Research and the Scientific Method
High school teachers commonly use the word “research” to ask students to find out more about certain topics or subjects as take-home assignment or project.
When taken in the context of formal research, “research” is basically a systematic approach in the investigation of matter.
Scientific research provides scientific information and ideas to analyze, explain certain things or events, thus, making possible practical applications or solutions. Funded by the local governments, non-profit organizations, or private groups, scientific researches commonly employ the oft-taught scientific method.
Why the scientific method?
As scientific research is used to explain and/or solve an important issue or problem, it is a must that each step is systematically carried out and that data are analyzed with the most minimum of bias. This is where the scientific method comes in.
From finding out the problem or the question and formulating the hypothesis, to gathering the data and testing one’s prediction, the scientific method plays a huge part in keeping the results credible and accurate.
The role of a hypothesis in research
Hypothesis in research vary from a theory or a law. The former is a cause and effect statement about a certain set of circumstances, usually reflecting a researcher’s belief. The latter, on the other hand, is a hypothesis or a number of hypotheses that already underwent rigorous, numerous tests and have not been disproved so far.
What sometimes goes wrong
Some researchers claiming to use the scientific method usually err in the testing part of the process. Hypotheses are not valid unless they have the data to back it up, and to find that said data, one has to conduct tests. Logical arguments do not take the place of experiments and testing.
Research and possibilities
For the scientific community to also develop and blossom further, especially in the Philippines, researches have to be made known to the public. Communicating the results of a research is important as it leaves room for correction, improvement, and can transform one’s work into the starting point for the work of another. This way, the research results become more relevant, and far-reaching.
Basic research using the scientific method is not the end-all and be-all of scientific research. The scientific method can also be used in different approaches or angles of a topic.
These can be done through case studies in school, and constant exposure of students to scientific classification, development of intuition, experiments, interviews, participant observation, analysis, and surveys.
Sources:
“Research.”Retrieved November 15, 2008 from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research
“The scientific research method.” Retrieved November 15, 2008 from
http://www.essortment.com/all/scientificresea_rqce.htm
(Published 2 December 2008, Smart Communications, Inc.)
