Main trends of research in the social and human ... - unesdoc - Unesco

Problem-focused research 579
shall examine one of its characteristic features. The better to cover all aspects
of a subject, such research seeks to base itself on a variety of disciplines: it is
often multidisciplinary. Then shall be considered the major problems deriving
from the relationship between research and action which are at the heart of
the difficulties of problem-focused research, the chief being, in fact, to judge of
the status of this research in the world today, to estimate the extent to which it
is productive of results, and to look ahead to its prospects for the future.
I. PROBLEM-FOCUSED RESEARCH
The concept
The term ‘problem-focused research‘ has come into use fairly recently and, it
must be admitted, on a somewhat limited scale.
At first glance, the term even suggests a meaning that must be discarded at
once, that of research which is subjective in its approach and intended to achieve
given results rather than to take account of actual situations. Problem-focused
research or field-induced research is undertaken in order to solve a problem.
It is ‘field-induced‘ because it is required by the context in which it is conducted,
it is ‘problem-focused’ because its purpose is to make it possible to provide an
answer to a problem.
With use as the criterion, a definition may be arrived at by stating that problem-focused
research is responsive to, and to some extent depends on, social
needs, which determine its scope; it is focused on the problems which call for
scientifically informed action. It is functional in Malinowski’s understanding of
the term. But, surely, the whole subject matter of research in the sciences of
man depends to a large extent on the problems arising in the societies where
these sciences are developing.
In the questionnaire sent out by Unesco to some 550 national and international
organizations invited to take part in the study on the main trends of research
in the sciences of man, the place of problem-focused research is suggested by the
context of question 7, which situates it between free basic research and applied
research. These are easily definable parameters : free basic research responds
to no other stimulants than research itself, and aspires to knowledge for its
own sake; applied research is designed to meet specific criteria of utilization and
represents, therefore, the practical application of knowledge which seeks less to
advance than to be immediately translated into action.
Since problem-focused research lies between the realm of purely theoretical
thought and that of informed action, it is necessary, following a rapid survey
of the sectors in which it is applicable, to examine its situation in relation to
free basic research and applied research. For though at first sight the distinctions
made may seem clear-cut, they continue to be challenged and require
clarification.