Scrutinizing the Purpose of the [Secondary] Research

You’ll see several references to basic vs. applied research in this unit. Think of them as a shout-out of sorts. I’m not going to test you on those concepts until Part 2 as I’ve had students go down some scary rabbit holes with these concepts ^[1] – i.e., make it unnecessarily complex – probably because of testing anxiety. The BIG takeaway is in the unit title – being a critical information consumer means taking a deeper look at the purpose of the research or “publication.” (e.g., is it a translation? That’s cool – navigate back to the original published research and go through your assessments.) Asking “WHO ARE YOU WORKING FOR”, if you will. Many of the people conducting the primary research that turns into fodder for secondary research are academics employed by universities. The concept of tenure (MUCH under fire these days, especially in Iowa) is designed in part to make sure that if scholars discover something that society really needs to know but would be considered a really unpopular finding by some powerful org/person, society still gets that information. The AAUP describes it in more detail here:

How does tenure serve the public interest?

Education and research benefit society, but society does not benefit when teachers and researchers are controlled by corporations, religious groups, special interest groups, or the government. Free inquiry, free expression, and open dissent are critical for student learning and the advancement of knowledge. Therefore, it is important to have systems in place to protect academic freedom. Tenure serves that purpose.

IV. Unit 4: Scrutinizing the Purpose of the [Secondary] Research

13. Proprietary Research vs. Scholarly Research

14. Translation

15. Deconstructing Journal Articles

16. Should You Believe It?

Did you miss this video? I actually link and reference it in several chapters in this unit so you might be able to put off re-watching it until then ;).