The Value of Observation in Research

​So something I read in the starting years of learning economics was Adam Smith’s paper explaining division of labour and it just stayed with me through life. The simple concepts of the invisible hand, free markets, and how one of his main pieces of research was just exploring the concept of division of labour through observation of the factory and its assembly line really spoke to me as a young learner. Today every time I look at anything related to research, I always go back to how simple that concept was, and how his eyes were a medium through which something so intriguing was conveyed to the world. I feel like much of economics today misses that kind of observation and the raw discussion that one had about new concepts. Maybe everyone has discovered everything in the world conceptually, and there is perhaps lesser scope for novel observation in economics, but I feel if we really try we could still find it in abundance. Like we say in economics, ceteris paribus, once you hold other things constant, you will be able to observe a lot in the variable. Just like that if we really shut out our mind to other things for a while, I’m sure we’ll be able to observe more new economics and simple theories like they constantly do in science. Sometimes when I’m reading, I miss research papers just talking to me conversationally. Though giving in to demands of the changing world, even I get this urge to make my paper sound empirical or statistical, but somehow the kind of research that actually attracts me is just the the one that’s giving completely new ideas. Through this I’ve realised, that to be a good researcher observation is very important. I feel in a field where everything is about ideas and innovation, more than reading, it’s important to live as much life as possible. And by that I mean, travelling with friends, partying, visiting temples, spending time with family and such common activities. So much of life and so much of economics of observation lies in changing jobs, moving to new cities for work, seeing new places, new culture, new ways of doing things, and new processes. I try my best to be a part of as many field based projects as I can, going to different states, interacting with different people and doing different things and different courses. I feel like it gives my mind so much perspective and helps me become a better researcher. Especially in India where everything is about grassroots and whatever we do has to translate into something that is useful for the common man. If you’re spending so much time and energy into something, I feel somebody should be able to firstly understand it, secondly they should be able to use it and thirdly it should be able to become commercial. This is something I read in one of my innovation electives in post grad, that there is no point of an innovation that cannot become commercial. And by commercial we don’t just mean money, we mean its ability to reach the masses and actually solve the kind of problems that it intends to. So, the best way to do such relevant research is to really just live as much life as we can and see as much world as we can through our own eyes.