Making sense of research

The word 'research' has its origins in old French in the 16th century. The word researcher meant (and still means) 'to search for'. Nowadays we would say that research, and specifically 'scientific' or 'scholarly' research, is the search for truth, or the pursuit of or quest for credible knowledge. It is precise because research has become such a complex and multidimensional endeavour that we need to 'make sense of' it. Making sense of research thus unpacks research as a technical and methodical process which starts with framing interesting questions and culminates incredible findings. (Johann Mouton) Making sense of research is designed to take students beyond the messy experiential realm into what actually happens when getting registered, writing proposals, being examined and eventually crossing the stage to be capped. Making sense of research is aimed at all research students.