PENGEMBANGAN IDE

PENELITIAN
Muhaimin Ramdja
Blok 3
CREATIVITY
In order to find research topic, you have to read
and review a huge amount of literatures
But if you spent too much time studying other
peoples idea, it would inhibit your ability to
create your own
The point is that science is a collective
international activity
It is necessary to understand the relevant
literature and to place your work in this context
Literature Searching
Everyone uses computer-based search
tools, allowing them to search on
keywords or key author
Current Contents, gives you a quick view
of recently published work in journals
Web of Science allows rapid search for
literature by authors or keywords
Knowledge and Information
What is accessible by computer and
indeed what is published in a journals is
INFORMATION
KNOWLEDGE is that has to be
constructed in the mind of the expert
reader
This is what scholarship is about!
INFORMATION is these days instantly
accessible
KNOWLEDGE still takes years of
dedicated study to acquire
Example
What do producers of science
documentaries for television programes do
when they are researching their subjects?
They talk to the experts rather than trying
to read the journals
Quite rightly, because that is the only
place that knowledge to be found: INSIDE
THE HEADS OF SCHOLARS
The Origin of Ideas
Where do ideas for new research come
from?
Curiosity
Creativity
Scholarship
New Ideas
Often come from synthesis of different,
apparently unconnected pieces of information
In many ways doing research is like reading a
good novel. You get absorbed in the plot and
eager to read the next chapter
Then you discover the next chapter has not yet
been written
So you have to design your own research study
to see where the story goes next
Methods of Acquiring Knowledge
There are a wide variety of procedures by
which we obtain knowledge
Experts have concluded that there are at
least six different approaches to acquiring
knowledge
Only one of which is the scientific method
We will begin by taking a look at the five
unscientific approaches to acquiring
knowledge
And then look at the scientific method
1. Tenacity
The first approach can be labeled tenacity
The quality or state of holding fast
This approach to acquiring knowledge
seems to boil down to the acquisition and
persistence of superstitions, because
superstitions represent beliefs that are
reacted to as if they were fact
Houston Oilers, 1986
Jerry Granville
Demonstrating the fallacy of using this
approach
2. Intuition
Intuition is the second approach to
acquiring knowledge
The act or process of coming to direct
knowledge or certainty without reasoning
or inferring
The predictions and descriptions made by
psychics are not based on any known
reasoning and inferring process
Therefore, such knowledge must be
intuitive knowledge
This does not mean that knowledge
acquired by from psychics is undesirable
or inappropriateonly that is not scientific
knowledge
3. Authority
Authority as an approach to acquiring
knowledge represents an acceptable of
information or facts stated by another
because that person is a highly respected
source
Authority exist within the various religion

A religion typically has a sacred text,
tribunal, person, or some combination of
these that represent the facts, which are
considered indisputable and final
This example is not meant to be critical of
religions, but only to demonstrate that the
authority approach to gaining knowledge
differs from the scientific approach
The authority approach should not be
confused with our increasing dependence
on experts for information
Experts do transmit science knowledge,
and they usually base their opinions on
scientific knowledge
4. Rationalism
This approach uses reasoning to arrive at
knowledge and assumes that valid
knowledge is acquired if the correct
reasoning process is used
It is clearly dangerous to rely solely on
rationalism for acquiring knowledge
This does not mean that science does not
use reasoning or rationalism
In fact, reasoning is a vital element in the
scientific process
In the scientific process, reasoning is used
to arrive at hypotheses
These hypotheses are then tested, using
the scientific method, to determine their
validity
5. Empiricism
The fifth and final unscientific approach to
gaining knowledge is through empiricism
This approach says, If I have experienced
something, then it is valid and true.
Therefore, any facts that concur with
experience are accepted, and those do not
are rejected
Although this approach is very appealing
and has much to recommend it, several
dangers exist if it alone is used
Our perceptions are affected by a number
of variables
Research has demonstrated that variables
such as past experience and our
motivations at the time of the perceiving
can drastically alter what we see
This does not mean that the scientific
method does not include empiricismit
does
In fact, empiricism is a vital element in
science
In science, however, empiricism refers to
the collection of data through the use of
the scientific method, not to the personal
experience of an event
SCIENCE
The best method for acquiring knowledge
is the scientific method
To understand this approach, we must first
take a look at the definition of science
Most philosophers of science define it as a
process or methoda method for
generating a body of knowledge
Science, therefore, represents a logic of
inquiry, or a specific method to be followed
in solving problems and thus acquiring a
body of knowledge
This method can be broken down into a
series of 5 steps;
Identifying the Problem and
Forming a Hypothesis
The beginning point of any scientific
inquiry involves identifying a problem
All you have to do is look at the events
taking place, and numerous problems that
need solution come readily to mind
Child abuse, cancer, HIV, crime


However, it is not enough just to identify a
problem and say that you are going to
investigate it
For a problem to be investigated, it must
be refined and narrowed so that it is
researchable
Once the problem has been stated in
researchable terms, hypotheses are
formulated that state the expected or
predicted relationships between variables
Designing the Experiment
The stage of actually designing the
experiment is crucial and demands a
tremendous amount of preparation on the
part of experimenter to ensure that
hypotheses stated are those actually
tested
Proper control over extraneous variables
have to be established, and the
experimental variable as well as the
response variable must be specified
These procedures are extremely important
because this stage represents the outline
or the scheme to be followed in conducting
the experiment
This scheme or outline is one that is
constructed to overcome the difficulties
that would otherwise distort the result and
to help make sure the data are properly
analyzed and interpreted
Conducting the Experiment
After the experiment has been designed,
the researchers must make a number of
very important decisions regarding the
actual conduct of the experiment
Before any data are collected, it must be
decided what subjects are to be used,
what instructions are necessary, and what
the equipment and materials are needed
After these decisions have been reached,
the experimenters are then ready to collect
the data, following precisely the prescribed
procedures and recording responses
made by the subjects
For some studies, this involves little more
than plugging in electronic equipment
Other studies are much more demanding,
since the experimenters must interact with
the subjects and record the responses
made by the subjects
Hypothesis Testing
After the data have been collected, the
experimenters must analyze and interpret
the data to determine whether the stated
hypotheses have been supported
With the advent of computer and its
statistical packages, the investigators are
spared the task of making the necessary
computations
But even though the computer is a
marvelous piece of machinery, it will do
only what is told to do
The investigators must decide on the
appropriate statistical analyses
After the statistical analyses have been
conducted, the investigators must interpret
the results and specify exactly what they
mean
Communicating the Research
Results
After the data have been analyzed, the
scientists want to communicate the results
to others
Communication most frequently takes
place through the professional journal
Consequently, the scientists must write a
research report that states how the
research was conducted and what was
found
The result of the experiment are now
available for anyone to read