CHUKWU
TOPIC: RESEARCH
DATE:
VENUE:
, RESEARCH: Definition.
In the broadest sense of the word, the definition of
research includes any gathering of data, information
and facts for the advancement of knowledge.
Reading a factual book of any sort is a kind of research.
Surfing the internet or watching the news is also a type
of research.
Science does not use this word in the same way,
preferring to restrict it to certain narrowly defined
areas. The word review is more often used to describe
the learning process which is one of the underlying
tenants of the rigid structures defining scientific
research.
, THE SCIENTIFIC DEFINATION
The strict definition of scientific research is performing a
methodical study in order to prove a hypothesis or answer a
specific question. Finding a definitive answer is the central goal
of any experimental process.
Research must be systematic and follow a series of steps and a
rigid standard protocol. These rules are broadly similar but
may vary slightly between the different fields of science.
Scientific research must be organized and undergo planning,
including performing literature reviews of past research and
evaluating what questions need to be answered.
Any type of ‘real’ research, whether scientific, economic or
historical, requires some kind of interpretation and an opinion
from the researcher. This opinion is the underlying principle, or
question, that establishes the nature and type of experiment.
The scientific definition of research generally states that a
variable must be manipulated, although case studies and purely
observational science do not always comply with this norm.
, Definition of the Scientific Method
Whilst any definition of the scientific method is always a little
difficult, due to the vast number of scientific disciplines and
subtypes, there are few basic fundamentals that are common to
them all. Her are some definitions:
‘’The principle and empirical processes of discovery and
demonstration considered characteristics of or necessary for
scientific investigation, generally involving the observation
of phenomena, the formulation of a hypothesis concerning
the phenomena, experimentation to demonstrate the truth
or falseness of the hypothesis, and a conclusion that
validates or modifies the hypothesis’’
‘’ Sciences: Rigorous, systematic approach, designed to
eliminate bias and other subjective influences in the search,
identification, and measurement or validation of facts and
cause-effect relationships, and from which scientific laws
may be deduced.