What is the seven values of research to a man?

Human nature has always held an incredible sense of curiosity, a need to explore and research things one does not understand. Without this curiosity, humanity would probably still be collecting berries and dying from minor ailments.

Scientific research has led to a greater understanding of the world as a whole, and much has been accomplished through and because of it. Some scientists do their research for material gain or fame. Who would not like to be remembered for making a major discovery of some kind or another? Others perform research out of a sense of duty or maybe even a sense of spiritual need to further the knowledge of humanity, or simply to help humanity by finding cures for various diseases.

Science is often characterized as value free or neutral. This is quite misleading, as research is actually based on seven basic values by all scientists. These basic values are

• Honesty and reliability
• Testability
• Accuracy and precision
• Generality
• Simplicity of concepts
• Heuristic power, or trial and error; experience based research
• Novelty

So these are the values of research as such. But what are the values of research to a man? Basically, the answer to this goes back to the start of this article. Why does a man perform research, and what does it mean to him? Again, we have a set of seven basic values, although how many of them any one man will consider as values depend on each man and his personal values in general:

• Satisfaction of curiosity
• Greater personal understanding and knowledge
• Advancing knowledge for humanity
• Medical advancement, the ability to cure more diseases
• Technological advancement
• Recognition or fame
• Material gain

Some may view or answer this question entirely different. Either way, research both holds and often distributes a host of additional ethical, social and cultural values.