Experimental or Descriptive?

These chapters, while quite boring (come on, there's no denying it this week) were, however, very helpful (things don't have to be interestingly-written to be helpful; seriously, how can you write gripping, edge-of-your-seat prose on ANalysis Of VAriance and Chi Squares?).

One thing it brought to the fore: my own lack of ability in this regard! I think I completely lack the skill set, at least at this point, required to craft a good research question, decide which method to use, carry out the research, and analyze the results. The only step I feel comfortable doing is the last one: present the analyzing results in the form of an article. I can write. That's about it. I guess that's why I'm in this class.

Something I get the feeling that a lot of this research is stupid. Not most, but some. Like the researchers are grasping for something to study, and, though they carried out their research well, what they end up with isn't really all that helpful. Maybe I'm speaking entirely out of my own little bubble of a world (in fact, I'm sure I am--who isn't?), but I have to wonder why someone would even care about whether or not writing varies outside of academia from institution to institution. What are you going to do with those results besides present something that is interesting but, ultimately, not really that helpful? I'm probably missing something.