Original Research

I'll first start out by saying that I much prefer doing Library research compared to Original Research.  That being said, yes, I have indeed done my own original research.  Mainly for some of my college research papers, It was mainly collecting quantitative data.  The difference between Original research and Library research is that when doing Original research one goes out into the "field" so to say, and collects data and information on their own.  They themselves in turn become the "expert."  Library research can help original research in a few ways.  One might be that it can be used as a guide for finding similar information, or to try and update some out of date quantitative data.  It can also be used as a way to figure out what is currently missing, some sort of point of view or data that still needs to be collected to further examine or delve into a subject.  Another way Library research can help original research is as an outline on how to format or present original research in an understandable and clear way.

Some pros to Library research is that, depending on the publishing date, the article one might be reading has been reviewed and commented on and perhaps even updated or revamped, expanded upon, et cetera, by scholarly peers.  You assume that the author presenting the information is an "expert" and therefore the information can be trusted to a point; cross examination should always be done of course.  The information is easily accessible and at your fingertips, you don't have to go find it. 

Some cons to Library research is that, in fact, the person publishing an article could have very little experience with the topic and their information could be suspect.  NOT all scholarly articles are created equal.  Some really bad articles can somehow be published.  You aren't out and collecting the information on your own and miss out on the "fun" experience.  Certain information you might need may not be easy to find or it just hasn't be published or "found" yet.

For critical thinking skills involved in both types of research, probably all of them to be honest.  They all would play a part on some level.  Interpretation, Analysis, Inference, Evaluation, Explanation, and Self-Regulation all of them would be needed for these types of research.  As for Original research, I think that Inference and Evaluation might be the most important in this research.  You need to evaluate and access the credibility of the information that you have collected.  With inference you need to draw reasonable conclusions with the "evaluated' information you have gathered, to form hypotheses and whatnot.  So I would say those would be pretty key in Original Research.   As for Library Research, I think that Interpretation would be a good one, as you need to comprehend and express the data you have found from others research, to be able to organize it and clarify it for whomever you are presenting to or having read your information.