truth may therefore be irrelevant. conclusions a researcher is not a propagandist or a dictator. his task is to follow an accepted set of principles, guidelines and an ethical and moral code to discover a truth, and not the truth, and add it to the extant knowledge base. he should start his inquiry with an open mind and be ready to reject even the long held views if empirical studies do not support them. but to do so, a researcher should display a fair degree of maturity and necessarily cultivate within himself self - discipline, wisdom, objectivity and equanimity. in this sense, a perfect researcher is like the buddha who is not guided by biased or prejudiced emotions. hence, the most important requirement of a researcher is that he should be honest to himself.

clear terms. in the case of a motorcycle, the problem may be that the engine does not start. second, based on the problem, one hypothesis or several hypotheses as required regarding the cause of the problem should be made. the motorcycle engine does not start because there is no fuel in the tank. or there is a blockage of the tube that distributes fuel to the engine. or the electrical system may have failed. or carburettor would have been blocked. the mechanic would hypothesise all possible reasons for the failure of the engine. third, experiments are designed to test each hypothesis made. the mechanic may open the fuel tank to see whether there is fuel. if there is no fuel, he will try to start the engine having filled the tank with fuel. if there is fuel in the tank, then he would examine the second hypothesis, that is, whether there is a blockage in the tube that distributes fuel to the engine. if there is a blockage, he will clean it and try to start the engine. if there is no blockage, then he would experiment the third hypothesis, namely, the working of the electrical system. in this manner, he would experiment all the hypotheses he has made one by one and make relevant conclusions. fourth, the results of the experiments are analysed in order to ascertain whether the hypothesis is proved. or else, when several hypotheses have been made, to ascertain which hypothesis has been proved. fifth, making final conclusions out of the observed results of the experiments. a disciplined motorcycle mechanic would follow these steps involved in the scientific method and attend to the required repair of the fault in the motorcycle. in this sense, a sideway motorcycle mechanic is not different from a trained scientist, since both follow the scientific method in reaching conclusions. the use of techniques and technology it has been fashionable for scientists to make use of scientific techniques and technology to facilitate the decision making process, when undertaking scientific inquiries. extreme care should be exercised by scientists in this instance. every technique has its own methodology and limitations and the scientist should be fully aware of same when such techniques are used. inappropriate use of the techniques or wrong conclusions made on the basis of the results derived amount to misuse of science by the researchers. it also paves way for crafty individuals to use the results to their advantage and gullible individuals to get victimised. the use of econometrics has been