Scientific Method of Research

Introduction to Scientific Method of Research

The scientific method of research attempts to minimize the influence of the researchers’ bias on the outcome of an experiment. So, to be termed scientific, a method of inquiry must be based on empirical and measurable evidence subject to specific principles of reasoning.  The researcher may have a preference for one outcome or another, and it is important that this preference not bias the results or their interpretation. Sometimes “common sense” and “logic” tempt us into believing that no test is needed. Another common mistake is to ignore or rule out data which do not support the hypothesis.

The scientific method is the process by which scientists, collectively and over time, endeavor to construct an accurate (that is, reliable, consistent and non-arbitrary) representation of the world. Recognizing that personal and cultural beliefs influence both our perceptions and our interpretations of natural phenomena, we aim through the use of standard procedures and criteria to minimize those influences when developing a theory. As a famous scientist once said, “Smart people (like smart lawyers) can come up with very good explanations for mistaken points of view.”

In summary, the scientific method attempts to minimize the influence of bias or prejudice in the experimenter when testing an hypothesis or a theory. Clover and Basely define “scientific method is a systematic step by step procedure following the logical process of reasoning.”

Before we continue, you may want to review our previous post: Introduction to Research Methodology.

Difference Between Scientific and Non-scientific Method of Research

The scientific approach to knowledge is empirical. The empirical approach emphasizes direct observation and experimentation as a way of answering questions. Intuition can play a role in idea formation, but eventually the scientist is guided by what direct observation and experimentation reveal to be true. Their findings are often counterintuitive.

When observing phenomena a scientist likes to exert a specific level of control. When utilizing control, scientists investigate the effects of various factors one by one. A key goal for the scientist is to gain a clearer picture of those factors that actually produce a phenomenon. It has been suggested that tight control is the key feature of science. Non-scientific approaches to knowledge are often made unsystematically and with little care. The non-scientific approach does not attempt to control many factors that could affect the events they are observing (don’t hold conditions constant). This lack of control makes it difficult to determine cause-and-effect relationships (too many confounds, unintended independent variable).

How can two people witness the same event but see different things? This often occurs due to personal biases and subjective impressions. These characteristics are common traits among non-scientists. Their reports often go beyond what has just been observed and involve speculation. Scientific reporting attempts to be objective and unbiased. One way to lessen the chance of biased reporting is checking to see if other independent observers report the same findings. Even when using this checkpoint the possibility of bias is still present. Following strict guidelines to prevent bias reporting decreases the chances of it occurring. Although I would say 100% unbiased reports rarely, if ever, occur.

It is not unusual for people in everyday conversation to discuss concepts they really don’t understand. Many subjects are discussed on a routine basis even though neither party knows exactly what the subject means. They may have an idea of what they are discussing (even though their ideas may be totally opposite). Although they cannot precisely define the concepts they are talking about. The scientist attaches an operational definition (a definition based on the set of operations that produced the thing defined) to concepts. An example of an operational definition follows: hunger a physiological need for food; the consequence of food deprivation. Once an operational definition has been established communication can move forward.

Important Characteristics of Scientific Method of Research

1. Empirical

Scientific method is concerned with the realities that are observable through “sensory experiences.” It generates knowledge which is verifiable by experience or observation. Some of the realities could be directly observed, like the number of students present in the class and how many of them are male and how many female. The same students have attitudes, values, motivations, aspirations, and commitments. These are also realities which cannot be observed directly, but the researchers have designed ways to observe these indirectly. Any reality that cannot be put to “sensory experience” directly or indirectly (existence of heaven, the Day of Judgment, life hereafter, God’s rewards for good deeds) does not fall within the domain of scientific method.

2. Verifiable

Observations made through scientific method are to be verified again by using the senses to confirm orrefute the previous findings. Such confirmations may have to be made by the same researcher or others. We will place more faith and credence in those findings and conclusions if similar findings emerge on the basis of data collected by other researchers using the same methods. To the extent that it does happen (i.e. the results are replicated or repeated) we will gain confidence in the scientific nature of our research. Replicability, in this way, is an important characteristic of scientific method. Hence revelations and intuitions are out of the domain of scientific method.

3. Cumulative

Prior to the start of any study the researchers try to scan through the literature and see that their study is not a repetition in ignorance. Instead of reinventing the wheel the researchers take stock of the existing body of knowledge and try to build on it. Also the researchers do not leave their research findings into scattered bits and pieces. Facts and figures are to be provided with language and thereby inferences drawn. The results are to be organized and systematized. Nevertheless, we don’t want to leave our studies as standalone. A linkage between the present and the previous body of knowledge has to be established, and that is how the knowledge accumulates. Every new crop of babies does not have to start from a scratch; the existing body of knowledge provides a huge foundation on which there searchers build on and hence the knowledge keeps on growing.

4. Deterministic

Science is based on the assumption that all events have antecedent causes that are subject to identification and logical understanding. For the scientist, nothing “just happens” – it happens for a reason. The scientific researchers try to explain the emerging phenomenon by identifying its causes. Of the identified causes which ones can be the most important? For example, in the 2006 BA/BSC examination of the Mumbai University 67 per cent of the students failed. What could be the determinants of such a mass failure of students? The researcher may try to explain this phenomenon and come up with variety of reasons which may pertain to students, teachers, administration, curriculum, books, examination system, and so on. Looking into such a large number of reasons may be highly cumbersome model for problem solution.

It might be appropriate to tell, of all these factors which one is the most important, the second most important, the third most important, which two in combination are the most important. The researcher tries to narrow down the number of reasons in such a way that some action could be taken. Therefore, the achievement of a meaningful, rather than an elaborate and cumbersome, model for problem solution becomes a critical issue in research. That is parsimony which implies the explanation with the minimum number of variables that are responsible for an undesirable situation.

5. Ethical and Ideological Neutrality

The conclusions drawn through interpretation of the results to data analysis should be objective; that is, they should be based on the facts of the findings derived from actual data, and not on our own subjective or emotional values. For instance, if we had a hypothesis that stated that greater participation indecision making will increase organizational commitment, and this was not supported by the results, it makes no sense if the researcher continues to argue that increased opportunities for employee participation would still help. Such an argument would be based, not on the factual, data based research findings, but on the subjective opinion of the researcher. If this was the conviction of the researcher all along, then there was no need to do the research in the first place. Researchers are human beings, having individual ideologies, religious affiliations, cultural differences which can influence the research findings. Any interference of their personal likings and dis-likings in their research can contaminate the purity of the data, which ultimately can affect the predictions made by the researcher. Therefore, one of the important characteristics of scientific method is to follow the principle of objectivity, uphold neutrality, and present the results in an unbiased manner.

Induction

From the Oxford English Dictionary (OED); to induce (in relation to science and logic) means “to derive by reasoning, to lead to something as a conclusion, or inference, to suggest or imply,” and induction “as the process of inferring a general law or principle from observation of particular instances.” Another version is the “adducing (pulling together) of a number of separate facts, particulars, etc. especially for the purpose of proving a general statement.” E. Mayr in his Growth of Biologic Thought offers this definition: “inductivism claims that (we) can arrive at objective unbiased conclusions only by…recording, measuring, and describing what we encounter without any root hypothesis….”

Meaning

It is one of the scientific methods. It follows the logical reasoning process. It is a process of reasoning whereby the researcher arrives at universal generalizations from particular facts. In other words, this method involves studying several individual cases and drawing a generalization. Thus, it involves two elements, i.e., observation and generalization. Conclusions drawn from induction and tentative inferences and they are subject to further confirmation based on more evidence.

Essential Conditions

According to Clover and Basely, four conditions are essential for valid induction. These are:

1. Accuracy: Observations must be correctly performed and recorded, and data collected should be accurate. Errors in observations, experiments or interviews and faulty recording of the information can affect the conclusions drawn.
2. Representative: Observations must cover representative cases drawn from a specific universe. For instance, to conduct a survey on brand loyalty among young females for a particular product category, then there should be proper representation of young females comprising of college going females, young working females, graduates, non-graduates, and other representations. Appropriate sampling technique can be used for this purpose, such as stratified random sampling.
3. Appropriate Sample Size: Observations must cover an adequate number of cases. The sample size must be large enough to make it representative so as to obtain reliable results.
4. Proper Conclusions: Conclusions must be confined to inferences drawn from the findings. The conclusions must be drawn only after proper analysis of the collected data relating to a particular study. They should not be generalized to apply to cases not covered in the sample. For instance, if the study is conducted to know the brand loyalty of young females for a particular product, then the conclusions drawn from such a study cannot be applied to young males, or elderly ladies, and so on, as they are not covered in the sample.

Merits

• Induction provides the universal premise and is helpful in finding out the material truth.
• It points out the relativity of generalizations. It indicates that a particular generalization is valid in certain situation.
• It is scientific in nature. Some of the important laws or principles of physical and social sciences have been developed through the use of inductive approach.
• Inductive generalizations are precise and accurate as they are based on observed facts and
  realistic foundations.

Demerits

• The collection of data for induction is a complex job. This method requires high degree of competence on the part of the researcher.
• Induction is not useful without deduction. Without deduction, induction produces only a mass of unrelated facts.
• It is a time consuming and expensive process; as a lot of time, effort and money is required to collect and analyze a large volume of data to arrive at generalization.

Deduction

The OED definition of to deduce is “to show or hold a thing to be derived from etc…” or “to draw as a conclusion from something known or assumed, to infer”; deduction thus is “inference by reasoning from generals to particulars,” or “the process of deducing from something known or assumed…”

Deductive reasoning is a basic form of valid reasoning. Deductive reasoning, or deduction, starts out with a general statements, or hypothesis, and examines the possibilities to reach a specific, logical conclusion. The scientific method uses deduction to test hypotheses and theories.

In deductive reasoning, if something is true of a class of things in general, it is also true for all members of that class. For example, “All men are mortal. Harold is a man. Therefore, Harold is mortal.” For deductive reasoning to be sound, the hypothesis must be correct. It is assumed that the premises, “All men are mortal” and “Harold is a man” are true. Therefore, the conclusion is logical and true.

It’s possible to come to a logical conclusion even if the generalization is not true. If the generalization is wrong, the conclusion may be logical, but it may also be untrue. For example, the argument, “All bald men are grandfathers. Harold is bald. Therefore, Harold is a grandfather,” is valid logically but it is untrue because the original statement is false.

Essential conditions

The following are the essential conditions for valid deduction:

• The general premise or assumption must be correct. IF the general premise is correct, then the conclusion drawn can be right.
• The general premise must be applied only to the cases that properly come under it.

Merits

• Deduction is relatively simple and less time consuming as compared to inductive method.
• It is precise and accurate in generalization as it makes use of logic and mathematical tools of analysis.
• It social sciences, where there is limited scope for experimentation, this method becomes the only method for the development of generalizations.

Demerits

• It may result in inaccurate generalizations, if the premise are incorrect or partially correct.
• This method is abstract. Therefore, if a large amount of abstraction were used in generalizations, then such generalizations would be useless.

What Are The Scope of Scientific Methods?

Social science research has a vast scope in respect of areas of application. The social science research can be useful in a number of areas such as:

1. Economic Planning: Social science research can be of immense use in economic planning in a given society. Economy planning requires basic data on the various aspects of our society and economy, resource endowment and the needs, hopes and problems of the people, etc. Economic planning is undertaken to achieve certain objectives such as:

• To bring about regional development.
• To make optimum use of available resources.
• To bring out self-reliance.
• To generate employment, etc.

A systematic research provides the required data for planning and developing various schemes or programs such as employment generation programs, rural development programs, etc.

2. Control over Social Phenomena: Through social science research, first-hand information can be obtained in respect of the working of institutions and organization, which in turn provides greater power of control over the social phenomena. The social science research has practical implications for formal and informal styles of managing, organization structures, and introduction of changes in the organization.

3. Social Welfare: Social research can be used to collect the required data on different aspects of social life in a given society, so as to develop social welfare programs. For instance, in a developing country like India, there are various social welfare problems such as low literacy, law and order problems due to caste, religion, and other conflicts, social evils like
child marriages, abuse of women, and so on. Therefore, to overcome social problems the Government and other organizations can collect relevant data through a systematic research, and accordingly develop various social welfare programs, such as family welfare campaigns, literacy programs, women and children welfare programs, etc.

4. Helps to Solve Problems: Research can be undertaken to find solutions to solve specific problems. For instance, an organization may initiate research to find solution to the problem of declining sales of their products in the market. An educational institution can undertake research to find out the causes of low attendance or poor results. A government organization may undertake research to solve the problem or to ascertain the impact of slums on the quality of life in a particular city, and such other research activities. The research enables to find appropriate solutions to specific problems which in turn helps to improve the quality of performance in various organizations or institutions.

5. Verifies and Tests Existing Laws: Research may be undertaken to verify and test existing laws or theories. Such verification and testing of existing theories helps to improve the knowledge and ability to handle situations and events. This is true when the existing theories may not be sufficient or relevant to handle certain situations and events, and therefore, through research, improvements or modifications can be made in the existing laws or theories.

6. Develops New Tools and Theories: Research helps to develop new tools, concepts and theories for a better study of an unknown phenomenon. For this purpose, exploratory research is undertaken to achieve new insights into such phenomenon.

7. Helps to Predict Events: Research may be undertaken to predict future course of events. For instance, research may be undertaken to find out the impact of growing unemployment of educated youth on the social life of the society in future. The findings of such research would not only indicate the possible impact, but would also make the concerned authorities
to take appropriate measures to reduce unemployment, to reduce the growth of population and to overcome the negative consequences, as and when they take place.

8. Extends Knowledge: Researchers undertake research to extend the existing knowledge in physical sciences (such as physics, chemistry, mathematics, etc). as well as in social sciences (like sociology, management, psychology) etc. The knowledge can be enhanced by undertaking research in general and by fundamental research in particular.

Distinction Between Induction and Deduction

1. Generalizations: In induction, one arrives at universal generalization from particular facts.
In deduction, one deduces generalizations from universal to particular facts.

2. Material Truth: Induction is concerned with the establishment of the material truth of
universal propositions. Deduction is not concerned with the material truth of the premise.

3. Certainty of Conclusions: The conclusions of the inductive method are only probable and
not always certain. The deductive method provides conclusion that are certain. This is
because in induction method, conclusion is not implied in the premise, whereas, the
conclusion in deductive method follows from the premise logically or it is implied in the
premise.

4. Observed Facts: Induction is concerned with discovering facts and relations between them.
Observed facts provide the basis for induction. The propositions from which deductions are
made are assumed. In deductive method the observed facts are not relevant.

5. Conclusion and Premise: In the induction method, the conclusion goes beyond the premise or the contents of the data. The conclusion is more general than the premise. In deduction method, the conclusion only seeks to discover what is in the premise. It does not go beyond premise. The conclusion in deduction is never more general than the premise.

Practice Questions

1. Explain the need of Scientific Method?
2. Explain the Scope of Scientific Method?
3. What do your mean by Scientific Method? Distinguish between induction and deduction?
4. Explain in brief Induction as a Scientific Method?

I hope you now a good understanding of scientific method of research. If you need answers to the above practice questions, feel free to use the contact form to send your request.