Inquiry about something leads to the path of investigation
and research originates from investigation. For example, if the first question
relating water is, “what is this?” the next question will be, “Where is water
available?” Certainly, the question that will arise next is, “What substances
is water made of?” The first query about water has given birth to the second
query, “Where is water available?” It is possible to know the answer to this
question through investigation that the source of water is river, ocean, rain
and waterfalls etc. And research is required to know what the constituents of
water are? Similarly, more questions will arise such as, “What elements are
there in the water of river and ocean?” We know that ocean water is salty, and
then the next question may be, “How can we get drinking water from sea water?”
It is clear that investigation and research on any subject is related to one
another in this way and they expand like branches in a tree. Different steps of
investigation and research work are discussed below.
The first step of investigation and research is to specify
the subject or identify the problem. To specify the subject is an important
step of research. The subjects of investigation and research are selected
considering certain views and objectives which are or will be necessary for the
well-being of the society. For example, there is acute crisis of drinking water
in the world, although it is not much realized in our country. So,
investigation of drinking water and research on exploring drinking water from
alternative sources is indeed an important subject. On the other hand, stock of
fossil fuels like- natural gas, coal, petroleum etc. is running out and it is
said that it will be used up within next one hundred years. Considering the
future needs, investigation in to and research on alternative fuels is a very
important issue. When selecting a subject for investigation and research,
environment, social customs and religious feelings are taken into consideration.
Once the subject of investigation is selected, a
plan is designed, probable decisions are made and testing is carried out to
make the investigation a success. The process of investigation also involves
collection of data, collection of the chemicals and other materials for
conducting tests, collection, analysis and interpretation of the data derived
from experiment. |
| Different steps in investigation and research |
The second step is to acquire relevant knowledge about the
subject. One need to know how the stuff produced from the investigation and
research might be used for purposes other than human welfare and what damage of
human and animal health might be caused by the chemicals used in the
experiments. Sufficient knowledge and skills are required to give the
scientific explanation of different phases of investigation and research and to
address any unanticipated situation while conducting the experiment. Collection
of previously published scientific data on the subject and the experiments on
it is the first condition of carrying out investigations. Let us think that we
want to investigate the fruits contain citric acid. Now, the idea of which type
of fruit may contain citric acid needs to be gathered from books or the
information published in scientific journals. At the same time, information on
which tests can be used to detect the substance called citric acid needs to be
collected. The next step is to make a hypothesis on which type of fruit may
contain citric acid and which experiments can be conducted to detect it. At the
time of planning a project, one must keep in mind of the essential tests
without which the detection of citric acid will not be complete and only those
methods should be chosen from a selection of testing methods which needs
materials that are easily available and environment friendly.
Planning the project is the third step of investigation and
research. The required knowledge of the subject and making a hypothesis make
the planning the project easier. For the convenience conducting the
investigation and research, it is better to plan the project in a certain
order, not in a disorderly manner. That is, the task without the concept of
which a next task cannot be initiated and interpreted, should be chosen first,
to be followed by the next task.
Anticipation or hypothesis of the expected result of
research is an important step of investigation and research. If the results of
an experiment can be predicted earlier, there will be no unnecessary curiosity
about it and, as a result, proceeding on to the next step will be faster and
easier. Moreover, predicting the results facilitates the planning of the
project, that is, ideas for planning the next work are generated on the basis
of the findings of a certain work.
Investigation and research in chemistry are mostly dependent
on experiments. However, in some cases information and data are collected
through questionnaires instead of experiment. The experiments and collection of
data are done following the methods accepted to all so that the result and data
are explicable to all. The next step is to organize (verification) and analysis
of the collected data. Following scientific explanations of the obtained
results, a picture is illustrated showing which part of the result is
acceptable and which part is to be denied.
The discussion of the possible effect of the results
obtained from investigation and research on science and mankind is another part
of investigation and research process. It should mention which fundamental
aspects of science will be explained or which areas of science will be
clarified by the results obtained through investigation and research. It also
gives a specific guideline on the welfare issues of human being that will be
brought about by the selection of a particular subject. Through such
discussions the significance of the subject of investigation and research is
revealed.
From the above discussion it is clear that, investigation
and research process is carried out through a definite plan and one step is
supplementary the other.
Precautionary measures in preservation and uses of chemical substances during conducting chemical investigation
As it is difficult to conduct investigation and research in
chemistry without experiment, similarly any experiment is not possible without
the uses of chemical substances. Many chemical substances directly or
indirectly are very harmful for health and environment. There are many
substances which can explode easily, can be toxic, flammable, sensitive to
human health and carcinogenic. It is essential to have the primary knowledge
about the functions of chemical substances before collection and doing
experiment.
As the uses and trades of chemical substances in the fields
such as laboratory, industry, agriculture, medication etc is increasing all
over the world; the precautionary measures in preservation and uses of chemical
substances have become very important. In order to devise a globally harmonized
system reading this, a summit titled Environment and Development was held in
1992 with the initiative of the UN. The objectives of the summit were (a) to
classify the chemical substances in terms of their risks and extent of risks.
(b) To prepare a database of the precaution of risks and (c) to decide on some
universal signs to indicate the hazard and the extent of hazard. Some of the
signs are discussed in table below for example.
In order to supply and preserve any chemical substance it is
highly desired to attach a necessary sign according to class on the level of
the container. If this is done, a user can get the primary idea of the
functions of a chemical substance from the level on container, and will be able
to use it with an awareness of its risk factors. For example, seeing the level
of a chemical container with dangerous sign, it will be understood that the
chemical substance is a dangerous toxic substance (table below). At the same
time the user will also be aware of the fact that special precautions should be
taken while using this substance so that it does not enter his or her body. Moreover,
this may help the user decide whether chemical mixture needs to be exposed in
the open air after the experiment, it should be treated properly. In addition
to that, ideas can be found on where and how a chemical substance should be
stored to preserve its quality and to avoid the unanticipated accidents.
Table: The universal signs of expressing risks
and the extent of risk of chemical substances; risk, extent of risk and
precaution. |
| The universal signs of expressing risks and the extent of risk of chemical substances |
End
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