You are on page 1of 25

Guiding Principles of

Scientific Research

Presented by: Courtesy:


Ms. Sana Yousuf G. Reid Lyon, PhD
Lecturer, Dept of SE President and CEO
Synergistic Education Solutions
Dallas, TX
Scientific Research
 A process of rigorous reasoning based on interactions among theories
methods, and findings;
 Builds on understanding derived from the objective testing of models
or theories;

 Accumulation of scientific knowledge is laborious, plodding,


circuitous, and indirect;

 Scientific knowledge is developed and honed through critique


contested findings, replication, and convergence;

 Scientific knowledge is developed through sustained efforts;

 Scientific inquiry must be guided by fundamental principles.


Problem/Question
Observation/Research
Formulate a Hypothesis
Experiment
Collect and Analyze Results
Conclusion
Communicate the Results
Steps of the
Scientific Method

1. Problem/Question: Develop a question


or problem that can be solved through
experimentation.
Steps of the
Scientific Method

2. Observation/Research: Make
observations and research your topic of
interest.
Steps of the
Scientific Method

3. Formulate a Hypothesis: Predict a


possible answer to the problem or
question.
Example: If soil temperatures rise, then
plant growth will increase.
Steps of the
Scientific Method

4. Experiment: Develop and follow a


procedure.
Include a detailed materials list.
The outcome must be measurable
(quantifiable).
Steps of the
Scientific Method

5. Collect and Analyze Results: Modify the


procedure if needed.
Confirm the results by retesting.
Include tables, graphs, and photographs.
Steps of the
Scientific Method

6. Conclusion: Include a statement that


accepts or rejects the hypothesis.
Make recommendations for further study
and possible improvements to the
procedure.
Fundamental Principles (NRC, 2002)
I. Ask significant questions that can be answered
empirically.

• “The formulation of a problem is often more


essential than it’s solution, which may be merely a
matter of mathematical or experimental skill. To
raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old
questions from a new angle, requires creative
imagination and marks real advance in science”
(Einstein & Infeld, 1938);

• The research questions must be asked in a way that


allows for empirical investigation.
Fundamental Principles (cont’d)
II. Link research to relevant theory.

• Scientific research can be guided by a


conceptual framework model, or theory that
generates questions to be asked or answers to
the questions posed;

• Theory drives the research question, the use of


methods, and the interpretation of results.
Fundamental Principles (cont’d)
III. Select and apply research designs and methods that
permit direct investigation of the question.

• The trustworthiness of any research study is


predicated initially on several major elements:
oThe suitability of the proposed research design or
methodology to address the specific questions posed by
the study;

oThe scientific rigor by which the methodology is


applied;
Fundamental Principles (cont’d)

• The trustworthiness of any research study is


predicated initially on several major elements (cont’d):
o The link between question and methodology must
be clear and justified;

o Detailed description of the method, measures, data


collection procedures, data analyses, and subjects
must be available to permit replication.
Fundamental Principles (cont’d)

IV. Provide a coherent and explicit chain of reasoning that


can be replicated.

• What assumptions underlying the inferences were made?


Were they clearly stated and justified?

• How was evidence judged to be relevant?

• How were alternative, competing hypotheses, and


explanations identified, considered, and accounted for
(accepted or discarded)?
Fundamental Principles (cont’d)

IV. Provide a coherent and explicit chain of reasoning that


can be replicated (cont’d).
• How were the links between data and the conceptual or
theoretical framework made?

• The chain of reasoning depends upon the design which


depends on the type of question:

o Description – what is happening?


o Cause – is there a systematic effect?
o Process/mechanism- why or how does the effect
occur?
Fundamental Principles (cont’d)
V. Replicate and generalize across studies.
• Internal Validity: The observations made are consistent an
generalize from one observer to another, from one task to a
parallel task from one measurement occasion to anther
occasion.
o Statistical methods – e.g. correlation;
o Non-statistical methods – e.g. triangulation,
comparative analysis.

• External Validity: The extent to which the treatment


conditions and participant population reflect the “world”
to which generalization is desired.
Fundamental Principles (cont’d)
VI. Report research publicly to encourage
professional scrutiny, critique and replication.
• Criticism is essential to scientific progress;
• The extent to which new findings can be reviewed
contested, and accepted or rejected by scientific peers
depends upon accurate, comprehensive, and accessible
records of:

o Data
o Methods
o Inferential reasoning
Common Conceptions/Misconceptions About
Scientific Quality and Rigor

 Experimental research is more “scientific” than


descriptive or qualitative research…

o NOT TRUE: The type of design/method does not


render the study scientific.
Common Conceptions/Misconceptions About
Scientific Quality and Rigor (cont’d)
 A study is deemed to be “scientific” when:

o There are a clear set of testable questions underlying the


design;

o The methods are appropriate to answer the questions and


falsify competing hypotheses and answers;

o The study is explicitly linked to theory and previous


research;

o The data are analyzed systematically and with the


appropriate tools;

o The data are made available for review and criticism.


Common Conceptions/Misconceptions
 Research in education is fundamentally different than in
the “hard” sciences.
o NOT TRUE: Scientific research in education, psychology,
biochemistry, astrophysics, cultural anthropology,
mathematics, etc., all:
o Seek conceptual/theoretical understanding;
o Pose empirical and testable and refutable hypotheses;
o Design studies that test and rule out competing counter
hypotheses;

o Use observational methods that are linked to theory and can


be publicly assessed for accuracy;
o Recognize the importance of independent replication and
generalization.
Features Common To Educational Research
 It is a challenge to design and implement randomized treatments
and repeated measures under highly controlled conditions;
 “Double-blind” controls are not feasible when using particular
designs;
 The level of certainty of research conclusions is lower than in the
physical sciences;
 Error limits associated with scientific inferences are larger in
social, behavioral, and educational research than in the physical
sciences;
 The influential role of context makes interpretation of data
“messy”;
 Converging evidence is critical.
Some Reasons Why Educational Practices and Policies Are
Not Guided and Informed by Science

 Education Research is young – 100 year history;


 Battered by different epistomological perspectives;

 Skepticism Concerning the value of a science of education:


o NIE should conduct an evaluation on effectiveness of
instructional programs emphasizing an ethnographic or
descriptive case study approach because the audience for
follow through evaluations is an audience of teachers that
doesn’t need statistical findings of experiments to decide
how best to teach children. They decide such matters on the
basis of complicated public and private understandings,
beliefs, motives, and wishes”. (Gene Glass, 1981)
Some Reasons Why Educational Practices and Policies Are
Not Guided and Informed by Science

 Lack of Federal financial support for educational research;

 Lack of public support for education research

 Inadequate translation of trustworthy research findings


into applied classroom practices;

 Teacher reliance on practical experience rather than data;

 Expertise based on subjective judgments of the individual


professional rather than student learning and
achievement;
Some Reasons Why Educational Practices and Policies Are
Not Guided and Informed by Science (cont’d)

 Tendency to embrace “fads” in instruction rather than identify


and implement policies and instructional practices based on
data;

 “DAP was never seen as needing to be exclusively or even


primarily based on research literature…Folklore and personal
accounts of best practices passed on from one generation of
teachers to the next counted a great deal…The types of citations
used to reference the NAEYC publications of DAP guidelines
clearly indicate a reliance on sources other than articles
reporting original empirical data (i.e. bona fide research)…only
13 of 25 references cited in the DAP report were original reports
of research”. (Kontos, 1989)

 Limitations in research training.


Principals For Fostering Science In Education: What The
Federal Government Can Do

 Provide highly experienced research leadership and research


management;

 Develop rigorous and transparent peer-review processes;

 Insulate the program from political interference;

 Develop and manage coherent research programs/portfolios


that incorporate agency-initiated programs, investigator/field-
initiated programs, and multiple funding mechanisms;

 Adequately fund the agency;

 Stress trans-agency initiatives to increase community of


researchers.

You might also like