Relevance of the Problem

Though researching is an experience over and above the subject matter, and the ability to separate the relevant from the irrelevant is a part of such an experience, the researcher’s work will be more fruitful, and his preparation time more reasonable, if the problem is within the broad domain of the researcher’s interest. Shifting from problem to problem can be frustrating. When it comes to shifting from one broad area of interest to another, the waste in terms of intellectual capacity is unjustifiable. To say no, even when circumstances compel one to do otherwise, is, in the long run, beneficial to the research as well as to the researcher. This is not meant to imply that the researcher should fence himself into an intellectual territory beyond which he should be wary of straying. What is meant is this: if the researcher is led by interest and is attracted into a related but different area, the benefits of cross-fer­tilization are likely to ensue; if, instead, he is pushed into the new area by sheer circumstances, motivated by financial need or gain in prestige or authority, the result, in the long run, is not desirable.

Source: Srinagesh K (2005), The Principles of Experimental Research, Butterworth-Heinemann; 1st edition.