The Importance and Complexities of Research

Hi everyone, welcome to my fourth blog!

As Albert Einstein famously quoted “If we knew what we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?” This statement holds true as from firsthand experience, I recall having to look again and again in search of a solution to my project in the summer mentorship. Usually, a question came to mind and it spiked my interest and then I started researching that question. Eventually, I remembered in my 8th grade Ecology class that because of the increased levels of CO2 in the atmosphere the ocean is becoming more acidic. As I did research, I noticed how the solutions proposed were either not feasible or not efficient. Now this spiked my interest as many problems arose from the ocean acidification such as higher ocean temperatures, disrupted food chains and thus a bad fishing economy and since I live in Florida the ocean is my next-door neighbor and I decided to pursue this topic.

While I still need to do more research, there are two components to research which are primary and secondary. My secondary research was researching through websites and books from libraries. I needed to be very organized for this project as it is easy to lose website links or pages in books that were previously accessible in the sea of search results and considering how much research scientists do, being organized is a helpful and very important tool to have. For my primary research I have collected oceanwater samples from the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico and I plan to collect more water samples from large water bodies around here in Florida, and to analyze data about the water quality from these water samples using the equipment I bought to test them. Gathering samples and analyzing them for primary research is a tedious task as it involves traveling to far places and collecting samples in sterile containers and then analyzing them with equipment. The amount of research that is needed depends on how vast or complicated a topic is and how much research has already been done. Ocean acidification connects to many topics such as climate change and the carbon cycle, and the amount of research that has been conducted on ocean acidification and the topics connected to ocean acidification is truly amazing.

For the solution to my problem, I am still looking to buy other equipment from manufacturers like 3M which will help me create a working prototype for my solution. 

That’s all for now, bye everyone!

-Adhip Maitra