RESEARCH, REASONING, AND ANALYSIS 103
- Information as it relates to how we are using it.
3 We will examine some general issues to do with sources. Sources can only
be used effectively if we understand that the context in which the source
was created is different from the context in which we are using the infor-
mation from that source. If we do not recognise this change in context, we
are not properly analysing that information.
4 We will look at how questions can guide our search, and at how we can
take information away from our sources, not just as 'information', but
in a form that can easily be inserted into our arguments and explan-
ations.
Reasoning and analysis
Reasoning and knowledge
What any one individual knows about the world is extremely limited. People tend
to be experts in certain small areas and ignorant in many others; their detailed
knowledge is often applicable only in limited situations. It could not be otherwise
in modern society, considering the quantities of available information and
consequent demands for specialisation. You do not need to be a walking storehouse
of information about everything, since there are many places to look if you need to
fill in gaps in your knowledge. Moreover, there are many well-established research
techniques to generate new data. In such circumstances, the truly knowledgeable
people are those who are aware of what they do not know and who have skills in
searching. These skills do not just involve knowing where and how to look for
information (for example, the ability to search the Internet for library holdings of
a particular newspaper; technical skill in interviewing; the ability to perform an
experiment). Much more importantly, searching skills involve an awareness of how
the skills are related to the process of reasoning.
We often think that 'finding things out' precedes 'thinking about them'. In fact,
just as writing and speaking (the narrative flow) are bound up with reasoning
(analytical structuring), the process of gathering the information also involves
many of the important 'thinking moves' that constitute our analysis. If we are
unaware of these 'thinking moves', then much of our research will be ineffective or
confusing. Reading, interviewing, experimenting, or any of the many research
processes are not just about finding out information; they are necessarily processes
of analysis.
Reasoning is not the result of knowing things: knowledge and reasoning are part
and parcel of one another. Knowledge consists of both individual claims and the
links between them, and hence must be expressed through arguments and
explanations. We learn knowledge by understanding these arguments and explana-
tions. Even the most specific statement of what we know (a single claim) requires