Scientific Research Notes

Scientific Research Notes

Epigraph

  • "All progress is born of inquiry. Doubt is often better than overconfidence, for it leads to inquiry, and inquiry leads to invention" -- Hudson Maxim

What is Scientific Research?

  • It is the systematic investigation of scientific theories and hypotheses.

Scientific Research Characteristics

  • A process of rigorous reasoning based on interactions among theories, methods, and findings.
  • Builds on understanding derived from the objective testing of models or theories.
  • Accumulation of scientific knowledge is laborious, plodding, circuitous, and indirect.
  • Scientific knowledge is developed and improved through critique, contested findings, replication, and convergence.
  • Scientific knowledge is developed through sustained efforts.
  • Scientific inquiry must be guided by fundamental principles.

Scientific Method of Research: Four Steps

  1. Observation
  2. Hypothesis
  3. Testing
  4. Predictions
  • The Cycle of Scientific Research
    • Starts with Observation.
    • Moves to Hypothesis formulation.
    • Then, Hypothesis Testing.
    • Leads to Predictions.
    • Generalization from observation (Induction) leads to theory.
    • Testing of Hypothesis (Deduction) relates back to Observation.
  • If experiments prove the hypothesis to be true, it becomes a theory or law of nature.
  • If experiments prove the hypothesis to be false, the hypothesis must be rejected or modified.
  • The scientific method used properly should give us predictive power to understand phenomena which have not been tested.

Types of Scientific Research

1. Pure Research
  • Also called BASIC RESEARCH or FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH
  • Aims to discover the basic truths or principles.
  • Is intended to add to a body of scientific knowledge.
Examples
  • Archimedes’ Principle
    • Archimedes conducted pure research known as “Archimedes Law of Buoyancy.”
    • His principle states that “An object in a liquid will experience a buoyant force just equal to the weight of the liquid displaced”.
    • He simplified his principles which states that “An object will float if the buoyant force of the liquid is greater than its weight or gravitational pull of the earth of the object.”
  • Newton’s Law
    • Isaac Newton conducted pure research known as “Newton’s Law of Motion.”
    • His law states that “A body at rest remains at rest and a body in motion will continue to move with the same velocity in a straight line unless acted upon by an external force.” (Law of Inertia)
2. Applied Research
  • Application of scientific knowledge to the solution of a problem.
  • There is a development of new system or procedure, new device, or new method in order to solve the problem.
Example
  • Problem on the shortage of rice
    • To solve this problem, research on the new method of planting rice using new variety has been conducted or in order to supply more rice to the consumers or through genetic engineering, insertion of pest-resistant gene of a bacterium in the rice to make it resistant to pest and so improving its variety in order to produce more yield.
3. Action Research
  • A decision-oriented research where it involves the application of the steps of the scientific method in response to an immediate need for improvement of the existing practices.
Example
  • Culturing of seaweed, particularly Eucheuma in broadcasting method is an existing research project in the locality. This study is improved using stake and bamboo rafts methods.

Types of Basic and Applied Research

1. Quantitative research
  • It is numerical, non-descriptive, applies statistics or mathematics and uses numbers.
  • It is an iterative process whereby evidence is evaluated.
  • The results are often presented in tables and graphs.
  • It is conclusive.
  • It investigates the what, where and when of decision making.
2. Qualitative research
  • It is non-numerical, descriptive, applies reasoning and uses words.
  • Its aim is to get the meaning, feeling and describe the situation.
  • Qualitative data cannot be graphed.
  • It is exploratory.
  • It investigates the why and how of decision making.
3. Mixed research
  • Research that involves the mixing of quantitative and qualitative methods or paradigm characteristics.
  • Nature of data is mixture of variables, words and images.

Classification of Research

1. Library Research
  • Research is conducted in the library in such a way that answers to the specific questions/problems of the research study are available in the library.
  • Example - historical research
2. Field Research
  • Research is conducted in a natural setting, no changes in the environment.
  • Both applicable to descriptive survey and experimental methods
3. Laboratory Research
  • Research is conducted in artificial or controlled conditions by isolating the study in a rigorously specified and operationalized area.

Other Types of Research

1. Exploratory research
  • Involve a literature search or conducting focus group interviews. The exploration of new phenomena in this way may help the researcher’s need for better understanding, may test the feasibility of a more extensive study.
  • Or determine the best methods to be used in a subsequent study. For these reasons, exploratory research is broad in focus and rarely provides definite answers to specific research issues.
  • The objective of exploratory research is to identify key issues and key variables.
2. Descriptive research
  • Directed toward studying “what” and how many of this “what”. Thus, it is directed toward answering questions such as, “What is this?”.
3. Explanatory research
  • Its primary goal is to understand or to explain relationships.
  • It uses correlations to study relationships between dimensions or characteristics off individuals, groups, situations, or events.
4. Longitudinal research
  • Research carried out longitudinally involves data collection at multiple points in time.
    • Trend study - looks at population characteristics over time, e.g. organizational absenteeism rates during the course of a year
    • Cohort study - traces a sub-population over time, e.g. absenteeism rates for the sales department;
    • Panel study - traces the same sample over time, e.g. graduate career tracks over the period 1990 – 2000 for the same starting cohort.
  • While longitudinal studies will often be more time consuming and expensive than cross-sectional studies, they are more likely to identify causal relationships between variables.
5. Cross-sectional research
  • One-shot or cross-sectional studies are those in which data is gathered once, during a period of days, weeks or months.
  • Many cross-sectional studies are exploratory or descriptive in purpose. They are designed to look at how things are now, without any sense of whether there is a history or trend at work
6. Policy-oriented research
  • Reports employing this type of research focus on the question ‘How can problem ‘X’ be solved or prevented ?’
7. Classification research
  • It aims at categorization of units into groups
  • To demonstrate differences
  • To explain relationships
8. Comparative research
  • To identify similarities and differences between units at all levels
9. Causal research
  • It aims at establishing cause and effect relationship among variable
10. Theory-testing research
  • It aims at testing validity of a unit
11. Theory-building research
  • To establish and formulate the theory