Scientific researh Lector teacher Myronova O M

Scientific researh Lector teacher – Myronova O. M.

TOPIC #1. Theoretical foundation of scientific research

Questions: l 1. The characteristics of scientific work l 2. Generating scientific work ideas l 3. Basic techniques for developing idea l 4. What is research? l 5. Research design

The characteristic features of a scientific work: l. A scientific work is an independent piece of work. A scientific work is an excellent indicator of a student's true ability, and can help with your final degree classification. A good scientific work mark will often help a borderline student get a higher class of degree.

l A scientific work shows detailed knowledge and understanding. Scientific works require a lot of information - facts and figures are needed. This means you have to spend a long time collecting and searching out relevant material. You need to demonstrate a thorough knowledge of the literature and be able to discuss theoretical concepts of the topic.

l. A scientific work needs organization and good planning. It takes time to complete and you need to be able to organize and plan the work over an extended period, sometimes between 6 and 9 months.

l A scientific work shows critical and analytical thinking. Too many scientific works are spoilt because students simply describe situations. You must be prepared to question, identify trends and provide evidence to support your ideas. You have to relate theory to practice. If you have carried out research, you must defend your research design and data collection techniques. In summary, you must subject your work and that of others to serious questioning, rather than just accepting it at face value.

l. A scientific work illustrates the context of existing knowledge. It is important that a literature review is included that collates previously published work in the same field. Your scientific works is not an isolated investigation. You need to show it relates to what other people have done.

l. A scientific work has a high standard of communication and presentation. Good English, correct spelling and grammar are essential. Moreover, the work must look neat on the page. Sloppy, untidy and inaccurate work can make a scientific work fail. A scientific work must also be prepared according to an accepted format

l. A scientific work demonstrates original work and research. You might use published information and present it in a different and new manner, which in itself is original. The emphasis again is on critical and analytical thinking; a description of either your own or other people's work without some analysis is not enough.

l. A scientific work has an academic approach. A scientific work is an academic document and must have an appropriate format following accepted traditions of referencing styles. It should always include a bibliography. Normally it is written in a very formal style using the third person.

Factors which may influence the choice of a scientific work topic: l Am I going to be genuinely interested in the topic? l Do I already know a lot about a topic? l Is it a well-trodden area? l Can I cope with the topic in terms of depth and breadth? l Are the resources, e. g. time, facilities, money, equipment, etc. available?

l Availability of information l Is the topic appropriate to my degree? l Is the topic relevant to my needs? l Does the topic agree with course regulations?

Factors that can influence your choice of subject l Reading business and management literature. Looking through new books and recent editions of journals may help. Recent publications reflect current trends and ideas in a subject; these are things which are happening now. There may be a number of subjects which you find interesting. Make a note of them, and using some of the techniques decides whether they can form the framework for a scientific work.

l Current events and using the media e. g. TV, press, radio. Events like big company takeover often hit the headlines and such current events can sometimes be used to develop good work. The government might announce new initiatives for industry which could become a starting point. In the world of business and management you must look out for, and be aware of, relevant contemporary issues

l I'd like to know more about that. l Work experience. There may be a problem in the company that needs researching which can be the start of a scientific work.

Basic techniques to help you develop your initial idea: l Brainstorming. Simply write all your ideas down on a sheet of paper. Use a big sheet if possible. When you run out of ideas go back and review each one in turn, deleting those which you feel are unsuitable. It is also helpful to think how you would go about researching each one.

l The 'Post-it' pad technique. This method uses a pad of 'Post-it' notes. If you prefer, you can use small sheets of either card or paper. It's like brainstorming in that you write down all the ideas which come to mind - one idea on each sheet of paper. At the end spread all the pieces in front of you and arrange them in a logical order, rejecting those that really seem out of place. Finally, copy into a fresh sheet of paper your final list of research objectives.

l Question time approach. Questions like Who? , What? , Where? , When? , How? , and Why? will suffice. Make the questions as focused as possible and decide exactly what you want to find out. Ask questions about the type of information needed and the best research methods to use to investigate each idea identified.

l Concepts, trends, implications and issues. This is very much like the question time approach, but you start with a series of general questions such as: Are there any economic concepts, trends, implications and issues involved? Are there any technological concepts, trends, implications and issues involved? Are there any legal concepts, trends, implications and issues involved? Are there any social concepts, trends, implications and issues involved? From these general questions you can delve more deeply and again come up with a number of more focused issues on your original idea.

A suggested scheme to develop a scientific research topic

l The approach a researcher uses to investigate a subject is termed the methodology. Methodology refers to the philosophical basis on which the research is founded. l The particular techniques used to collect data and information are termed methods.

What is research? 'A focused and systematic enquiry that goes beyond generally available knowledge to acquire specialised and detailed information, providing a basis for analysis and elucidatory comment on the topic of enquiry.

Four key issues in this definition: Research should be focused, not general. l Systematic - the approach to a problem should be structured and organized. l Beyond generally available knowledge. l A basis far analysis and elucidatory comments. l

In summary, research involves finding out about things, but in a structured way.

Research is a process, a series of activities unfolding over time. It involves a number of things such as choice of the research design, the collection of data, the evaluation of results, and so on. One of the most important decisions to make is the general approach the research is going to take.

Two main areas: l quantitative l qualitative research.

Quantitative research involves an objective way of studying things. Quantitative research, sometimes referred to as positivist, is scientific in approach. It aims to be objective and collects and uses numerical data.

With this type of research the results are given numerical values and the researcher uses a mathematical and statistical treatment to help evaluate the results. Scientists carrying out experiments use this approach. Surveys by marketing people, using questionnaires and interviews where responses are given numerical values, would also be described as quantitative research.

Qualitative approach assumes that this is difficult and the research is subjective. Qualitative research takes the view that it is very difficult for researchers to stand back and be objective, since they are really part of the process being researched. This type of research is sometimes called relativist or phenomenalist.

With this approach data is usually collected in the form of descriptions. Even though some of the methods used, such as interviews, are used in quantitative research, the difference is that qualitative researchers only use nonmathematical procedures when interpreting and explaining their research. In management and business this approach is used to study the way organizations, groups and individuals behave and interact.

Using a number of different approaches is termed triangulation.

Research design is a general term that covers a number of separate, but related, issues associated with your research.

It includes • • • the aims of the research, the final selection of the appropriate methodology, the data collection techniques you intend to use, the chosen methods of data analysis and interpretation, how all this fits in with the literature.

Two important concepts to build into the design are validity and reliability.

Validity is concerned with the idea that the research design fully addresses the research questions and objectives you are trying to answer and achieve. This implies that as much planning as possible must be done beforehand.

Reliability is about consistency and research, and whether another researcher could use your design and obtain similar findings. This does not imply that their interpretation and conclusions will be the same. The chances are that they will be different, since this is where the judgement of individual researchers comes into play.

Overall, the research design is the blueprint or detailed outline for the whole of your research. It relies on careful forward planning.