Fundamentals of Scientific Research and Thinking

Flashcards summarizing key concepts from "Fundamentals of Scientific Research and Thinking," focusing on the core principles of science, research, and methodologies.

Science

A systematic and organized body of knowledge in any area of inquiry that is acquired using the scientific method.

Natural Science

Studies naturally occurring objects or phenomena such as light, matter, earth, and the human body.

Social Science

Studies people or collections of people, such as groups, firms, societies, or economies, and their individual or collective behaviors.

Basic Sciences (Pure Sciences)

Aim to explain the most basic objects and forces, relationships between them, and laws governing them.

Applied Sciences (Practical Sciences)

Apply scientific knowledge from basic sciences to solve practical problems in the real world.

Laws

Observed patterns of phenomena or behaviors.

Theories

Systematic explanations of the underlying phenomenon or behavior.

Theoretical Level

Concerned with developing abstract concepts about a natural or social phenomenon and relationships between those concepts.

Empirical Level

Concerned with testing the theoretical concepts and relationships to see how well they reflect our observations of reality.

Inductive Research (Theory-Building Research)

The researcher infers theoretical concepts and patterns from observed data.

Deductive Research (Theory-Testing Research)

The researcher tests concepts and patterns known from theory using new empirical data.

Scientific Method

A standardized set of techniques for building scientific knowledge.

Replicability

Others should be able to independently replicate or repeat a scientific study and obtain similar results.

Precision

Theoretical concepts must be defined with such precision that others can measure those concepts and test that theory.

Falsifiability

A theory must be stated in a way that it can be disproven.

Parsimony (Occam's Razor)

When there are multiple explanations of a phenomenon, scientists must always accept the simplest or logically most economical explanation.

Exploratory Research

Often conducted in new areas of inquiry to scope out the magnitude or extent of a particular phenomenon, problem, or behavior.

Descriptive Research

Directed at making careful observations and detailed documentation of a phenomenon of interest.

Explanatory Research

Seeks explanations of observed phenomena, problems, or behaviors.

Rationalism

Views reason as the source of knowledge or justification through systematic logical reasoning.

Empiricism

Knowledge can only be derived from observations in the real world.

Positivism

Theory and observations have circular dependence on each other, and theories are authentic only if empirically verifiable.

Interpretive Sociology (Anti-positivism)

Understanding social actions through interpretive means based upon an understanding of the meaning and purpose that individuals attach to their personal actions.

Postpositivism (Post-empiricism)

Human knowledge is based not on unchallengeable, rock-solid foundations, but rather on a set of tentative conjectures that can never be proven conclusively, but only disproven.

Critical Research (Critical Theory)

Critiquing social inequality and advocating for conscious action to change social circumstances.

Unit of Analysis

Refers to the person, collective, or object that is the target of the investigation.

Concepts

Generalizable properties or characteristics associated with objects, events, or people.

Constructs

An abstract concept that is specifically chosen (or 'created') to explain a given phenomenon.

Variables

A measurable representation of an abstract construct.

Independent Variables

Explain other variables; the cause.

Dependent Variables

Are explained by other variables; the effect.

Mediating Variables (Intermediate Variables)

Are explained by independent variables while also explaining dependent variables, acting as a link.

Moderating Variables

Influence the relationship between independent and dependent variables, affecting the strength or direction of the relationship.

Control Variables

Extraneous variables that are not pertinent to explaining a given dependent variable but may have some impact on the dependent variable and must be accounted for.

Propositions

A tentative and conjectural relationship between constructs that is stated in a declarative form at the theoretical plane.

Hypotheses

The empirical formulation of propositions, stated as relationships between variables at the empirical plane.

Theory

A set of systematically interrelated constructs and propositions intended to explain and predict a phenomenon or behavior of interest, within certain boundary conditions and assumptions.

Model

A representation of all or part of a system that is constructed to study that system.