We explain what the study is, how it is carried out and its importance for the individual and for humanity. Also, what is a case study.
What is the study?
In general, we speak of study when we refer to the efforts made by an individual to understand a subject or fully analyze an aspect of the subject. reality that is of interest to you. Thus, studying implies being interested in understanding a subject, to the point of soaking up its different aspects and thus adding new ones. knowledge about.
This is the original meaning of the word, already present in its Latin root studium, translatable as "application" or "care". However, today we associate the term with the school and academic world, since during childhood and youth, individuals dedicate themselves to study, that is, to understand reality from its different possible edges, and thus accumulate knowledge that later allows them to contribute to society.
All study is carried out through a method or methodology, that is, of a series of ordered steps whose purpose is to systematize understanding.
Guidance is usually provided by a teacher or professor, except in cases where an individual is a professional or a self-taught person in a subject, thus being able to guide himself, or even rethink certain study methods for the benefit of future generations. The very idea of study is linked to that of academia and learning.
The study normally involves the reading and writing, as basic ways of capturing new ideas and registering their own. Therefore, it implies certain amounts of concentration and effort, especially when it comes to complex knowledge. In this way, it is also possible to use the term study or study as a synonym for these qualities: concentration, attention, effort and / or dedication.
Importance of the study
In general terms, the study is much more than the mere preparation for the performance of a work activity. The study is a complex process of incorporation of knowledge, exploration of talents and formation of the psyche of individuals, carried out in a systematic way to build persons that then they can contribute their grain of sand to the world and to the species.
On the other hand, study is essential to satisfy curiosity and passion for knowledge. Studying (formally or not) is an activity of research, designed to answer the questions that one asks oneself, and that motivate us to observe the world around us with interest.
In this way, the study aims to allow human knowledge to accumulate from generation to generation. It is what has allowed our species the discovery of the fundamental laws of the universe, the manufacture of increasingly complex machinery and tools, or the production of abstract, complex and brilliant ideas.
Case study
A “case study” is a research tool proposed by the social Sciences for research qualitative. It is used in different disciplines, such as medicine, psychology, the sociology and / or the education.
The case study consists of the evaluation and investigation of a single person or a reduced group of them, in a context particular, specific and exclusive, in order to get to the depths of the case, without getting lost (yet) in the need for generalizations.
Case studies are specific tools to elaborate a thought inductive, that is, they consist of investigating a single case, to find ideas that later allow speculation or elaboration hypothesis of general rank. Thus, they are equivalent to going to the detail of things, instead of being handled in statistical and superficial terms.
For example, an investigation on the impact of a new medicine on the population of a country, you can take different specific and specific cases to study them separately, and thus find the minimum common (or contrasting) features of the problems emerged: what kind of people were affected, at what moment, leading what kind of life, etc. This way, you can then think in more generic terms to solve these problems.