When listening to the radio, watching the television or reading a daily newspaper it is
difficult to avoid the term ‘research’. The results of ‘research’ are all around us. A debate
about the findings of a recent poll of people’s opinions inevitably includes a discussion
of ‘research’, normally referring to the way in which the data were collected. Politicians
often justify their policy decisions on the basis of ‘research’. Newspapers report the find-
ings of market research companies’ surveys (Box 1.1). Documentary programmes tell us
about ‘research findings’, and advertisers may highlight the ‘results of research’ to
encourage you to buy a particular product or brand. However, we believe that what these
examples really emphasise is the wide range of meanings given to the term ‘research’ in
everyday speech.