do or make research

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Make or Do: Learn the Difference

Have you ever asked yourself, Should I use make or do?

These two common verbs are used in hundreds of daily situations, but it can be easy to confuse them.

Once you learn the difference between these two verbs, your confidence when speaking English will grow.

And you will no longer have to feel frustrated every time you have to use one of them!

The Difference Between “Make” and “Do”

When to use the verb “make”, when to use the verb “do”, why are “make” and “do” commonly confused, frequent errors and exceptions, and one more thing....

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In general, “make” is used when you create, produce, or construct something physical or abstract (cannot be seen or touched). It implies bringing something into existence or causing a change.

Generally, “do” is used when you perform an action, complete a task, or engage in an activity without producing a tangible object (something you can see or touch). 

However, it’s important to note that there are exceptions and specific expressions where one word is used over the other. It takes practice to get used to using them correctly.

In the table below, you will find some of the most common collocations (words that usually go together) with “make” and “do.” 

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To get a better grasp of (clearly understand) the main differences between these two verbs, you can watch the video below.

“Make” implies an act of creation, construction or production and is often closely related to activities such as cooking, baking and household duties.

I’m going to make some breakfast, would you like some?

What are you making for dinner? It smells delicious.

I made a chocolate cake last night.

“Make” in the sense of creation or construction can have some other meanings. Sometimes, we talk about making physical objects, but we can also talk about making intangible (non-physical) objects like a plan, a law or a decision.

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The government needs to make new laws to protect the homeless citizens.

I’ve been making dresses for over 20 years because it’s my specialty.

You need to make a decision about which car you want to buy.

The verb “do” is more active and generally requires a specific action. It often involves tasks, obligations, or general activities.

If it helps, you can think of the world-famous Nike slogan: Just do it!

I try to do some exercise every day.

She is going to do some gardening this weekend.

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We all did a lot of work yesterday.

“Do” is also commonly used in questions about daily activities . A general way to ask someone about their day is to say:

What did you do today?

The verb “do” is also frequently used with indefinite pronouns like “nothing,” “something” or “anything” to talk generally about actions:

Did you do anything today?

I did nothing all week.

Maybe tomorrow we can do something different. 

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One of the most common usages of the verb “to do” is in the question:

What do you do?  

This question is understood to mean “What do you do for work?” or “What is your job, profession or career?”

In many languages, including Spanish and Italian, one verb is used to mean both “make” and “do.” This makes it hard for speakers of these languages to understand the difference between the two English verbs.

“Make” and “do” are also confusing because there is no standard rule that completely explains how to use both verbs. Instead, there are some loose definitions that help us understand their general meanings. There are also many exceptions that are contrary to (go against/oppose) these general definitions. 

Finally, these two verbs are difficult because they are both very common words that appear in many phrasal verbs and expressions. Sometimes, phrasal verbs do not match with the general definitions of “make” and “do,” so you just have to memorize them.

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As a general rule, “make” implies construction or production, and “do” implies activities or actions. However, it is not always that simple.

I have noted some frequent errors that English students often make when they use these two verbs. You will find these common errors and their corrections below.

Try to pay attention when you hear one of these verbs to get more familiar with their different uses.

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'Make' or 'Do'?

Perfect english grammar.

• She made a cake.
• I've made us some coffee.
• Did you really make those trousers?
• What did you do at the weekend?
• I didn't do anything yesterday.
• She's fed up with doing everything herself. She needs some help.
• Are you doing anything interesting during the holidays?

• Make or Do Exercise 1
• Make or Do Exercise 2
• Make or Do Exercise 3
• Make or Do Exercise 4

Hello! I'm Seonaid! I'm here to help you understand grammar and speak correct, fluent English.

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Confusing English Verbs

English has two verbs, "to do" and "to make," that are both equivalent to a single verb in some languages*, which makes it difficult for speakers of those languages to know which one to use in any given situation. Understanding the difference in meaning is key to knowing which verb you need.

To do is the more general verb: it means to act a certain way, to perform an activity. The past tense is irregular: did .

For example…

What are you doing? I am doing the dishes. We want to do the crossword puzzle. He doesn’t know what to do with those old clothes. They do a lot of work.

Nouns to use with do

• do an activity
• do business
• do the dishes
• do exercise
• do some gardening
• do a good deed
• do homework
• do the laundry
• do one’s best
• do one’s duty
• do one’s hair / nails
• do paperwork
• do a puzzle
• do research
• do the shopping

  Do also has a very important role as an auxiliary verb.

To make is more specific: it focuses on the creation of something, an activity that ends with a new product or outcome. The past tense is irregular: made .

What are you making? I am making a cake. We want to make a new game. He should make a quilt out of those old clothes. They make a lot of money.

Nouns to use with make

• make an apology
• make an assumption
• make the bed
• make a call
• make a change
• make a comment
• make a copy
• make a decision
• make a drink
• make an effort
• make an excuse
• make a fire
• make a friend
• make a list
• make a mess
• make a mistake
• make an offer
• make progress
• make a promise
• make a speech
• make a video

* How to say "to do / to make" in …

• French: faire
• Italian: fare
• Spanish: hacer

 Related lessons

• Irregular verbs

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do / made a search

I’ve read somewhere that both verbs ‘to make’ and ‘to do’ ca be used the noun ‘search’. Is that true? Thanl you in advance!

Make/perform a search of the premises.

‘Do’ can be heard informally from time to time, but it is not as appropriate.

Beeesneees, “‘Do’ can be heard informally from time to time, but it is not appropriate.” Is this sentence also valid without ‘as’? Thanks.

It changes the meaning.

not as appropriate - there is still an element of appropriateness. not appropriate - there is no element of appropriateness.

Thank you for your answer. So we say “make a search” but for the noun “research” we say “do a research”. I’ve just read that somewhere and I want to make sure it’s correct. Thank you again!

‘do research’, not ‘do a research’.

'search ’ and ‘research’ do not have the same meaning.

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What is the difference between 'make an experiment' and 'do an experiment'? [closed]

I have come across both make and do with the noun experiment .Are there any differences in meaning?

• word-choice

• Refer these links to know the difference between do or make vocabulary.cl/Intermediate/Do_Make.htm espressoenglish.net/… –  Sweet72 Commented Sep 25, 2013 at 18:45

2 Answers 2

To perform an action, we use Do and to create something, we use MAKE

1) Do your homework

2) Do the dishes

3) Do me a favour

4) Do the laundry

5) Do your job.

1) Make a plan

2) Make an observation

3) Make a suggestion

4) Make an observation

5) Make breakfast

If an experiment is given in any book and you are just checking it in practical, then you can use "Do the experiment" . But, if you have done any research and want to demonstrate it via experiment, then you can use " Make an experiment" as your experiment will derive results that you actually want to demonstrate.

E.g: Teacher asked students to do the experiment practically in the lab.

E.g: I made an experiment to show that water contains oxygen and hydrogen. Hope this helps!!

• 1 I made an observation that you somehow listed make an observation twice. –  RayLuo Commented Jul 28, 2020 at 18:22

I believe the proper word would be perform . 'Do' would be acceptable as a permutation of 'perform', for more casual usage. Definitely not 'make', though.

• OP wants to know difference between make an experiment and do an experiment. He doesn't ask for the suitable word ... –  Sweet72 Commented Sep 25, 2013 at 19:05

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• Starting the research process

A Beginner's Guide to Starting the Research Process

When you have to write a thesis or dissertation , it can be hard to know where to begin, but there are some clear steps you can follow.

The research process often begins with a very broad idea for a topic you’d like to know more about. You do some preliminary research to identify a  problem . After refining your research questions , you can lay out the foundations of your research design , leading to a proposal that outlines your ideas and plans.

This article takes you through the first steps of the research process, helping you narrow down your ideas and build up a strong foundation for your research project.

Table of contents

Step 1: choose your topic, step 2: identify a problem, step 3: formulate research questions, step 4: create a research design, step 5: write a research proposal, other interesting articles.

First you have to come up with some ideas. Your thesis or dissertation topic can start out very broad. Think about the general area or field you’re interested in—maybe you already have specific research interests based on classes you’ve taken, or maybe you had to consider your topic when applying to graduate school and writing a statement of purpose .

Even if you already have a good sense of your topic, you’ll need to read widely to build background knowledge and begin narrowing down your ideas. Conduct an initial literature review to begin gathering relevant sources. As you read, take notes and try to identify problems, questions, debates, contradictions and gaps. Your aim is to narrow down from a broad area of interest to a specific niche.

Make sure to consider the practicalities: the requirements of your programme, the amount of time you have to complete the research, and how difficult it will be to access sources and data on the topic. Before moving onto the next stage, it’s a good idea to discuss the topic with your thesis supervisor.

>>Read more about narrowing down a research topic

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So you’ve settled on a topic and found a niche—but what exactly will your research investigate, and why does it matter? To give your project focus and purpose, you have to define a research problem .

The problem might be a practical issue—for example, a process or practice that isn’t working well, an area of concern in an organization’s performance, or a difficulty faced by a specific group of people in society.

Alternatively, you might choose to investigate a theoretical problem—for example, an underexplored phenomenon or relationship, a contradiction between different models or theories, or an unresolved debate among scholars.

To put the problem in context and set your objectives, you can write a problem statement . This describes who the problem affects, why research is needed, and how your research project will contribute to solving it.

>>Read more about defining a research problem

Next, based on the problem statement, you need to write one or more research questions . These target exactly what you want to find out. They might focus on describing, comparing, evaluating, or explaining the research problem.

A strong research question should be specific enough that you can answer it thoroughly using appropriate qualitative or quantitative research methods. It should also be complex enough to require in-depth investigation, analysis, and argument. Questions that can be answered with “yes/no” or with easily available facts are not complex enough for a thesis or dissertation.

In some types of research, at this stage you might also have to develop a conceptual framework and testable hypotheses .

>>See research question examples

The research design is a practical framework for answering your research questions. It involves making decisions about the type of data you need, the methods you’ll use to collect and analyze it, and the location and timescale of your research.

There are often many possible paths you can take to answering your questions. The decisions you make will partly be based on your priorities. For example, do you want to determine causes and effects, draw generalizable conclusions, or understand the details of a specific context?

You need to decide whether you will use primary or secondary data and qualitative or quantitative methods . You also need to determine the specific tools, procedures, and materials you’ll use to collect and analyze your data, as well as your criteria for selecting participants or sources.

>>Read more about creating a research design

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Finally, after completing these steps, you are ready to complete a research proposal . The proposal outlines the context, relevance, purpose, and plan of your research.

As well as outlining the background, problem statement, and research questions, the proposal should also include a literature review that shows how your project will fit into existing work on the topic. The research design section describes your approach and explains exactly what you will do.

You might have to get the proposal approved by your supervisor before you get started, and it will guide the process of writing your thesis or dissertation.

>>Read more about writing a research proposal

If you want to know more about the research process , methodology , research bias , or statistics , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

Methodology

• Sampling methods
• Simple random sampling
• Stratified sampling
• Cluster sampling
• Likert scales
• Reproducibility

 Statistics

• Null hypothesis
• Statistical power
• Probability distribution
• Effect size
• Poisson distribution

Research bias

• Optimism bias
• Cognitive bias
• Implicit bias
• Hawthorne effect
• Anchoring bias
• Explicit bias

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Learn and Grow

Research or Researches: Which is Correct? Simple English Explanations

By Caitriona Maria

October 20, 2021

Research or researches ? Which one is correct?!

There seems to be a lot of misinformation about this on the web, as most people (including native English speakers) get this one wrong!

We can use “research” as a noun or verb . Researches can be the third person singular of the verb “research.” Researches can also be used as a plural noun for “research,” but it is rarely used.

Meaning of Research (Verb and Noun)

By definition, “ research” (verb form) means to investigate or search carefully. It is typically related to studious inquiries or examinations.

Here are some examples with the verb “research”:

• “He researched the history of the building.”
• “She is researching how many people speak a particular language.”
• “I need to research this.”
• “We have been researching a new method.”
• “They are researching different options for the company.”
• “I researched every single product before I made my purchase.”
• You should research the pros and cons before you make a decision .
• “He is researching his family tree.”
• She has been researching her options for college.

When used as a noun, the word “research” typically refers to the activity of investigating or examining a subject in-depth with the aim of discovering new facts or information.

It can also refer to the resulting product of this activity.

Here are some examples with the noun “research”:

• “The scientists conducted research on the properties of a new material.”
• “She published her first paper on the results of her research.”
• If you want to write a paper on the dangers of smoking, you will need to do some research on the topic.
• “The research was published in a leading journal.”
• “They are funding market research.”
• “This is a new area of research for me.”
• “I need to do some research on this subject.”
• “Can you please send me your latest research?”

Research or researches?

• Research (singular noun)
• Researches (plural noun)

In a nutshell, we use research as a singular noun and researches as a plural noun, but it is very rare to say the term researches.

It is preferred to say “pieces of research,” “research studies” or “research projects” when talking about more than one.

Researches can also be used as a verb for the third person singular in the simple present tense. For example, “he researches on the internet for his school project.”

Research (simple present tense):

• I research,
• you research,
• he researches,
• she researches,
• it researches,
• we research,
• they research.

Research as a Noun

Research can be a countable and uncountable noun.

As a noun, “research” is usually used as uncountable. For example, we could say, “the research is able to determine the demand for health drinks.”

The plural countable noun researches is rarely used. It is used to distinguish between one or more sets of research.

For example, we could say “research conducted at Trinity College and University College Dublin” (we don’t know if this is a joint research project or a separate research project in both colleges).

Or we could say “researches conducted at Trinity College and University College Dublin” (separate research projects carried out at the colleges).

Is it correct to say researches ?

As you can see from our examples, it is correct to say researches.

You must be warned, however, that while we can use researches as a plural countable noun, most English speakers have never heard this and may think this is incorrect.

Native English speakers prefer to say “some research,” “research studies,” or “research projects” rather than researches nowadays.

Researches as a term is seen as archaic and old-fashioned. Therefore, it is rarely, if ever used.

Can we say a research ?

While “research” can be used as a countable and uncountable noun, it is never correct to say “a research.” However, we can say “a research student,” “much research,” or “some research.”

To make research or to do research?

We never say “make research.” Instead, you can say, “do research,” “conduct research,” “perform research,” or “carry out research.”

When do we say researches?

When using “research” as the verb, we often say researches.

It is much more common to use researches in the third person simple present (he/she/it).

For example, we could say, “he researches for his project in the library.”

Researches can also be used as a noun, as mentioned earlier.

Alternative Ways to Say Researches (noun)

• His researches prove that the disease is a genetic disorder.
• His research proves that the disease is a genetic disorder.
• His research studies prove that the disease is a genetic disorder.
• His research projects prove that the disease is a genetic disorder.
• His pieces of research prove that the disease is a genetic disorder.
• His findings prove that the disease is a genetic disorder.
• His research results prove that the disease is a genetic disorder.

How do you pronounce research ?

“Research” (verb form) is pronounced as ri-SERCH in American English but may vary across different accents.

“Research” (noun form) is pronounced as REE-serch in American English but may vary across different accents.

Therefore, you may choose to pronounce both the verb and the noun in the same way (REE-serch or ri-SERCH) without causing any confusion.

You may also be interested in: 15 Best Online English Courses Free & Paid (2022)

In Conclusion

Those are the rules for the word research and researches. While researches is a correct word, it is seldom used as a plural noun.

“Research” is mostly used as an uncountable noun or verb.

If you are unsure whether to use research or researches , it is best to use “research” as the noun. This will avoid any confusion and misunderstanding.

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• Troubleshooted or Troubleshot? The Correct Word Is…
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Caitriona Maria is an education writer and founder of TPR Teaching, crafting inspiring pieces that promote the importance of developing new skills. For 7 years, she has been committed to providing students with the best learning opportunities possible, both domestically and abroad. Dedicated to unlocking students' potential, Caitriona has taught English in several countries and continues to explore new cultures through her travels.

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Thanks for the extensive researches done by you, as we use this term research in our researches extensively!

Wow 😀 Love it!!

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• Personal Finance

3 Things Rich People Do With Their Money That You Probably Don't

Published on June 29, 2024

By: Maurie Backman

• Wealthy people can afford to invest in real estate.
• They often have access to other assets that aren't available to everyone.
• They generally prioritize estate planning.

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As of 2022, the average American had a net worth of $1,063,700, according to Federal Reserve data. But when we look at median net worth, that number is only $192,900. This tells us that the typical American has considerably less wealth than $1 million and change. And that it's probably a smaller percentage of rich folks who are bringing up that average.

1. Buy rental properties

Owning rental properties is a great way to generate steady income and grow wealth. But it takes money to be able to buy a rental property. Even if you're able to get a mortgage , you generally still need to be able to put some money down. And you also need to be in a position where you can afford the upkeep on a rental property.

If you only earn an average wage, you may not be in a position to buy rental properties. But you can still invest in real estate -- just in a more creative way.

For example, you can buy shares of REITs, or real estate investment trusts. A lot of REITs trade publicly like many of the stocks you may be familiar with, which means you can buy and sell them in your brokerage account like you would a regular old tech stock.

And because REITs are required to pay out at least 90% of their taxable income to shareholders as dividends each year, they can be a good wealth-building tool for you. That's because any dividend income you receive is money you can then reinvest.

2. Invest in assets that aren't available to everyday investors

We just talked about the fact that it's easy to buy and sell shares of REITs. But that applies to those that trade publicly. There are also private REITs, and other types of private investment funds, that are available to people with lots of money. But you may need an "in" to get access to them, such as having a financial advisor who's able to put your money into one of these funds. And often, there's a minimum buy-in. That could be $50,000, $100,000, $250,000, or more, depending on the investment in question.

If you're an average earner, investing this way may not be feasible. But that's okay, because you can do quite well for yourself by loading up on S&P 500 ETFs (exchange-traded funds) in your portfolio.

The index's average annual return over the past 50 years has been 10%. So a $10,000 investment in an S&P 500 ETF today could be worth about $281,000 in 35 years if you score that same return.

3. Make a plan to pass it on

Wealthy people with a lot of assets tend to be meticulous about estate planning. This often goes beyond writing wills. They commonly work with attorneys to set up trusts to pass down wealth efficiently. A trust may not be suitable or necessary for you -- though you don't necessarily have to be super rich to set one up. But there is a cost involved you may not want to bear.

At the very least, though, make sure to have a will in place so you get a say in what happens to your assets. Also, if you're looking for an efficient way to leave money behind to your heirs, consider saving for retirement in a Roth IRA .

Roth IRAs don't impose required minimum distributions (RMDs) like other retirement plans do, so you're not forced to spend your savings in your lifetime. And the rules of inherited Roth IRAs can be pretty favorable to those on the receiving end. For example, withdrawals from an inherited Roth IRA can generally be taken tax-free.

There are certain money management strategies the rich tend to adopt that may not be things you can imitate. But as you can see, there are plenty of great alternatives you can explore even if you're not wealthy.

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Our Research Expert

Maurie Backman is a personal finance writer covering topics ranging from Social Security to credit cards to mortgages. She also has an editing background and has hosted personal finance podcasts.

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Which one is correct? "to make a research" or "to do a research"?

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to make a research

This phrase is not commonly used in English. It is more appropriate to use "to conduct research" or "to do research".

Alternatives:

• to conduct research
• to do research

to do a research

This phrase is commonly used, but it is more appropriate to say "to conduct research" or "to do research".

Last Updated: March 29, 2024

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I made a marketing research - VS - I did a marketing research

Marketing Research= a written business report most of the time printed and delivered to people in business meetings

Do you use "make" or "do" in regards an activity that is intangible but it produces something tangible like a written report?

• causative-make

• I don't think you can ' make ' a research. You can make an analysis, but not a research. –  Varun Nair Commented Oct 11, 2017 at 12:33
• 2 Research is a mass noun, so you wouldn't use the indefinite article with it. And you would do it, not make it. –  Robusto Commented Oct 11, 2017 at 12:41
• You do the research and then after you've done the research you make your report about what you found while doing the research. –  DoWhileNot Commented Oct 11, 2017 at 14:15
• You can also conduct research. And you can use research as a transitive verb. We researched the market for self-driving cars in Antarctica. –  TimR Commented Oct 11, 2017 at 16:39
• Research is uncountable. –  AAM111 Commented Oct 11, 2017 at 18:26

The verb here would be to do , so did is the past participle you would use here. However, as comments have pointed out, research is an uncountable noun so you would not do a marketing research but would do marketing research .

Also, typically research into the state of a market, which is what sounds like you are saying would be called market research rather than marketing research .

Marketing research may discuss the activities or methods of a company's marketing department, marketing or advertising methods or alternatives,how to sell something, advertising choices, etc.

Market research may discuss what people are buying, what products exist (or not), if there may be a demand for a product, what gaps exist in the market, etc.

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• Writing Tips

What’s the Plural of Research?

• 2-minute read
• 22nd March 2022

Research is an example of a mass noun (also known as an uncountable noun or a non-count noun ). Mass nouns can cause confusion, especially if English isn’t your first language , because they aren’t pluralized like most other nouns. In this post, we’ll explain how to use research correctly in your writing . 

Research: Detailed Study

Research means the systematic study of a subject . Regardless of how much study you’re referring to, you should always use the singular form of this noun :

The research is conclusive.

The team did a great deal of research.

We cannot draw conclusions without further research .

It’s very rare for research to take the plural form. So, if you were to write “researches” in an essay or paper , it would look like a mistake. If you want to be specific about the amount of research done, we suggest using a countable noun that can be pluralized instead:

A study / 16 studies

An investigation / two investigations

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An analysis / several analyses

Alternatively, you can combine research with a countable noun:

Three separate research programs were carried out.

I did four pieces of research .

In these examples, research is still written in the singular form, but programs and pieces are plural because we’re referring to more than one of them.

Summary: What’s the Plural of Research?

Research is an example of a mass noun, and you should always write it in the singular form. There’s also a plural form (researches), but it’s very uncommon, and if you use it in your writing, it could look like a mistake.

If you need more help with spelling or word use, check out our blog for more writing tips. If you want an expert to check your writing for errors, our proofreading team is always available. You can even send us your first 500 words to be proofread for free .

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If we’re all so busy, why isn’t anything getting done?

Have you ever asked why it’s so difficult to get things done in business today—despite seemingly endless meetings and emails? Why it takes so long to make decisions—and even then not necessarily the right ones? You’re not the first to think there must be a better way. Many organizations address these problems by redesigning boxes and lines: who does what and who reports to whom. This exercise tends to focus almost obsessively on vertical command relationships and rarely solves for what, in our experience, is the underlying disease: the poor design and execution of collaborative interactions.

About the authors

This article is a collaborative effort by Aaron De Smet , Caitlin Hewes, Mengwei Luo, J.R. Maxwell , and Patrick Simon , representing views from McKinsey’s People & Organizational Performance Practice.

In our efforts to connect across our organizations, we’re drowning in real-time virtual interaction technology, from Zoom to Slack to Teams, plus group texting, WeChat, WhatsApp, and everything in between. There’s seemingly no excuse to not collaborate. The problem? Interacting is easier than ever, but true, productive, value-creating collaboration is not. And what’s more, where engagement is occurring, its quality is deteriorating. This wastes valuable resources, because every minute spent on a low-value interaction eats into time that could be used for important, creative, and powerful activities.

It’s no wonder a recent McKinsey survey  found 80 percent of executives were considering or already implementing changes in meeting structure and cadence in response to the evolution in how people work due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Indeed, most executives say they frequently find themselves spending way too much time on pointless interactions that drain their energy and produce information overload.

Most executives say they frequently find themselves spending way too much time on pointless interactions.

Three critical collaborative interactions

What can be done? We’ve found it’s possible to quickly improve collaborative interactions by categorizing them by type and making a few shifts accordingly. We’ve observed three broad categories of collaborative interactions (exhibit):

• Decision making, including complex or uncertain decisions (for example, investment decisions) and cross-cutting routine decisions (such as quarterly business reviews)
• Creative solutions and coordination, including innovation sessions (for example, developing new products) and routine working sessions (such as daily check-ins)
• Information sharing, including one-way communication (video, for instance) and two-way communication (such as town halls with Q&As)

Below we describe the key shifts required to improve each category of collaborative interaction, as well as tools you can use to pinpoint problems in the moment and take corrective action.

Decision making: Determining decision rights

When you’re told you’re “responsible” for a decision, does that mean you get to decide? What if you’re told you’re “accountable”? Do you cast the deciding vote, or does the person responsible? What about those who must be “consulted”? Sometimes they are told their input will be reflected in the final answer—can they veto a decision if they feel their input was not fully considered?

It’s no wonder one of the key factors for fast, high-quality decisions is to clarify exactly who makes them. Consider a success story at a renewable-energy company. To foster accountability and transparency, the company developed a 30-minute “role card” conversation for managers to have with their direct reports. As part of this conversation, managers explicitly laid out the decision rights and accountability metrics for each direct report. The result? Role clarity enabled easier navigation for employees, sped up decision making, and resulted in decisions that were much more customer focused.

How to define decision rights

We recommend a simple yet comprehensive approach for defining decision rights. We call it DARE, which stands for deciders, advisers, recommenders, and executors:

Deciders are the only ones with a vote (unlike the RACI model, which helps determine who is responsible, accountable, consulted, and informed). If the deciders get stuck, they should jointly agree on how to escalate the decision or figure out a way to move the process along, even if it means agreeing to “disagree and commit.”

Advisers have input and help shape the decision. They have an outsize voice in setting the context of the decision and have a big stake in its outcome—for example, it may affect their profit-and-loss statements—but they don’t get a vote.

Recommenders conduct the analyses, explore the alternatives, illuminate the pros and cons, and ultimately recommend a course of action to advisers and deciders. They see the day-to-day implications of the decision but also have no vote. Best-in-class recommenders offer multiple options and sometimes invite others to suggest more if doing so may lead to better outcomes. A common mistake of recommenders, though, is coming in with only one recommendation (often the status quo) and trying to convince everyone it’s the best path forward. In general, the more recommenders, the better the process—but not in the decision meeting itself.

Executers don’t give input but are deeply involved in implementing the decision. For speed, clarity, and alignment, executers need to be in the room when the decision is made so they can ask clarifying questions and spot flaws that might hinder implementation. Notably, the number of executers doesn’t necessarily depend on the importance of the decision. An M&A decision, for example, might have just two executors: the CFO and a business-unit head.

To make this shift, ensure everyone is crystal clear about who has a voice but no vote or veto. Our research indicates while it is often helpful to involve more people in decision making, not all of them should be deciders—in many cases, just one individual should be the decider (see sidebar “How to define decision rights”). Don’t underestimate the difficulty of implementing this. It often goes against our risk-averse instinct to ensure everyone is “happy” with a decision, particularly our superiors and major stakeholders. Executing and sustaining this change takes real courage and leadership.

Creative solutions and coordination: Open innovation

Routine working sessions are fairly straightforward. What many organizations struggle with is finding innovative ways to identify and drive toward solutions. How often do you tell your teams what to do versus empowering them to come up with solutions? While they may solve the immediate need to “get stuff done,” bureaucracies and micromanagement are a recipe for disaster. They slow down the organizational response to the market and customers, prevent leaders from focusing on strategic priorities, and harm employee engagement. Our research suggests  key success factors in winning organizations are empowering employees  and spending more time on high-quality coaching interactions.

How microenterprises empower employees to drive innovative solutions

Haier, a Chinese appliance maker, created more than 4,000 microenterprises (MEs) that share common approaches but operate independently. Haier has three types of microenterprises:

• Market-facing MEs have roots in Haier’s legacy appliance business, reinvented for today’s customer-centric, web-enabled world. They are expected to grow revenue and profit ten times faster than the industry average.
• Incubating MEs focus on emerging markets such as e-gaming or wrapping new business models around familiar products. They currently account for more than 10 percent of Haier’s market capitalization.
• “Node” MEs sell market-facing ME products and services such as design, manufacturing, and human-resources support.

Take Haier. The Chinese appliance maker divided itself into more than 4,000 microenterprises with ten to 15 employees each, organized in an open ecosystem of users, inventors, and partners (see sidebar “How microenterprises empower employees to drive innovative solutions”). This shift turned employees into energetic entrepreneurs who were directly accountable for customers. Haier’s microenterprises are free to form and evolve with little central direction, but they share the same approach to target setting, internal contracting, and cross-unit coordination. Empowering employees to drive innovative solutions has taken the company from innovation-phobic to entrepreneurial at scale. Since 2015, revenue from Haier Smart Home, the company’s listed home-appliance business, has grown by more than 18 percent a year, topping 209 billion renminbi ($32 billion) in 2020. The company has also made a string of acquisitions, including the 2016 purchase of GE Appliances, with new ventures creating more than $2 billion in market value.

Empowering others doesn’t mean leaving them alone. Successful empowerment, counterintuitively, doesn’t mean leaving employees alone. Empowerment requires leaders to give employees both the tools and the right level of guidance and involvement. Leaders should play what we call the coach role: coaches don’t tell people what to do but instead provide guidance and guardrails and ensure accountability, while stepping back and allowing others to come up with solutions.

Haier was able to use a variety of tools—including objectives and key results (OKRs) and common problem statements—to foster an agile way of working across the enterprise that focuses innovative organizational energy on the most important topics. Not all companies can do this, and some will never be ready for enterprise agility. But every organization can take steps to improve the speed and quality of decisions made by empowered individuals.

Managers who are great coaches, for example, have typically benefited from years of investment by mentors, sponsors, and organizations. We think all organizations should do more to improve the coaching skills of managers and help them to create the space and time to coach teams, as opposed to filling out reports, presenting in meetings, and other activities that take time away from driving impact through the work of their teams.

But while great coaches take time to develop, something as simple as a daily stand-up or check-in can drive horizontal connectivity, creating the space for teams to understand what others are doing and where they need help to drive work forward without having to specifically task anyone in a hierarchical way. You may also consider how you are driving a focus on outcomes over activities on a near-term and long-term basis. Whether it’s OKRs or something else, how is your organization proactively communicating a focus on impact and results over tasks and activities? What do you measure? How is it tracked? How is the performance of your people and your teams managed against it? Over what time horizons?

The importance of psychological safety. As you start this journey, be sure to take a close look at psychological safety. If employees don’t feel psychologically safe, it will be nearly impossible for leaders and managers to break through disempowering behaviors like constant escalation, hiding problems or risks, and being afraid to ask questions—no matter how skilled they are as coaches.

Employers should be on the lookout for common problems indicating that significant challenges to psychological safety lurk underneath the surface. Consider asking yourself and your teams questions to test the degree of psychological safety you have cultivated: Do employees have space to bring up concerns or dissent? Do they feel that if they make a mistake it will be held against them? Do they feel they can take risks or ask for help? Do they feel others may undermine them? Do employees feel valued for their unique skills and talents? If the answer to any of these is not a clear-cut “yes,” the organization likely has room for improvement on psychological safety and relatedness as a foundation to high-quality interactions within and between teams.

Information sharing: Fit-for-purpose interactions

Do any of these scenarios sound familiar? You spend a significant amount of time in meetings every day but feel like nothing has been accomplished. You jump from one meeting to another and don’t get to think on your own until 7 p.m. You wonder why you need to attend a series of meetings where the same materials are presented over and over again. You’re exhausted.

An increasing number of organizations have begun to realize the urgency of driving ruthless meeting efficiency and of questioning whether meetings are truly required at all to share information. Live interactions can be useful for information sharing, particularly when there is an interpretive lens required to understand the information, when that information is particularly sensitive, or when leaders want to ensure there’s ample time to process it and ask questions. That said, most of us would say that most meetings are not particularly useful and often don’t accomplish their intended objective.

We have observed that many companies are moving to shorter meetings (15 to 30 minutes) rather than the standard default of one-hour meetings in an effort to drive focus and productivity. For example, Netflix launched a redesign effort to drastically improve meeting efficiency, resulting in a tightly controlled meeting protocol. Meetings cannot go beyond 30 minutes. Meetings for one-way information sharing must be canceled in favor of other mechanisms such as a memo, podcast, or vlog. Two-way information sharing during meetings is limited by having attendees review materials in advance, replacing presentations with Q&As. Early data show Netflix has been able to reduce the number of meetings by more than 65 percent, and more than 85 percent of employees favor the approach.

Making meeting time a scarce resource is another strategy organizations are using to improve the quality of information sharing and other types of interactions occurring in a meeting setting. Some companies have implemented no-meeting days. In Japan, Microsoft’s “Work Life Choice Challenge” adopted a four-day workweek, reduced the time employees spend in meetings—and boosted productivity by 40 percent. 1 Bill Chappell, “4-day workweek boosted workers’ productivity by 40%, Microsoft Japan says,” NPR, November 4, 2019, npr.org. Similarly, Shopify uses “No Meeting Wednesdays” to enable employees to devote time to projects they are passionate about and to promote creative thinking. 2 Amy Elisa Jackson, “Feedback & meeting-free Wednesdays: How Shopify beats the competition,” Glassdoor, December 5, 2018, glassdoor.com. And Moveline’s product team dedicates every Tuesday to “Maker Day,” an opportunity to create and solve complex problems without the distraction of meetings. 3 Rebecca Greenfield, “Why your office needs a maker day,” Fast Company , April 17, 2014, fastcompany.com.

Finally, no meeting could be considered well scoped without considering who should participate, as there are real financial and transaction costs to meeting participation. Leaders should treat time spent in meetings as seriously as companies treat financial capital. Every leader in every organization should ask the following questions before attending any meeting: What’s this meeting for? What’s my role? Can I shorten this meeting by limiting live information sharing and focusing on discussion and decision making? We encourage you to excuse yourself from meetings if you don’t have a role in influencing the outcome and to instead get a quick update over email. If you are not essential, the meeting will still be successful (possibly more so!) without your presence. Try it and see what happens.

High-quality, focused interactions can improve productivity, speed, and innovation within any organization—and drive better business performance. We hope the above insights have inspired you to try some new techniques to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of collaboration within your organization.

Aaron De Smet is a senior partner in McKinsey’s New Jersey office; Caitlin Hewes is a consultant in the Atlanta office; Mengwei Luo is an associate partner in the New York office; J.R. Maxwell is a partner in the Washington, DC, office; and Patrick Simon is a partner in the Munich office.

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Research: Using AI at Work Makes Us Lonelier and Less Healthy

• David De Cremer
• Joel Koopman

Employees who use AI as a core part of their jobs report feeling more isolated, drinking more, and sleeping less than employees who don’t.

The promise of AI is alluring — optimized productivity, lightning-fast data analysis, and freedom from mundane tasks — and both companies and workers alike are fascinated (and more than a little dumbfounded) by how these tools allow them to do more and better work faster than ever before. Yet in fervor to keep pace with competitors and reap the efficiency gains associated with deploying AI, many organizations have lost sight of their most important asset: the humans whose jobs are being fragmented into tasks that are increasingly becoming automated. Across four studies, employees who use it as a core part of their jobs reported feeling lonelier, drinking more, and suffering from insomnia more than employees who don’t.

Imagine this: Jia, a marketing analyst, arrives at work, logs into her computer, and is greeted by an AI assistant that has already sorted through her emails, prioritized her tasks for the day, and generated first drafts of reports that used to take hours to write. Jia (like everyone who has spent time working with these tools) marvels at how much time she can save by using AI. Inspired by the efficiency-enhancing effects of AI, Jia feels that she can be so much more productive than before. As a result, she gets focused on completing as many tasks as possible in conjunction with her AI assistant.

• David De Cremer is a professor of management and technology at Northeastern University and the Dunton Family Dean of its D’Amore-McKim School of Business. His website is daviddecremer.com .
• JK Joel Koopman is the TJ Barlow Professor of Business Administration at the Mays Business School of Texas A&M University. His research interests include prosocial behavior, organizational justice, motivational processes, and research methodology. He has won multiple awards from Academy of Management’s HR Division (Early Career Achievement Award and David P. Lepak Service Award) along with the 2022 SIOP Distinguished Early Career Contributions award, and currently serves on the Leadership Committee for the HR Division of the Academy of Management .

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More From Forbes

Will you make the same mistakes about aging that your parents did.

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Millions of us are middle aged or older, caring for aging parents and other loved ones who can no longer be independent. We see how they decline, whether slowly or sometimes rapidly after some accident or episode. The last part of their lives does not look so great. Chronic illness, doctor visits, loss of ability to do what they used to enjoy and depression about it can all be in the mix. Do we have to do the same as they did?

What We Know Now That Parents May Not Have Known

Older woman working out at a gym

For many people, aging is thought of as a matter of luck. Good genes or bad ones, they believe. And for so many of our aging folks, there is a sense that there is nothing much one can do about that luck. That can be true for some, though it it far from the whole picture. Science tells us a different story. It’s only about 30% or so genetics that determines how we age. We know much more about the aging process now than we did a generation ago. What’s different? We have solid research on how to prevent or delay the declines that lead to disabling illnesses. The good news—a lot of chronic illness is preventable. The “bad” news—it takes work to do this prevention!

Our Typical Habits

Most Americans do not get the exercise we need to stave off the worst of age-related decline. “I don’t have time” is the most common excuse. But it is merely that, an excuse. The truth is that exercise, even the mild variety, takes effort. Indeed, more effort is needed to walk for 15 minutes than to watch TV for the same amount of time. We hear this from the medical researchers who study aging. We hear it from our own physicians. But we stay on the couch because it’s just easier. However, there is a price tag attached to easy. It is inevitable, progressive health decline as we get older. Are you willing to pay that price? Many thought leaders in aging research believe that exercise is the single most important tool we have to protect us against dementia, heart disease and all the other chronic illnesses aging brings to the majority of us. If you see it in your own aging parents or other loved ones, take heed. You are not an exception to the aging process. Every human being who lives past middle age must experience age-related changes. We can’t stop aging but we can direct a lot of how it happens to us.

Then there’s food. Some doctors call what we generally eat the “standard American diet” (SAD). And the long term effects are indeed “sad”. There is more and more evidence in competent studies that informs us that the SAD is directly related to specific age-related declines in just about everything. That includes dementia, which most of us fear. Imagine that if you chose to work at prevention, you wouldn’t get dementia, even if a parent or both of them had it. You could vastly increase your odds of avoiding it.

Life Expectancy

If we live a long time, or at least to the average life expectancy, we don’t want to get there in a miserable state of health. Putting off making a personal choice to avert that misery does nothing. Thinking it through and making a private commitment to take action starting now does make sense.

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Sometimes an aging parent is exemplary and does a lot of things right, having their last years go very well with few medical problems. Good, and follow their example. Some rare folks live to be 100 with a slew of what we call bad health habits. They smoke, drink, eat unhealthy foods and carry extra weight. But they are the exception. Look around you. I see many people in their seventies really starting to fall apart physically. How did they take care of themselves in the prior decades? Not well, in almost every instance you can observe.They didn’t get enough sleep. They skipped exercise. They didn’t create a close group of social contacts. They failed to attend to their own mental wellness. They ate whatever they felt like and got too heavy. Now, they take a lot of medications and have a lot of health problems.

Prevention Doesn’t Sell Well

We are a society that wants quick solutions, instant rewards, and someone else to fix us if we get some health problems. Forward thinking healthcare providers are frustrated that their patients do not embrace the concept that they, the patients, do have a lot of control over how their last years are going to look and feel. Preventive health measures are just too much work, the doctors and others hear. But are they really too much work? Is it too much to do a brisk walk three times a week for a half hour, as the American Heart Association recommends? Is it really too hard to give up any of those highly processed junk foods we eat so often?

The Takeaways

For the majority of our U.S. population, the last part of one’s life is filled with health struggles. Multiple diagnoses, loss of mobility, loss of being able to take care of our own basic needs and the like are all too common. Toward our 70’s, 80’s and beyond, all too many of us have never made a commitment to preventing disease or at least delaying it. However, you can be different. If you are determined to hold onto what you love doing, and to having a full and independent decade or two (or more) after your reach retirement, do what is needed. It will take work, but it’s a job most people are entirely capable of doing. That means, at the very least, get off that couch and get rid of that junk food. You can age differently from those, like many aging parents, who did not do any disease prevention. Look around you and decide what is worth changing in your own life. Your doctor can’t fix your attitude. Only you can do that and make better choices starting now.

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Nevada Today

Ask the professor: how do rainbows form, xiyue zhang elucidates the physics behind the pride symbol.

A photo of a rainbow over downtown Reno. ("Reno Rainbow" by Sky Island is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.)

In recognition of Pride Month, which celebrates the LGBTQIA2S+ community, assistant professor Xiyue Zhang answered some questions about how rainbows form. Zhang studies clouds in polar regions.

How do rainbows form?

Two key ingredients to form rainbows are sunlight and suspended water droplets. Sunlight appears white and is composed of electromagnetic waves of different wavelengths. When sunlight enters a rain droplet, it gets refracted (bent) because of the density difference between air and water. Then it gets reflected at the back of the droplet, and finally refracted again as it exits the droplet. Light of different wavelengths bends at slightly different angles, separating sunlight into an array of colors as it leaves the water droplet and enters our eyes. This is why we only see rainbows when the sun is low and behind us, and most likely after rain when the air is extra moist (full of suspended water droplets but not clouds).

Why are some rainbows complete circles (in the sky), and others are semicircles (touching the ground)?

We almost always see rainbows as semi circles on the horizon because the ground prevents the other halves from forming. If you rise, say in a hot air balloon, the rainbow will grow fuller as there will be air carrying water droplets below you. You may have seen photographs of circular rainbows taken from aircraft when the viewer is much higher in the sky.

Can other liquids make rainbows?

As long as it’s transparent, liquids other than water can make rainbows as they can also refract and reflect light. The exact geometry of the sunlight, rainbow and the viewer will depend on the density of the liquid.

Can rainbows be seen from space?

Because 99% of water in the atmosphere is found in the troposphere, about thirteen kilometers or eight miles above the surface, outer space is very dry and lacks the key ingredient water droplets. Therefore, we aren’t able to see rainbows from space. If you’ve seen photos showing rainbow-like features taken from the International Space Station, they’re most likely showing glory instead of rainbows. Glory forms when sunlight is reflected but not refracted by water droplets.

Why are there double (and triple!) rainbows?

Sometimes, there is enough moisture higher up in the sky to allow sunlight to be reflected twice inside water droplets. This is why when we see a double rainbow, the secondary outer arc shows colors arranged upside down compared to the primary inner arc. More reflection also means longer paths for the light to reach our eyes, making the secondary rainbows much fainter than the primary rainbows. Theoretically, sunlight can undergo even more reflections inside water droplets to form triple rainbows. But if you are lucky enough to have seen a double rainbow, you might have noticed how dim the secondary rainbow appears. A third arc would be even dimmer and harder to witness.

About the professor

Xiyue Zhang is an assistant professor in the Department of Physics. Zhang studies climate dynamics and polar clouds, which have important radiative effects on the climate of Earth’s surface.

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done a research or made a research?

• Thread starter pranav
• Start date Dec 3, 2019

• Dec 3, 2019

done a research or made a research?  

Senior Member

We really need you to post complete sentences, pranav. The normal phrase is do research. Here are a couple of sentences that use do research normally : He does research at the Williams Institute. He did some research at the Williams Institute.  

Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

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• Americans’ Views of Government’s Role: Persistent Divisions and Areas of Agreement

Wide majorities of Biden and Trump supporters oppose cuts to Social Security

Table of contents.

• Views on the efficiency of government
• Views on the government’s regulation of business
• Confidence in the nation’s ability to solve problems
• Views on the effect of government aid to the poor
• Views on government’s role in health care
• Views on the future of Social Security
• Trust in government
• Feelings toward the federal government
• Acknowledgments
• The American Trends Panel survey methodology

Pew Research Center conducted this study to understand Americans’ attitudes about U.S. government, such as its size and role.

This report is based primarily on a survey of 8,709 adults, including 7,166 registered voters, from April 8 to 14, 2024. Some of the analysis in this report is based on a survey of 8,638 adults from May 13 to 19, 2024.

Everyone who took part in these surveys is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. This way nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. Read more about the ATP’s methodology .

Here are the questions used for the report and its methodology .

While the economy, immigration and abortion have emerged as major issues in the 2024 election, Joe Biden and Donald Trump also have dramatically different ideas about the size and role of government.

These differences reflect decades-old divisions between Democrats and Republicans over the scope of government.

Among registered voters, large majorities of Biden supporters – roughly three-quarters or more – favor a bigger, more activist government.

• 74% say they would rather have a bigger government providing more services.
• 76% say government should do more to solve problems.
• 80% say government aid to the poor “does more good than harm.”

Trump supporters, by comparable margins, take the opposing view on all three questions.

The Pew Research Center survey of 8,709 adults – including 7,166 registered voters – conducted April 8-14, 2024, examines Americans’ views of the role and scope of government , the social safety net and long-term trends in trust in the federal government .

Democratic support for bigger government is little changed in the last five years but remains higher than it was a decade ago. Republicans’ views have shifted less over the last 10 years.

Among all adults, about three-quarters of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents favor a bigger government, up from about six-in-ten in 2014 and 2015. The share of Republicans and Republican leaners who prefer a bigger government has increased only modestly over the same period.

Democratic support for bigger government, while slightly lower than in 2021 (78%), remains at nearly its highest level in five decades. During Bill Clinton’s presidency in the 1990s, fewer than half of Democrats said they preferred a bigger government with more services.

Voters continue to express very different views about government’s role in specific areas than about the government generally.

A large majority of voters (80%) – including 82% of Biden supporters and 78% of Trump supporters – say that in thinking about the long-term future of Social Security, benefits should not be reduced in any way.

However, Biden supporters are more likely than Trump supporters to say Social Security should cover more people with greater benefits.

• 46% of Biden supporters favor expanding Social Security coverage and benefits, compared with 28% of Trump supporters.

Most Americans (65%) continue to say the federal government has a responsibility to make sure all Americans have health care coverage.

Democrats overwhelmingly (88%) say the federal government has this responsibility, compared with 40% of Republicans.

The share of Republicans who say the government has a responsibility to provide health coverage has increased 8 percentage points since 2021, from 32% to 40%.

There are wide income differences among Republicans in opinions about the government’s role in health care:

• 56% of Republicans with lower family incomes say the government has a responsibility to provide health coverage for all, compared with 36% of those with middle incomes and 29% of higher-income Republicans.

When asked how the government should provide health coverage, 36% of Americans say it should be provided through a single national program, while 28% say it should be through a mix of government and private programs. These views have changed little in recent years.

Democrats continue to be more likely than Republicans to favor a “single payer” government health insurance program (53% vs. 18%).

Other key findings in this report

• Americans’ trust in the federal government remains low but has modestly increased since last year. Today, 22% of American adults say they trust the government to do what is right always or most of the time, which is up from 16% in June 2023.
• While the public overall is divided over the nation’s ability to solve important problems, young adults are notably pessimistic about the country’s ability to solve problems . About half of Americans (52%) say the U.S. can’t solve many of its important problems, while 47% say it can find a way to solve problems and get what it wants. Roughly six-in-ten adults under age 30 (62%) say the nation can’t solve major problems, the highest share in any age group and 16 points higher than two years ago.

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Third-party and independent candidates for president often fall short of early polling numbers

6 facts about presidential and vice presidential debates, biden, trump are least-liked pair of major party presidential candidates in at least 3 decades, cultural issues and the 2024 election, more than half of americans are following election news closely, and many are already worn out, most popular, report materials.

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ABOUT PEW RESEARCH CENTER  Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of  The Pew Charitable Trusts .

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• Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Do or make ?

When we use do and make with noun phrases, do focuses on the process of acting or performing something, make emphasises more the product or outcome of an action:

When I was [action] doing the calculations, I [outcome] made two mistakes.

I [action] did some work for her last summer; I [outcome] made a pond in her garden.

Nouns which combine with do

I do the shopping on Fridays usually.

Could you do a job for me next week?

Who does the cooking in your house?

Nouns which combine with make

They made me an interesting offer of a job in Warsaw.

Not many building firms will make a profit this year.

I have to make a phone call.

Do as a main verb

Collocation

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side hustle

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a piece of work or a job that you get paid for doing in addition to doing your main job

Fakes and forgeries (Things that are not what they seem to be)

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