How to Practice Science - Week 1

Study design/RQ, etc

What does study design involve? How would you go about designing a study?

Study design involves:

• RQ and sub-questions

  • Embedding in previous RQ/research —> there’s always previous knowledge and research into a topic! How are you after something new?

• Research plan/methodology

• Relevance

• Expected Outcome! (Hypothesis)

How do we conduct research? Why?

• Discovery/understanding!

• We use deductive reasoning = support our inductive reasoning (based on what is already known/may predict outcome), then conduct experiments to produce evidence from which we can deduce to draw valid conclusions

  • Deductive = from experiements, valid conclusions (e.g. conduct experiement and realize there are also black swans in australia)

  • Inductive = from previous knowledge/experience/observations, can draw conclusions, but must test, and not neccessarily valid (e.g. all swans i’ve seen are white, so swans are white)

What makes a good RQ?

Things to consider when constructing a RQ:

• Why do we want to study something? What is the key question, concern or observation?

• What data are needed? What type of data to collect?

• How to design the study to get the data needed

Aspects of a good RQ:

1. Embedded in discipline/research area

2. Relevant → have a real purpose (specific or broad)

3. Specific → very clear on what an answer will be/when there will be an answer or conclusion

4. Functional → answerable + type of study connects

What types of RQ are there?

There are 5 types:

Descriptive:

• Questions: What does it look like? Characteristics/qualities, etc.

• Answer: List of characteristics/phases/elements without origin or causes

• Not science fields → only when barely anything is known

• Non-evaluative! No judgement of quality, value, etc.

• E.g: “What does X look like?” or “What are most important steps in X?”

Comparison:

• Questions: What are the differences between X and Y?

• Answer: Overview of similarities/differences of the respective topic categorised and structured in a useful way

  • Potential topics: Two or more approaches, cultures, systems, objects, etc.

Definition:

• Questions: In which category can X be placed? Does X belong to this family? What is the nature of X?

• Answer: Statement on the extent to which a phenomenon may or may not be classified in a certain way

Evaluation:

• Questions: What is the worth of X? What are the advantages/disadvantages of X?

• Answer: Statement about the positive/negative characteristics of a phenomenon

  • e.g. impact of implementing a law or new technology

Explanation:

• Questions: Why is X the way it is? How could X happen? What is X a consequence of?

• Answer: Statement about the causes of a phenomenon observed.

  • Predictive power → often builds on descriptive research

What types of RQ are used in scientific research?

1. Descriptive

2. Relational

3. Interventional

Relies of POCI:

P = Population

O = Outcome

C = Comparison/Connection

I = Intervention

What are common methodologies in science?

1. Observational

2. Experimental → includes lab work and simulation