Our language is being corrupted and perverted at an increasing rate these days. The word "research" was an early casualty. To me the word means that one is involved in a comprehensive study of a phenomenum ranging from a literature survey to controlled experiments and data analysis. I daresay, in remote corners of academia, at least in the hard sciences, it still carries this meaning, but in social sciences, the humanities and as far as the general public are concerned it increasingly means, "I believe this (proposition X,Y, or Z), and here is a random collection of views which agree with me." We've heard a lot in the news today about carbon emissions. Just imagine how many rain forests could be saved if the numerous stupid "reports" we see featured in the media every single day were vetted for their utility before wasting the paper on which they are printed.