Creative research ideas

“中国问鼎诺贝尔奖除了时间还需要什么”的反思，借助获2004年诺贝尔化学奖的以色列科学家的观点“应该从本质上去发现真正值得研究的课题”、美国国家科学基金会主任关于诺奖缘何频频花落美国的观点“一个重要因素是鼓励创新精神和向各种假设提出挑战”，希望给予我国科研人员一些启示。

无论是追求本质还是挑战假设，至少善于快速利用新技术新方法应该是优秀的前沿科学家在创新工作中需要具备的重要意识。

Creative research ideasThese are some ideas to make your research process more interesting. They won't give you advanced skills in specialist subjects but they could be inspiring if you are starting a research project, if you haven't done much research in your subject or if you need a fresh angle.The most effective researchers:∙∙∙check their research doesn't beg a question*∙explore many kinds of sources, not just textbooks∙learn how to speed-read∙get quickly to relevant information∙think analytically and imaginatively about what they find∙store their notes in efficient and interesting ways∙collaborate with others and take on other people's views∙present their final ideas in inspiring and effective ways∙use what they find to solve a problem or make a difference*begging a question means that the process of questioning is lacking a key piece of information or a key concept.These ideas are just a beginning. If you have more ideas to share, please send them to usMake a mapAt the start of a project, when you aren't sure where to draw the boundaries, get a huge sheet of paper and make a map or diagram of all of your questions, associations, sources and leads. Mark your most compelling thoughts in a strong colour. Mark the main links to those ideas in that colour too. Don't throw out the weaker or isolated thoughts, but this map will help you know their place. You could make another map later in the project when you feel there is too much information.Archive your questionsIt is common to archive quotes and extracts but we forget to keep a record of our questions. Record who originally asked the question and leave a space by each one to record answers or places to look for answers. Highlight the questions that you find most challenging, the ones that wake you up. Archiving questions will encourage you to articulate them well. If you form your thoughts as questions, it will help you realise what you need to research. (Of course, some questions will be very specific which might not be interesting to archive separately.)Teachers - there is no minimum age for this. Help younger children make a book, chart or post-box for their questions.Switch modeRefresh yourself by exploring different types of source. If you've been reading history, find outso that you can listen to some oral history. If you've been studying art, break out by exploring poetry or music that relates to the period or place. How you switch depends on what you normally do.WalkaboutFind a way of using a walk to gather information for your research. Go with other people so you can talk. Look at buildings, get on a train out of town, do a survey, take photos and sketches, watch people, collect samples. Make a creative record of the walk – use mobile phone cameras, i-pods, GPS waypoints, survey forms, a long scroll of paper or notebooks. Finish the day reviewing your findings over refreshments.Blog itIf you're confident to share your research in its raw ongoing state with others, you could post summaries of your findings and questions on a weblog. This could be a group or individual blog. You could ask for site visitors to suggest further reading, new research methods or to answer your questions.Use This is free online service that lets you store and organise everything you find and like on the web. For each page you store, you can write comments and tag them with keywords. You can also see how many other people like that page and see their comments on it. If you cut and paste web content into your research notes and essays, but forget to note where it came from, helps you keep track.Talk it overIf you have to write an article or essay, but you can't get started with writing or there isn't enough published information, it helps to interview someone else who is interested or informed on the subject. Ask them questions you really want the answers to. Make it a real conversation. Make sure you record it.Read at speedIf you want to practice speed-reading, be competitive about it. Set timed challenges with a friend or a group. Read an article or chapter at the same time. When you've finished, each write down the three most interesting things in the piece. Look on the web for tips on speed reading.In the marginsSometimes research is effective if it is analysing or interpreting one book, article, theory, design, poem or work of art. Buy a copy of the book or photocopy the document you need. Have absolutely no qualms about writing and drawing all over it. Devise a system for yourself e.g. with colours or symbols to mark words you don't understand, references to follow up, questions, opinions and so on. Fill it with post-its and book-marks. Keep it with you. (Please remember not to write in library books!)Stationery fetishistSome people just get more motivated by real paper and handwriting. If it helps you collect and organise your thoughts, then why not make or customise a book. You could add more pages of different colours or textures, put graphs or photos in, stick different kinds of envelopes or wallets in, stick in larger sheets or maps that you can fold back into the book. Enjoy it.Get realMake a product, or think about an application, even if your project doesn't require one. If you feel that your research is too abstract or you're not motivated enough, think about how you could apply it or explain it to others. Could it lead to a new invention? Could you write a book with this? Could you make money from it? What would it be like if it was translated into a TV programme or an exhibition? How might you use it to influence an organisation to change its practices?Planning for students to do researchWhat role does the research play in your plan of work?Is the research going to provide a context to help students interpret sources (a text, original document, work of art or music)?Is research to achieve a more authentic or meaningful creative outcome (e.g. a story set in historical period)?Will the research be a mix of experiment and factual research to help students solve a problem, test a hypothesis or design something useful?Is the research an end in itself so that the product will be a presentation of what they found out and how they did it?When does the research play a role?How much time will it be allowed?Will you make them stop at a certain point, even if there is more to find out?Will there be different stages and types of research e.g. background facts, testing opinions, sourcing materials and so on?Who or what will determine the research?Do you want to emphasise openness, giving students freedom to decide on questions and topics, with the outcome determined by the beginnings?Or will the necessary goal determine the direction of the research?Is it possible to give opportunities for students both to explore questions set by others and to set their own questions?Is it possible for you to allow students to design their own experiments, surveys or prototypes before you demonstrate established tests for particular problems?How will you model research?Can you act as a researcher alongside them, to show what it is that you still need to learn and to show the best ways to research?Can you employ a professional researcher, or a subject specialist or creative practitioner who is engaged in research? If so, what will their role be? For example, will they be evaluators of the project, subject experts to guide them to information, modellers of a research process or trainers in creative skills?Do you need to provide any conceptual models to help the students prepare to do research?How will you ensure they go beyond copying and pasting; or simple reporting of facts found?Do you intend to use cultural sources (texts, images, sounds, objects) as the starting point, so that students interpretations of them can lead to questions and deeper enquiries? Will cultural sources (other than factual texts) provide data or answers to their enquiries? What methods will you use to interrogate and interpret those sources?How will you enable their access to information?Will you need to collaborate with another subject teacher, or plan with librarians or resource assistants?Will the students be involved in deciding what reference materials and information-seeking methods they will use?How will you help students to do their own searching for information? How will you guide them to look beyond the obvious sources? Is it possible to throw them in the deep end, getting them to reflect on their challenges as they go?Can the students research collaboratively in groups, forming a community of enquiry, as well as doing personal research?What will the students do with their research ?How will the students communicate their discoveries and remaining questions to others?Will the research be used to make a design, a solution, a new system, a new interpretation of an artwork, an informative presentation, a creative outcome?。