Griffith’s statement, “ There is no hope for perfect research” which was coined in 1998, has started another debacle altogether rather than answering this ongoing question itself. Who know what’s the right answer of correct value of pie (3.14)
One can agree easily on the fact that it was the pursuit of correct answer and a perfect one not to mention which made us just not be content on having candles for lighting purposes but discover electricity. The definition of research, is “a detailed study of a subject, especially in order to discover (new) information or reach a (new) understanding.” ( www.webs.uidaho.edu)
The definition itself says a new answer providing new set of knowledge, certainly not the ;ast answer which may not allow further research. Research is an continuous fire which is fueled by man’s desire of perfect solution. Since we human are subject to flaws, that trait of ours is also reflected in our work as well. It is a process of searching again and again till the right answer is found. Earlier it was believed that the earth is oval. It was a continuous voyage of discovery and experiments which proved it wrong after decades. The main objective of research is not to find the last answer but to find out the facts which are concealed and not known to us as of now. Every discovery or invention that we see or use in today’s world is a result of an ongoing research which continued for a long time and then ended up in providing us a better solution. Had we believed that the models of vehicles available in 1920s were the best our scientists could do, would these fast-paced miracles running on the road existed? And lets not go too far. Had we believed that the vehicles we were using in 1980s were the best we could do, would we been able to address the issue of scarcity of fuel resources. Had our scientists would have thought that what they were making two decades back was a final answer to our commutation problems, we would never end up with the advanced cars, trains, even airplanes we have now.
The truth is that there is no perfect solution to any problem or no perfect answer to any question. There is always a better one which is hidden and not known to us. So it is absolutely upto us to find out what it is. As Scheurich (1994) rightly put it, “one’s historical position, one’s class (which may or may not include changes over the course of a lifetime), one’s race, one’s gender, one’s religion, and so on, interact and influence, limit and constrain production of knowledge” (Mehra 7:1).
All the possible researches that have been conducted so far, are subjected to trial and error. This is a very foundation of any experiment or any hypothesis. Had we been sure that our hyposthesis is perfect, we would have been missing significant facts which actually lead us to the right answer. Imagine that till 1930s, we were certain that our solar system comprises of eight planets only. It was the research done by Tombaugh which turned a an eye opener and made us change our perspective altogether. . As stated by the International Astronomical Union, “Pluto would no longer be considered a planet due to new rules that said planets must clear the neighborhood around its orbit” (History.com).
Even this was not the end as we further discovered the tenth planet in 2005 which was later named Eris.
Even the most renowned researches can be conflicting to each other. Let’s not forget Newton’s third law of motion (1702) which states that, “Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.” This gives a perfect explanation for airplanes flying these days. Right? However, let’s not forget Bernoulli’s principle of conservative energy which says that, “ Fast moving air has a low pressure and that the converse is true” (Hydrodynamica, 1738). Another perfect explanation for airplanes flying. But what we don’t know is these two major principles which turned out to be breakthroughs in their times are actually conflicting to each other (Anderson D, 2009). Scientists have been working on this issue, trying to find a perfect answer but they have met no success as of now. But still, the research is on.
Hence, it can be implied that no research can be named as a perfect one. There is always a better solution available, there is always a piece of knowledge not known to us. We can assume that Griffith was right. But who knows he is wrong as well. We can only find that out be experimenting more and more and questioning our findings again and again.

References:
“Definition of Research”
David F. Anderson, Scott Eberhardt, Understanding Flight, McGraw Hill Professional, 2009
Pluto Discovered.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, 18 February 1930. Web. 31 January 2011.