Is research the same as consulting?
You may be wondering - "What is research and how does it differ
from consulting?"
Good question, the difference is not well-understood. In simplest
terms, research entails creating new knowledge to unsolved problems.
Consulting typically entails applying known solutions and approaches
to problems, perhaps reapplying solutions from one industry to
another as an example, or from one company situation to similar
situations in other companies.
Research projects follow a rigorous methodology to establish
validity of findings. Typically, projects start with an assessment
of the current state of knowledge in the public domain, often
called a 'Literature Review'. Additional steps often include development
of a hypothesis, a taxonomy, data collection, analysis and testing
of hypothesis. Within the academic environment and using MIT resources,
this typically requires a minimum of 9-12 months for each project,
often longer dependent upon the scope and depth of the project.
Copyright©
2002 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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