desire to find out what makes things tick.”