Over the past 15 years, Bharath Balu has made many
significant contributions to the field of malaria research with his numerous
scholarly papers. For anyone considering going into academic or medical research
of any type, regardless of the field, Bharath Balu offers the following tips.
Keep an Open Mind
In the course of his work, Bharath Balu
has found that the heart of innovation is a lack of preconceived notion. While
it is always a good idea to have a working hypothesis, Bharath Balu highly
recommends considering each piece of data, regardless of how it fits into the
overall pattern of your research. This way, you will be less likely to look
only at the information that fits into your hypothesis, and will be able to
consider a fuller image of the issue at hand.
Understand Your Biases
Although academic research generally aims to be as
objective as possible, Bharath Balu knows that true objectivity is impossible. Even in science and medicine, researchers
project their own ideas and biases onto their work, from the results they
regard as significant to the very questions they choose to investigate in the
first place. Bharath Balu
does not recommend trying to ignore those precoceived notions; rather,
researchers should identify and remain concsious of them, and be clear about
the perspective that informs their work.
Collaborate