The primary goal of scientific research is to expand human knowledge in various aspects, including social, environmental, and economic areas related to the studied phenomenon. The studied objective is the thing that humans strive hard to achieve. Therefore, the researcher must be familiar with the objective to move from the thinking stage to the execution stage. At each stage, the objectives may differ, but the ambition to achieve the research goal remains, and the need for constant motivation persists, whether during school and university studies or at work.

Objectives may be short-term and temporary (something you want to accomplish today or at most this week), while others may take years of research to accomplish. The researcher always seeks to focus individuals on the important problems that exist in our societies to discover the existing facts and help improve and change our ideas in dealing with events and situations. Therefore, when someone sets their goals, they must focus well on what they want to achieve and what they aspire to reach. In the case of setting goals without focus, they will find themselves wasting time on unimportant matters in their lives.

The researcher must determine their research goals and formulate scientific objectives clearly so that they can be read and understood. In other words, if the researcher mentions some scientific terms that are not common, they can define them and shed light on their meaning. One of the goals of scientific research is to make its objectives applicable in reality, where the researcher must completely distance themselves from unfamiliar or unachievable goals.

What if the research goal is not achieved?

Sometimes, the desired goal is not achieved, which means a failure in the scientific research topic. Therefore, when the research fails, the researcher must evaluate the reasons that led to not achieving the goal and try to identify the errors or factors that led to that. Then they can try to find solutions to overcome these factors.

It may require the researcher to reformulate the research objectives, change the research methodology used, make modifications to the study sample, change the analysis method, or expand the search for new sources of information and data.

In general, scientific research depends on continuity, experimentation, and learning from mistakes. Failure to achieve the research goal the first time does not mean complete failure. It can be an opportunity to add experience and improve future research.

The research problem must be possible to gather information about, and one must avoid mysterious problems that are difficult for the researcher to access. The problem must have research or societal importance, and it is not appropriate for the scientific researcher to strive to develop a research methodology for a problem that is not important.

To avoid this problem, the researcher must be aware of the research topics, as well as the methods and tools used in the study, to choose a problem that can be dealt with and solved using scientific research methods.

There are common mistakes in choosing a research problem, such as the belief that any problem can be a literary problem, or choosing research problems that are unimportant or unconvincing. Another mistake is when researchers choose common problems that have already been addressed by many previous studies. Most of the problems that lead to scientific research failure are complex problems that exceed the researcher’s ability. Researchers often face the problem of not conducting a preliminary survey study to ensure the problem.

The current article discusses one of the most commonly used terms in the field of scientific research, which usually refers to students dealing with research materials. The concept of scientific research is considered a systematic and methodological process in which scientists use scientific methods to test hypotheses, explore natural phenomena, and answer specific questions.

Scientific research involves collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and documenting information using reliable and appropriate sources, and this is done through a methodical approach based on logic, experimentation, and statistical analysis. Scientific research aims to increase knowledge and scientific understanding and improve human life by developing new technologies and products, and improving services provided to society.

Written by: Christeen Shaqour, Journalist and Tamara Al-Quran, MA