BECOMING A POSTGRADUATE /
GRADUATE
“UNDER YOUR OWN MANAGEMENT” is
the key nature of
postgraduate (especially the PhD / doctoral) education.
In undergraduate education, a great deal in academic terms is
organized for the student, although it may not have seen to you
like that at that time.
In POSTGRADUATE education / in DOCTORAL education in
particular, YOU HAVE TO TAKE THE RESPONSIBILITY for
MANAGING YOUR LEARNING, and for GETTING YOURSELF A
DEGREE. People around you, your tutors, supervisor, head of
the department, etc. will only be there for you – TO GUIDE YOU,
TO GIVE SOME ADVICE TO YOU. Some will tell you THEIR OWN
OPINION, or THEIR OWN EXPERIENCES just to HELP YOU. But
the RESPONSIBILITY FOR WHAT IS REQUIRED, as well as FOR
CARRYING IT OUT, REMAINS FIRMLY WITH YOU.
YOU ARE UNDER SELF-MANAGEMENT
• SO IT IS NO USE SITTING AROUND, WAITING FOR SOMEBODY
TO TELL YOU WHAT TO DO NEXT OR, WORSE, COMPLAINING
THAT NOBODY IS TELLING YOU WHAT TO DO NEXT.
• IN POSTGRADUATE / GRADUATE WORLD, THERE ARE
OPPORTUNITIES, NOT DEFICIENCIES.
• ALL NEW POSTGRADUATES HAVE TO BE PREPARED TO
UNLEARN AND RETHINK MANY OF THE DOCTRINES THAT
THEY HAVE HAD TO ACCEPT UP TO THIS POINT IN THEIR
STUDENTSHIP CAREER.
• A VITAL ASPECT OF THIS RETHINKING IS TO TAKE THE
INITIATIVE IN DISCUSSING WITH YOUR SUPERVISOR THE
WHOLE RANGE OF YOUR IDEAS.
• IT IS ALSO IMPORTANT TO MAKE CLEAR IN YOUR MIND, AS
NEW POSTGRADUATES, “WHY YOU WANT TO MAKE A
POSTGRADUATE DEGREE”. THERE MAY BE SEVERAL
REASONS FOR IT, SOME OF WHICH MAY BE:
• - TO GET DEEPER KNOWLEDGE ON A PARTICULAR SUBJECT
RELATED TO YOUR SUBJECT OR INTEREST AREA (THAT YOU
MIGHT USE IN PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE);
• - AS A FIRST STEP TO THE ACADEMIC LIFE;
• - TO POSTPONE GOING INTO THE PROFFESSIONAL
PRACTICE OR MILITARY SERVICE, ETC.
• In that sense you have to be HONEST to yourself, to your
institute and to your supervisor, in order to get the most
benefit from the study in the end.
• ACCORDINGLY, YOU ALSO NEED TO DEFINE THE SUBJECT
AREA THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO CONTINUE YOUR STUDY.
STUDY SKILLS
• Here are some useful hints / clues about the study skills during your
graduate study:
•
“PULLING SOMETHING INTO THE FOREGROUND”
• CHOOSING 3 IDEAS / TASKS OUT OF 10 and TO GIVE “SHORT-CUTS”
FOR EACH.
•
PERCIEVE AND ARRANGE YOUR STUDY AS “MANAGEABLE
PIECES”
•
“IT IS ONLY A PROBLEM IF YOU THINK IT IS A PROBLEM”
• A great barrier to doing anything is to perceive it as a problem.
•
TIME MANAGEMENT – a valuable experience in higher
education
• A principle of management is to SKETCH IN OUR OVERALL
PLANS, then temporarily CONCEAL SOME OF THESE. Put
some of the tasks in PRIORITY, and some into the
BACKGROUND.
• YOU should find a good way of managing your time
(LONGTERM, SHORT TERM, IN DIARIES, ON COMPUTER,
ETC.)
• Below is an example for a brief / general time-schedule of a
research process:
• Deciding on a research projects (The 1st to the 4th
month)
• Writing a research proposal (The 5h to the 8th month)
• Research work (The 9th to the 18th month for masters
degree, the 9th to the 45th month for doctoral degree)
• Completing and defending the thesis (The 19th to the
20th month for masters degree, the 46th to the 50th
month for doctoral degree
• TIMING SHOULD BE as REALISTIC as possible.
NOT something you start with good intentions
and only give up with disappointment in the end.
• YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER “BUNCHED
DEADLINES” IN YOUR PLANNED TIMETABLE.
• SOME DEADLINES MUST BE BROUGHT FORWARD
BY YOU, NOT BY THE INSTITUTION OR
SUPERVISOR.
• YOUR OWN STUDY TASKS WILL CREATE LONG
TERM DEADLINES FOR YOU.
• REGULAR BOOKINGS MIGHT HELP YOU TO
ACHIEVE YOUR TASKS ON TIME.
• TIME INVESTED IN “ADVANCE PLANNING” SAVES TIME
LATER ON.
• ADVANCE PLANNING IS ALSO A “DECISION-MAKING
PROCESS”:
• NO DECISIONS means NO EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT.
• A PIECE OF PAPER MUST GO THROUGH YOUR HANDS
ONCE. (TAKING EFFICIENT NOTES WILL SAVE YOU TIME IN
THE END)
•
TASK MANAGEMENT – LIMIT YOURSELF TO NO MORE
THAN FIVE OR SIX ASPECTS OF A LARGE TASK. OF THESE
YOU WILL WORK ON ONE IN THE END.
• SET ACHIEVABLE TARGETS BECAUSE EACH OF THESE GIVES
YOU MUCH NEEDED FEEDBACK ON YOUR PROGRESS.
• ORGANIZE YOUR STUDY IN A MEANINGFUL
STRUCTURE (ESSAYS, RESEARCH REPORTS,
THESIS)
• SEE PREVIOUS EXAMPLES, COMPARE THEM WITH
EACH OTHER, CREATE YOUR OWN ORGANIZATION
SYSTEM.
• KEEP YOUR STUDY UNDER CONTROL – WITH
SOME FEEDBACK AT CERTAIN POINTS.
•
DEVELOP YOUR QUESTIONING TECHNIQUE TO
STUDY IN AN ACTIVE WAY.
• There are numerous situations in which you will
meet too wide questions for your purposes.
KNOWING WHERE TO START is again a matter of
PULLING SOMETHING INTO THE FOREGROUND.
• LEARN “WHERE” TO ASK “WHICH” QUESTIONS.
• LEARN “WHERE TO START WITH” IN ANSWERING
QUESTIONS.
• Scientists seek answers to their own questions.
Their work is built on highly refined skills in
ASKING AND ANSWERING QUESTIONS.
• KNOWING HOW TO ASK QUESTIONS is as
important as KNOWING HOW TO GO ABOUT
ANSWERING THEM.
• THE ESSENCE OF SCIENCE IS THE PROCESS OF
FORMING QUESTIONS AND SYSTEMATICALLY
SEEKING THEIR ANSWERS TO GAIN A BETTER
UNDERSTANDING OF NATURE. SCIENCE IS A
PROCESS OF INQUIRY, A PARTICULAR WAY OF
THINKING.
• Some forms of questions are more useful than
the others.
• “WHY” and “HOW” questions are useful
because THEY GENERATE EXTENSIVE
ANSWERS.
• The traditional journalist‟s six questions are:
WHO? WHEN? WHERE? WHAT? WHY? HOW?
• WHO? WHEN? WHERE? ----- CLOSED
QUESTIONS INVITING BRIEF ANSWERS
• WHAT? WHY? HOW? ---------- OPEN
QUESTIONS ELICIT MUCH WIDER RESPONSES
FINDING AND CHOOSING YOUR
SUPERVISOR
• SUPERVISOR is the term most commonly used within universities and
colleges for academics who have personal responsibility for overseeing the
progress of individual students‟ research projects. The term „tutor‟ is
sometimes used in a similar meaning.
• IDEALLY, SUCH SUPERVISORS SHOULD HAVE BOTH SOME KNOWLEDGE OF
THE SPECIALIST AREAS IN WHICH THEIR STUDENTS ARE RESEARCHING,
AND ALSO A GENERAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE RESEARCH PROCESS AND
VARIOUS STRATEGIES POSSIBLE.
• THEY SHOULD HAVE AN INSIDE KNOWLEDGE OF RULES AND
REGULATIONS, BOTH WRITTEN AND UNWRITTEN, AFFECTING THE
RESEARCH PROJECT.
• THEY SHOULD HAVE SOME SKILL IN CONDUCTING THE KIND OF IN-DEPTH,
BUT PARTIAL AND DISONTINUOUS, RELATIONSSHIPS REQUIRED FOR
SUCCESSFUL SUPERVISION.
• THEY SHOULD HELP TO KEEP STUDENTS FOCUSED ON THEIR RESEARCH
• EXERCISE
• What do you want from your supervisor?
• Identify and list the qualities you are looking
for in your supervisor
• Students expect their supervisors:
•
to supervise them
•
to feel responsible for them
•
to read their work well in advance
•
to be available when needed, to have free timetable for them
•
to be friendly, supportive, and open
•
to be constructively critical
•
to have a good knowledge of their research area
•
to be intelligent
•
to be systematically working
•
to motivate them
•
to put them in discipline whenever needed
•
to be communicative
•
to structure tutorials so that it is relatively easy to exchange ideas
•
to have sufficient interest in their research to put more
information in the path of researchers
•
to be sufficiently involved in their success to help them get a good
job at the end of it all
• Supervisors expect their students:
• to be independent
• to be creative and curious
• to be careful, analytical, questioning, good thinking
• to be committed hard work at times when needed
• to produce written work that is just a first draft
• to have regular meetings
• to be honest when reporting upon their progress
• to follow the advice that they give, when it has been
given at their request
• to be excited about their work, able to surprise them
and fun to be with
Science is a way of thinking,
When to conduct (scientific)
research?
What is research? Characteristics
of good research
SCIENCE IS A WAY OF THINKING
Science begins with the observation
of nature , and with the belief that
problems arising from those
observations can be answered It
acquires value when it is able to
predict novel observations by
studying the answers to solved
problems
SCIENCE IS A WAY OF THINKING THAT INVOLVES A CONTINUOUS
AND SYSTEMATIC INTERPLAY OF RATIONAL THOUGHT AND
EMPIRICAL OBSERVATION.
In scientific research, empirical observation and observed
events constitute the facts of research.
But the empirical observation of events and the resulting
identification or listing of facts is not sufficient in science. We
must go beyond the immediately observable facts, using them
in rational processes of abstract thought to construct general
principles and understanding and to make new predictions
about nature.
Science, then involves the CONTINUOUS SYSTEMATIC
INTERPLAY OF FACTS AND RATIONAL THOUGHT
At this point it is also worth to have a quick look at the definitions of
the two terms:
RATIONALISM as a WAY OF THINKING IN WHICH KNOWLEDGE IS
DEVELOPED THROUGH REASONING PROCESS ALONE. In the
rationalist approach, information is carefully stated and logical
rules are followed to arrive at acceptable conclusions.
Consider the following deductive syllogism:
All cows are black.
This is a cow.
Therefore, this cow is black.
The conclusion is logically derived from the major and minor
premises.
But the same logic would lead us to reject the following conclusion:
All cows are black.
This is black.
Therefore, this is cow.
In the rationalist approach, the conclusion is
reached through the logic of the PROCEDURE, which is a more reliable way to arrive at knowledge
than tenacity, intuition, or authority.
- TENACITY (willingness to accept an idea as valid
knowledge because that idea has been accepted for
a long period of time; requires no evidence for a
belief except that the belief is already accepted)
- INTUITION
- AUTHORITY (the acceptance of an idea as valid
knowledge because some respected source –
Aristotle, the president, Sigmung Freud, etc.- claims
it is valid)
However, using rationalism alone has its limitations.
Consider this syllogism:
All 4-years old children developed fears of the dark.
Lisa is a 4-year-old child.
Therefore; Lisa has developed fears of the dark.
The logic is clear and the conclusion is correct, unless of
course Lisa has not developed fears of the dark.
What is the limitation?
Suppose it is not true that all 4-years old children
develop fears of the dark, or suppose Lisa is actually 7
not 4 years old, or suppose Lisa is a teenager not a child
at all.
Although essential, rationalism alone has its
limitations in science; that is, THE PREMISES
MUST BE TRUE AS DETERMINED BY SOME
OTHER EVIDENCE TO ARRIVE AT THE
CORRECT CONCLUSIONS.
ATTAINING KNOWLEDGE, THEN, DEPENDS
NOT ONLY ON THE REASONING PROCESS
BUT ALSO ON THE ACCURACY OF THE
PREMISES.
There is no provision for assessing their
accuracy in the purely rationalistic
approach.
The rationalistic approach allows us
SYSTEMATICALLY AND LOGICALLY TO
DEVELOP A TENTATIVE STATEMENT
(HYPOTHESIS) THAT CAN THEN BE
TESTED IN SOME OTHER MANNERS.
EACH PREMISE IS A HYPOTHESIS, which
if shown to be true on the basis of the
external data, CAN BE USED
RATIONALLY IN DRAWING CONLUSIONS
In summary, the logic of rationalism is
used in modern science to aid in
developing hypotheses that then can be
tested against external criteria.
IN ORDER TO PERFORM THIS TESTING
AGAINST EXTERNAL CRITERIA, SCIENCE
MUST DEPEND ON STILL ANOTHER WAY
OF KNOWING – EMPIRICISM
The word EMPIRICAL means– BASED ON OR GUIDED BY,
THE RESULTS OF OBSERVATION AND EXPERIMENT ONLY.
FROM THE GREEK WORD “EMPEIRIKOS” MEANING
EXPERIENCED, SKILLED. (Shorter Oxford English
Dictionary)
EMPIRICISM is A WAY OF GAINING KNOWLEDGE
THROUGH OBSERVATION OF REAL EVENTS; that is
KNOWING BY EXPERIENCING THROUGH OUR SENSES. It is
a method as old as civilization. For the empiricist, it is not
enough to know through reason (or intuition or
authority) alone. It is necessary to experience the events
through the senses – to see, hear, touch, taste and smell.
“I won‟t believe it unless I see it!” is the empiricist‟s
motto.
Empiricism alone, however has its limitations.
EMPIRICAL RESEARCH IS THAT KIND OF
RESEARCH WHICH SEEKS TO ANSWER
THOSE KINDS OF QUESTIONS WHICH CAN
BE ANSWERED BY REFERENCE TO SENSORY
DATA.
EMPIRICAL RESEARCH cannot determine if a
car is beautiful, or a girl is the most
attractive; if god exists, etc. But empirical
research can determine the percentage of
young people who think god exists, for
example
To conclude;
SCIENCE brings together elements of both RATIONALISM
and EMPIRICISM. SCIENCE employs RATIONAL LOGIC and
checks each step with EMPIRICAL OBSERVATION.
The SCIENTIST is constantly shuttling between EMPIRICAL
OBSERVATION, more abstract RATIONAL THOUGHT and
generic principles, and returning again to further
EMPIRICAL OBSERVATION of SPECIFIC FACTS.
To repeat once more:
SCIENCE IS A WAY OF THINKING THAT INVOLVES A
CONTINUOUS AND SYSTEMATIC INTERPLAY OF RATIONAL
THOUGHT AND EMPIRICAL OBSERVATION.
Certain characteristics of scientists
(Graziano & Raulin, 1993, p. 5):
- curiosity
- creativity
- skepticism
- tolerance for ambiguity
- commitment to hard work
- a way of thinking that searches for
answers to questions
WHEN TO CONDUCT RESEARCH
ENDLESS ARGUMENTS
HOW / WHERE TO STOP
HOW TO KNOW WHO IS WRIGTH OR WRONG
HOW TO KNOW WHAT WE KNOW
WE ANSWER QUESTIONS IN A VARIETY OF WAYS:
- LOOK OUTSIDE
- ASK SOMEONE / TAKE SOMEONE‟S WORD FOR IT
- LOOK IN THE RIGHT BOOK, ETC.
AND WE ACQUIRE KNOWLEDGE BY:
- TENACITY
- INTUITION (sezgi)
- AUTHORITY
CONSULTING AN AUTHORITY / SOMEONE
WHO KNOWS
- HOW DO WE CHOOSE THE RIGHT
AUTHORITY
THE KNOWLEDGE HE/SHE HAS
POPULARITY
POSSESSIONS
POSITION
THE WAY HE/SHE LOOKS
THE OPINION OF A PERSON ON A SUBJECT IN WHICH HE IS NOT AN
EXPERT IS OF NO MORE VALUE THAN THE OPINION OF ANY OTHER
PERSON
- THE AUTHORITIES SHOULD BE CHOSEN CAREFULLY
- THE WORDS OF AUTHORITIES SHOULD BE ACCEPTED CRITICALLY
To sum it up:
If we take RESEARCH AS A WAY OF KNOWING,
then we can say that
- WHEN THERE IS A DISAGGREEMENT ON A
QUESTION BETWEEN DIFFERENT AUTHORITIES
- WHEN A PERSON DOES NOT ACCEPT THE
OTHER‟S AUTHORITY
- WHEN WE HAVE A QUESTION FOR WHICH
THERE IS NO AUTHORITY TO ANSWER
(AUTHORITIES CANNOT ANSWER)
- WHEN WE ARE NOT READY TO ACCEPT ONE
AUTHORITY HAS TOLD US, WITHOUT QUESTION
THEN WE DO RESEARCH
SO THE QUESTION OF “WHAT IS
RESEARCH?” ARISES.
But before going into the definitions of
research, let us practice our knowledge with
a quick exercise:
EXERCISE
1. List 3 authorities which you may consult
for 3 different questions you raise.
2. List 3 questions that you may find no
authority to consult, therefore you need to
do research
Now let us look at the twenty views of
research:
1. Research is about providing your pet theory.
2. Research is something done by academics or
experts.
3. Research is very expensive.
4. Research is about establishing the facts.
5. Research is objective.
6. Research is about justifying what your
funding person/organization wants to do.
7. Research can prove anything you want.
8. Research involves a lot of jargon.
9. Research serves the powerful.
10. Research exploits the poor.
11. Research is useless.
12. Research is very difficult.
13. Research is time-consuming.
14. Research is scientific.
15. Research is a highly controlled activity.
16. Research is removed from reality.
17. Research cannot change anything.
18. Research should always be policy-related.
19. Research will break up your relationships.
20. I could never do research.
And now let us look at the twenty things you did not know about
research:
1. Research is very time-consuming.
2. Research is subjective.
3. Research can be undertaken by anyone.
4. Research is often boring.
5. Research can also be fun.
6. Research can take over your time.
7. Research can be much more interesting than its results.
8. Research is about being nosy.
9. Research can be done in many ways.
10. You can research anything.
11. Research uses everyday skills.
12. Research gets into your dreams.
13. Spies do research; so do newspaper reporters.
14. Research can be done by the people and for the people.
15. Research can turn a theory into action.
16. Research can lead you in unexpected directions.
17. Lots of women do research.
18. Even hard men do research.
19. There are no definite answers (or are there?).
20. You can do research.
Now let us come to a more scientific definitions of
research:
In general RESEARCH, is
A WAY OF ACQUIRING KNOWLEDGE / A WAY OF
KNOWING / LEARNING
A WAY OF PRODUCING KNOWLEDGE
THE METHODOLOGICAL PROCEDURE FOR SATISFYING
HUMAN CURIOSITY
A SYSTEMATIC / DISCIPLINED WAY OF THINKING / A
PROCESS OF INQUIRY
A DISCIPLINE / A DISCIPLINED WAY TO GO ABOUT
ANSWERING QUESTIONS
RESEARCH AS A WAY OF ACQUIRING
KNOWLEDGE / A WAY OF KNOWING /
LEARNING
SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH IS DONE TO TEST IDEAS
ABOUT THE NATURE AND OPERATION OF SOME
ASPECT OF THE UNIVERSE.
WE ENGAGE IN RESEARCH TO SETTLE
CONFLICTING CLAIMS OR DIFFERENCES OF
OPINION OR TO TEST AN IDEA.
RESEARCH IS THE DISCIPLINED WAY WE COME TO
KNOW WHAT WE KNOW.
RESEARCH IS ONE WAY OF KNOWING AND
LEARNING.
RESEARCH AS A WAY OF PRODUCING KNOWLEDGE
FIRST WE GATHER INFORMATION, THEN WE ANALYZE IT.
ACCORDING TO OUR AIMS, WE PUT FORWARD NEW
HYPOTHESIS IN A CREATIVE WAY.
WE GATHER AGAIN INFORMATION ABOUT THE
METHODOLOGY SUITABLE TO TEST OUR HYPOTHESIS.
WE SELECT OR DEVELOP OR CREATE A NEW
METHODOLOGY FOR TESTING THE HYPOTHESIS.
IF THE RESULTS SHOW SCIENTIFICALLY ACCEPTABLE,
MEANINGFUL VERIFICATION OF THE HYPOTHESIS WE
REACH TO A CONCLUSION: THIS IS THE KNOWLEDGE
PRODUCED OR CREATED.
RESEARCH AS THE METHODOLOGICAL
PROCEDURE FOR SATISFYING HUMAN
CURIOSITY
It is more than merely reading the results of
others‟ work; it is more than just observing
one‟s surroundings. The element of research
that imparts its descriptive power is the
ANALYSIS and RECOMBINATION, THE TAKING
PART and PUTTING TOGETHER IN A NEW
WAY, of the information gained from one‟s
observations.
RESEARCH AS A SYSTEMATIC / DISCIPLINED WAY
OF THINKING / A PROCESS OF INQUIRY
TO DO RESEARCH IS TO BE INVOLVED IN A
PROCESS. A PROCESS CAN BE SEEN AS A SERIES
OF ACTIVITIES MOVING FROM A BEGINNING TO
AN END.
The research process is NOT A RIGID PROCESS. A
rigid process is one in which Step 1 must be done
and completed before Step 2 can begin. On the
other hand, THERE IS A SENSE, in which, IF THE
FIRST STEPS ARE NOT EXECUTED CAREFULLY THE
REST OF THE RESEARCH PROCESS WILL BE
WEAKENED OR MADE MORE DIFFICULT.
Those who have done a lot of research develop their own style of
going through te phases of the research process. Each researcher will
describe a pattern of his own.
THERE IS A USUAL “SEQUENCE” IN THE RESEARCH PROCESS: Thus,
this sequence is not an “this and then that” ordering. Rather,
THERE IS AN ORDER OF BASIC STAGES AND SERIES OF INTERLINKED
ISSUES IN EACH STAGE.
FAILURE TO ADDRESS THE RIGHT ISSUES SATISFACTORILY WILL
UNDERMINE OR MAKE MORE DIFFICULT THE REST OF THE RESEARCH
PROCESS.
RESEARCH IS DESIGNED ACCORDING TO A PLAN OR DESIGN.
WITHOUT CLEAR DEFINITIONS CONFUSION RESULTS. IF ONE
KNOWS HOW AND WHAT FOR S/HE IS GOING TO ANALYSE HIS/HER
DATA, S/HE IS CLEARER WHAT DATA S/HE NEEDS. AIMS,
OBJECTIVES, SHOULD BE KNOWN / CLARIFIED BEFORE DATA ARE
COLECTED
OUTLINE OF THE RESEARCH PROCESS
PHASE 1: ESSENTIAL FIRST STEPS – CLARIFICATION OF THE ISSUES TO BE RESEARCHED
AND SELECTION OF A RESEARCH METHOD
1. SELECTING, NARROWING AND FORMULATING THE PROBLEM TO BE STUDIED
2. SELECTING A RESEARCH DESIGN
3. DESIGNING AND DEVISING THE MEASURES FOR VARIABLES
4. SETTING UP TABLES FOR ANALYSIS
5. SELECTING A SAMPLE
PHASE 2: DATA COLLECTION – COLLECTING EVIDENCE ABOUT THE RESEARCH QUESTION
1. COLLECTING DATA
2. SUMMARIZING AND ORGANIZING DATA
PHASE 3: ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION – RELATING THE EVIDENCE COLLECTED TO THE
RESEARCH QUESTION ASKED; DRAWING CONCLUSIONS ABOUT THE QUESTION, AND
ACKNOWLEDGING THE LIMITATIONS OF RESEARCH
1. RELATING DATA TO THE RESEARCH QUESTION
2. DRAWING CONSLUSIONS
3. ASSESSING THE LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
4. MAKING SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH
In other words, WTHIN THE RESEARCH PROCESS,
YOU MAY
START WITH SELECTING A TOPIC OR A
PROBLEM
THEN LOOK AT EXISTING STUDIES AND ANY
RELEVANT THEORIES
THEN FORMULATE A HYPOTHESIS
DESIGN AN EXPERIMENT TO TEST IT OUT
MAKE COMPARISONS IN SOME CASES
AND FINALLY DRAW CONCLUSIONS AND
SPECULATE ON THE IMPLICATIONS AND NEXT
STEPS
For its VALIDITY and USEFULNESS,
research in science and technology
depends on a concept known popularly
as the SCIENTIFIC METHOD. This method
covers all aspects of SCIENTIFIC
RESEARCH, so a research student should
become familiar with its qualities and
implications early in the process.
Scientific research involves at minimum:
1. Creating and posing a question
2. Determining how to go about
answering the question
3. Planning for and making appropriate
empirical observations
4. Rationally making sense out of those
observations.
The scientific method covers the following steps:
1. Study and discuss
2. Recognize possible problems
3. Collect information, observe and describe
4. Clarify problem, divide into sub-problems
5. Hypothesize
6. Deduce consequences, make predictions, and
design experiments
7. Experiment, analyse results, test hypothesis
8. Develop theory, publish results
We may as well simplify these steps as in the following
1- Identify the problem that defines the goal of the
project
2- Gather data with the hope of resolving the problem
3- Posit a tentative hypothesis both as a logical means of
locating the data and as an aid for resolving the problem
4- Empirically test the hypothesis by processing and
evaluating the data to see if the interpretation of such
data will resolve the primary question that initiated the
research in the first place
SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH IS A PROCESS BY WHICH
QUESTIONS ARE SHARPENED OR FOCUSED
DATA ARE GATHERED IN SUCH A WAY THAT THE
QUESTIONS CAN BE ANSWERED
SOME OTHER QUESTIONS MIGHT APPEAR
THEREFORE RESEARCH IS A CONTINUOUS PROCESS.
END OF ONE RESEARCH IS OFTEN THE BEGGINNING OF
THE NEXT.
RESEARCH AS A DISCIPLINE / A DISCIPLINED WAY TO GO
ABOUT ANSWERING QUESTIONS.
RESEARCH PROCESS IS A DISCIPLINED PROCESS FOR
ANSWERING QUESTIONS AND ALSO FOR RELATING
THEORY AND DATA.