What is scientific research

Basic sciences , also called pure sciences, are those that explain the most basic objects and forces, relationships between them, and laws governing them. Examples include physics, mathematics, and biology. Applied sciences , also called practical sciences, are sciences that apply scientific knowledge from basic sciences in a physical environment.

For instance, engineering is an applied science that applies the laws of physics and chemistry for practical applications such as building stronger bridges or fuel efficient combustion engines, while medicine is an applied science that applies the laws of biology for solving human ailments.

Both basic and applied sciences are required for human development. However, applied sciences cannot stand on their own right, but instead relies on basic sciences for its progress. Of course, the industry and private enterprises tend to focus more on applied sciences given their practical value, while universities study both basic and applied sciences. The purpose of science is to create scientific knowledge. Scientific knowledge refers to a generalized body of laws and theories to explain a phenomenon or behavior of interest that are acquired using the scientific method.

Laws are observed patterns of phenomena or behaviors, while theories are systematic explanations of the underlying phenomenon or behavior. Collectively, the three laws constitute the basis of classical mechanics — a theory of moving objects.

An introductory college level text book in physics will likely contain separate chapters devoted to each of these theories. Similar theories are also available in social sciences. For instance, cognitive dissonance theory in psychology explains how people react when their observations of an event is different from what they expected of that event, general deterrence theory explains why some people engage in improper or criminal behaviors, such as illegally download music or commit software piracy, and the theory of planned behavior explains how people make conscious reasoned choices in their everyday lives.

The goal of scientific research is to discover laws and postulate theories that can explain natural or social phenomena, or in other words, build scientific knowledge. It is important to understand that this knowledge may be imperfect or even quite far from the truth. As such, there may be good or poor explanations, depending on the extent to which those explanations fit well with reality, and consequently, there may be good or poor theories. The progress of science is marked by our progression over time from poorer theories to better theories, through better observations using more accurate instruments and more informed logical reasoning.

We arrive at scientific laws or theories through a process of logic and evidence. Logic theory and evidence observations are the two, and only two, pillars upon which scientific knowledge is based. In science, theories and observations are interrelated and cannot exist without each other. Theories provide meaning and significance to what we observe, and observations help validate or refine existing theory or construct new theory.

Any other means of knowledge acquisition, such as faith or authority cannot be considered science. Given that theories and observations are the two pillars of science, scientific research operates at two levels: a theoretical level and an empirical level.

The theoretical level is concerned with developing abstract concepts about a natural or social phenomenon and relationships between those concepts i.

Over time, a theory becomes more and more refined i. Scientific research involves continually moving back and forth between theory and observations.

Both theory and observations are essential components of scientific research. For instance, relying solely on observations for making inferences and ignoring theory is not considered valid scientific research. In inductive research , the goal of a researcher is to infer theoretical concepts and patterns from observed data. In deductive research , the goal of the researcher is to test concepts and patterns known from theory using new empirical data. Hence, inductive research is also called theory-building research, and deductive research is theory-testing research.

Note here that the goal of theory-testing is not just to test a theory, but possibly to refine, improve, and extend it. In doing so, these act as guides for how to study a certain phenomenon and find the answers needed.

Each of these steps has a certain approach that changes when applied to other study fields. This is the starting point of the whole scientific method. Here, you start formulating a question about something that you witnessed or observed. The questions that surface involve how, what, when, who, which, where, and why?

Formulating these questions can help you take note of the details you need to research. It gives you scope on what to study. This stage is where you draw in more information on the question. This helps in noting a preliminary answer to the question. Background research also lets you check on other instances of the observation. It helps with the next stage of the study.

At this point, you create a working theory out of the information gathered. This is the speculative aspect of the scientific method. In this case, you predict the possible outcome. This is also the phase where you can make predictions. These predictions may come into play when the hypothesis comes up as true during the testing.

While working on the hypothesis, this is where you note the variables at work. This can help you with determining and proving the hypothesis. It also helps in finding which conditions come true. This is when the drafted theories come to the test. The type of experiment helps determine the results to see if it proves the hypothesis or it debunks it. During this phase, you need to have all variables accounted for.

They allow research and therefore knowledge claims to be evaluated. The following criteria are commonly used to evaluate scientific research Bryman In certain instances and particularly where a research study is not seeking to extrapolate statistical findings beyond the research context, the criteria of trustworthiness has been suggested as a means to ensure the integrity of conclusions.

All the criteria above are judged by perceived rigour in method; that is confidence that the researcher has followed accepted procedures to ensure to the fullest that the conclusions reached are robust. To achieve confidence in the results of a study demands 'disciplined inquiry' such that the data, arguments, and reasoning are able to withstand examination by other members of the scientific community Punch Your browser does not support Javascript.

Context and need. Here are three examples of such a combination: To confirm this assumption , we studied the effects of a range of inhibitors of connexin channels. Task and object. For the task, use whoever did the work normally, you and your colleagues as the subject of the sentence: we or perhaps the authors; use a verb expressing a research action: measured , calculated , etc.

The three examples below are well-formed tasks. For the object of the document, use the document itself as the subject of the sentence: this paper , this letter , etc. The list below provides examples of verbs that express communication actions: clarify This paper clarifies the role of soils in.

The body. Materials and methods. This paragraph of materials and methods expresses the main idea first, in a topic sentence, so readers immediately know what it is about. Results and discussion. This paragraph of results and discussion above can easily be rewritten below to convey the message first, not last.

The conclusion. The abstract. In just under words, the abstract reproduced here conveys the motivation for and the outcome of the work with some accuracy but without intimidating readers by its length.

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