What is scientific research? What is research? Research is the scientific knowledge of objects and phenomena of the surrounding world. Science is special

STUDY - a concept that usually denotes a specialized type of scientific knowledge within the framework of natural science. But today we are talking about I. in the humanities and social sciences, about philosophical and methodological I., about applied and interdisciplinary I. Retrospectively, we can talk about I., starting with ancient science (Euclid's "Beginnings", the works of Archimedes and Ptolemy). However, in the second half of the 20th century In connection with the need to manage scientific work and evaluate it (most modern scientific work must be carried out on time, with high quality and with limited resources), a new concept of scientific research began to form. In this sense, scientific research is a specialized type of scientific activity, which is organized in such a way that become possible and the evaluation and management of related scientific work. An analysis of the works of Archimedes shows that the first samples of scientific I. were created when ancient science separated from philosophy and standard methods of scientific knowledge and the solution of theoretical problems developed. From the letter of Archimedes "Epistle to Eratosthenes on mechanical theorems" we see that geometric methods of proving previously formulated theorems have long been generally accepted, and the author proposes to add a new method to them - a mechanical one. The same analysis shows that scientific I. in the sense of Archimedes presupposes: scientific search (as we see from the letter, it took several years); formulation within the framework of scientific theory (geometry) of a new problem (to prove such and such a position); construction of an ideal object that meets this task and the selected object of study; reduction in the course of proof to the constructed ideal object of more complex cases; theoretical description of the selected subject area (this is especially evident in the work "On floating bodies"); finally, the organization of all work in accordance with the ideals of ancient scientific rigor (so, although the knowledge contained in the work “On Floating Bodies” describes the conditions for the stability of ships, i.e., from our point of view, relate to technical science, Archimedes receives them in the same way as mathematical knowledge, since in the ideal of ancient science there was no distinction between mathematical, natural and technical sciences). Today we distinguish not only mathematical, natural, technical and humanitarian sciences, but also philosophical sciences and even parasciences. The result of scientific work at the present time is not only new theoretical knowledge or a theoretical explanation (description) of a certain phenomenon, but also the construction of a new concept (theory), various kinds of applied I. (“mono-disciplinary” and “complex”), methodological I. and developments (criticism, reflection, programming, design, etc.), constitution (in the aspect of intellectual, knowledge support) of new practices, scientific reflection of established practices, aimed, for example, ., for their improvement, and other work. In this regard, scientific I. are differentiated and acquire a different structure. Explanation in the theory of a certain phenomenon is, perhaps, the most typical type of scientific I. Most often, the phenomenon of interest to the researcher exists in the empirical layer (i.e., this is a phenomenon of practice). In order to introduce a phenomenon into a theory, as a rule, it is first problematized. Then, already at the angle of these problems, the phenomenon is schematized, described. As a result, it is translated into the form of empirical knowledge (empirical regularities). The next step is the construction of an ideal object, which, on the one hand, can be interpreted as a theoretical representation of a schematized phenomenon, and on the other hand, as satisfying the principles of the chosen theory. In order to introduce the constructed ideal object into the theory (in this case, it is often refined and rebuilt), special reasoning and reduction procedures are required, sometimes including the construction of new schemes of the object. At the same time, the researcher theoretically explains the identified phenomenon and removes the problems related to it. The second type is monodisciplinary and complex applied I. In the first case, a certain existing theory is used to solve the practical problem posed by the researcher. To solve a monodisciplinary applied problem, it is first necessary to create a theoretical representation in the chosen theory that describes the phenomenon of interest to the researcher. By nature, this part of the scientific I. belongs to the previous type, but has one feature. Since I. here is aimed at solving an applied problem, the problematization and the ideal object are constructed in such a way as to provide this solution. Then, on the basis of the constructed ideal object and the theoretical explanations based on it, the researcher creates scheme and representations that are used directly to solve the applied problem. In the case of complex applied I., he turns to several theoretical disciplines and is therefore forced to integrate (configure) the theoretical concepts borrowed from them. To do this, the researcher builds “dispositive schemes” (configurators), which are objectified and interpreted as images of a new ideal reality (for example, many psychological and pedagogical concepts were obtained in this way - activities, attitudes, gestalt, education, discipline, learning content and other). The construction of a new theory (concept, science) is also a fairly common type of I. Often this work begins with criticism of existing, unsatisfactory theories and concepts, as well as methodological problematization. The next step is the formulation of a new approach and methodology of study, on the basis of which the subject and object of study are further formed. The formation of the subject and object of study allows one to proceed to the construction of ideal objects, and then to a new theory. The process of constructing and deploying a theory also includes the analysis counterexamples (see the works of I. Lakatos) and substantiation of the theory. Since at least four ideals of scientific knowledge (ancient, natural science, humanitarian and social) can be named, the structure of work for different types of sciences differs significantly. If the researcher focuses on the first ideal, he seeks to theoretically solve the problems formulated by him and theoretically describe the phenomena that form the formed object, and nothing more. Realizing the ideal of natural science, he is forced to experimentally confirm his theoretical constructions and orient them to technical applications (forecasting the studied phenomena and controlling them). Sharing the ideal of the humanities, the scientist strives, firstly, to realize his vision of reality, and secondly, to explain this reality in such a way that there is a place in it for himself and another person. At the same time, a humanities scientist should not experimentally confirm his theoretical constructions. Finally, the researcher who shares the ideal of social science should be concerned with constructing a theory that would correspond to his understanding of the nature of social action and the nature of social reality. Not the entire composition of the works indicated here, but any one part of it, for example, methodological problematization and criticism, or experimental substantiation of a theory, or the construction of a new ideal object, or the substantiation of a theory, or the resolution of counterexamples, may act as an independent scientific I.. etc. This is due to the fact that each such part of the overall work may require significant intellectual effort and organization and must be methodically reflected to a certain extent. If we talk about the presentation of scientific I., then, in addition to the already known, which have become largely formal points (pointing to the problem, tasks, methods, sometimes novelty, introduction), the following should be noted. At present, it is often important not only to successfully conduct scientific research, but also to publicly demonstrate the real way to solve a scientific problem, as well as to correlate one's approach with those existing in scientific culture. To do this, both should be reflected in an understandable form. A specific feature of modern scientific work is increasingly the cooperation of a researcher with a methodologist and organizer (often these three figures are combined in one person). The methodologist helps the researcher to carry out the correct problematization, analyzes the means and methods of his work, helps to outline new ways of thinking and activity. The organizer of scientific work structures it so that the work can be carried out on time and with high quality. Cooperation between a researcher and a philosopher takes place only at points of existential or cultural crisis, which, incidentally, is typical of our troubled time of global crises, changes and reforms. The solution of modern methodological and philosophical problems also presupposes the conduct of special I. Similar I., oriented towards philosophy or methodology, can be called philosophical or methodological. Theoretically, even religious and esoteric I. V.M. Rosin I. - one of the types of scientific knowledge, aimed at the production of new knowledge. The process of I. is carried out in the form of a complex of various cognitive procedures. AT science methodology There are two interconnected levels of I.: empirical and theoretical. Within the framework of the first level, the main characteristics of the objects under study and the forms of their interaction with each other are usually established, which ensures the implementation of the descriptive function of science. Empirical knowledge, in contrast to theoretical, implies the obligatory direct contact of the scientist and those fragments of reality with which his activity is connected. Therefore, the main forms of empirical I. include procedures observation, experiment and subject modeling. Recently, the measurement procedure, which is included in varying degrees in each of these forms, has become increasingly important. Thanks to the implementation of many cognitive acts that make up the content of empirical knowledge, the so-called "facts of science" are established, which are generalization results obtained by various researchers and repeatedly verified by independent experts. The established facts become the empirical basis of various theories that make up the main content of the second level of scientific knowledge. Although all the procedures of empirical I. are connected with the direct interaction of the scientist and the object of his attention, they are not reduced, however, to a simple sensory perception by a person of the phenomena of the surrounding world. Both observation, and experiment, and subject observation - all of them require the mandatory registration in the language of the relevant scientific disciplines, which affects the way they are represented in knowledge systems. At the same time, the observation procedure is constructed in such a way as to make the influence of the researcher on the observed phenomena minimal. While the experiment, which is a special form of observation, involves the active intervention of the scientist in the processes being studied, it is necessary to create such cognitive situations in which it is possible to fix the aspects and properties of objects that are not manifested in other conditions. Object modeling is carried out in the form of an observation or experiment aimed not at an object of interest to a scientist, but at some other object that is similar to it in parameters that are significant, from the point of view of the researcher, and therefore replaces it in cognitive procedures. The theoretical level of I. is associated with the establishment laws, regulating the behavior of objects of study, and with an explanation of the essence of the discovered phenomena of reality. Within its framework, two other important functions of science are implemented: explanation and forecasting. At this level, the empirical facts and dependencies established before are used as elements for constructing an abstract-theoretical model of the corresponding subject area, which provides an understanding of the deep nature of all the facts that make up the content of this area. However, it often happens that when trying to systematize the facts at the disposal of a scientist, some gaps in knowledge are found that do not allow solving the problem. Therefore, one of the most important components of theoretical I. is problem. Its formulation is a statement of a cognitive task, a question, the answer to which allows us to determine the nature of the systematization of known data and an explanation of their essence. The problem sets the direction of the search activity of scientists and serves as a certain criterion that allows selecting only those obtained solutions that are correlated with the context of the task. The intended answer to a question in a problem is called hypothesis. The methodology of science puts forward a number of requirements that determine how to build hypotheses and choose one of the available options. The most important of these are the simplicity of the proposed solution, the possibility of its empirical verification, and the ability to predict new facts still unknown to science. The hypotheses accepted by scientists and their consequences, which have passed experimental verification, are included in the structure of theoretical systems that characterize both the design features of the objects under study and the ways of human interaction with them. The effectiveness of such interaction is largely determined by the implementation of the prognostic function of the theoretical level. Indeed, knowing the laws governing the implementation of some events in reality, the researcher can describe the possible results of human interaction with certain objects that has not yet been implemented in reality. Thus, human impact on the surrounding world can be consciously regulated so that the implementation of events favorable for people will be stimulated, and dangerous or undesirable consequences can be blocked. Theoretical knowledge also includes such forms of research as the planning of research procedures, carried out both at the empirical and at the most theoretical level; determination of further directions of scientific research; construction of new language tools used in the implementation of cognitive functions; the introduction of norms and ideals that determine the specifics of each stage of cognitive activity and all scientific knowledge as a whole. It follows from this that if the empirical I. provides the initial foundation of science, then the theoretical one turns out to be a factor organizing the entire complex of cognitive means and procedures into a single system. Of course, it is hardly possible to talk about the absolute dominance of the theoretical level over the empirical one, but the growing importance of the first of these levels is also evidenced by the fact that today the degree of maturity of a scientific discipline is significantly determined by the attention paid by its representatives to the analysis of the foundations of the this discipline and revealing the regularities of its organization and development. Therefore, when characterizing the nature of scientific intelligence, one should bear in mind its fundamental synthetic nature, since the various forms and levels of scientific knowledge mutually complement and substantiate each other. S.S. Gusev

Study- literally " following from within”, the process of scientific study of something.

At all times, the accumulation of knowledge has been extremely important for mankind, because man, unlike animals, survives due to knowledge of nature and the ability to change the world around him to suit his needs. The world around us is infinitely complex, diverse and developing very dynamically. Human knowledge about it is constantly replenished. The process of cognition of the World and individual objects of nature can continue indefinitely. Special education in specific sciences quickly becomes obsolete. Knowledge is always relative and never exhaustive.

STUDY scientific - the process of developing new knowledge, one of the types of cognitive activity.
Characterized by: objectivity, reproducibility, evidence, accuracy.
Has two levels - empirical and theoretical.
The most common division is research on fundamental, applied, quantitative, qualitative, unique and complex. Big Encyclopedic Dictionary. 2000.

Research can also be defined as the development of knowledge or systematic investigation to establish facts.
The main goal of applied research (as opposed to fundamental research) is to find, interpret and develop methods and systems for improving human knowledge in many scientific areas of our planet and the Universe.

Scientific research is based on the application of the scientific method to satisfy curiosity. Such research provides scientific information and theories to explain the nature and properties of the surrounding world. Such research may have practical applications.
Scientific research can be funded by the state, non-profit organizations, commercial companies and individuals. Scientific research can be classified according to its academic and applied nature.
The strength of science largely depends on the perfection of research methods, on how valid and reliable they are, how quickly and effectively a given branch of knowledge is able to absorb and use all the newest, most advanced that appears in the methods of other sciences.

Methods and techniques of scientific research
All science is based on facts. She collects facts, compares them and draws conclusions - establishes the laws of the field of activity that she studies. The methods of obtaining these facts are called methods of scientific research..
Scientific research method- a system of mental and (or) practical operations (procedures) that are aimed at solving certain cognitive tasks, taking into account a specific cognitive goal.
Methodology- these are the teachings about the methods of cognition and transformation of reality.
Method is a system of regulatory principles of transformative, practical or cognitive, theoretical activity.
term method ("metodos") comes from a Greek word, from an etymological point of view, close in meaning to the words "path, study, method of interpretation." Method- a set of certain principles and laws governing the theoretical and practical activities of a person, as well as the methods used to achieve the goal - to know reality and its practical change
The method is specified in the methodology. Methodology These are specific methods, means of obtaining and processing factual material. It is derived from and based on methodological principles.
Types of scientific research methods:
Theoretical research methods
abstraction- research method, which consists in an isolated consideration of one selected parameter, while not taking into account all the others.
Analysis- a research method that involves such a mental operation in which the process or phenomenon under study is divided into components for their special and in-depth independent study.
Analogy- a mental operation in which a similarity, a prototype is selected.
Deduction- a mental operation that involves the development of reasoning from general patterns to particular facts.
Induction- a mental operation based on the logic of generalization of particular facts.
Classification- a theoretical method for studying the studied objects, facts, based on the ordering of phenomena in relation to each other.
Specification- the process, the reverse of abstraction, involves finding a holistic, interconnected, multilateral object.
Modeling- a research method involving the construction of a model.
Generalization- one of the important mental operations, as a result of which relatively stable properties of objects and their relations are singled out and fixed.
Synthesis- a mental operation, during which a complete picture is restored from the identified elements and facts.
Comparison- a research method involving a comparison of objects in order to identify their similarities and differences, common and special.
Empirical Research Methods
Conversation- a research method that involves personal contact with the respondent.
Observation- the most informative research method that allows you to see from the outside the processes and phenomena under study that are available for perception.
Survey- this is the study of the object under study with one or another measure of depth and detail, which is determined by the goals and objectives of the study
Experimental work- a method of introducing preliminary changes, innovations in the process, counting on obtaining its higher results.
Experiment- a general empirical method of research, which is based on strict control over the objects under study under controlled conditions.

The choice and application of methods and various methods of research work are predetermined and follow both from the nature of the phenomenon under study and from the tasks that the researcher sets himself. In science, method often determines the fate of research. With different approaches, opposite conclusions can be drawn from the same factual material. Describing the role of the correct method in scientific knowledge, F. Bacon compared it to a lamp that illuminates the way for a traveler in the dark. He figuratively said: even the lame one who walks on the road outstrips the one who runs without a road. It is impossible to count on success in the study of any issue by following the wrong path: not only the result of the study, but also the path leading to it must be true.
Comparison is the establishment of differences and similarities between objects. Comparison is not an explanation, but it helps to clarify. In science, comparison acts as a comparative or comparative-historical method. Initially, it arose in philology, literary criticism, then it began to be successfully applied in other areas of knowledge. The comparative-historical method makes it possible to reveal the genetic relationship of certain animals, languages, peoples, religious beliefs, artistic methods, patterns of development of social formations, etc.
The process of cognition is carried out in such a way that we first observe the general picture of the subject under study, and the particulars remain in the shadows. With such a view of things, it is impossible to know their internal structure and essence. To study the particulars, we must consider the components of the subject under study. Analysis is the mental decomposition of an object into its constituent parts or sides. Being a necessary method of thinking, analysis is only one of the moments of the process of cognition. It is impossible to know the essence of an object only by decomposing it into the elements of which it consists. The chemist, according to Hegel, puts a piece of meat in his retort, subjects it to various operations, and then says: I found that it consists of oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, and so on. But these substances are no longer meat.
Each field of knowledge has, as it were, its own limit of division of the object, beyond which we pass into the world of other properties and patterns. When the particulars have been sufficiently studied by analysis, the next stage of cognition begins - synthesis - the mental unification into a single whole of the elements dissected by analysis. Analysis fixes mainly that specific thing that distinguishes the parts from each other. Synthesis, on the other hand, reveals that essentially common thing that links the parts into a single whole.
Analysis and synthesis are in unity: in each of its movements, our thinking is as analytical as it is synthetic. Analysis, which involves the implementation of synthesis, has the central task of highlighting the essential.
Analysis and synthesis are the main methods of thinking that have their own objective basis both in practice and in the logic of things: the processes of connection and separation, creation and destruction form the basis of all processes in the world.
Human thought, like a beam of a searchlight, at any given moment snatches out and illuminates only some part of reality, while everything else seems to be drowning in darkness for us. We are aware of only one thing at a time. But it also has many properties, connections. And we can cognize this "one" only in successive order: by concentrating attention on some properties and connections and distracting from others.
abstraction- this is a mental selection of an object in abstraction from its connections with other objects, some property of an object in abstraction from its other properties, any relation of objects in abstraction from the objects themselves.
Abstraction is a necessary condition for the emergence and development of any science and human thinking in general. It has its limit: it is impossible, as they say, to abstract the flame of a fire from what is burning with impunity. The edge of abstraction, like a razor blade, can, according to the apt expression of B. Russell, sharpen and sharpen everything until nothing remains of it. The question of what in objective reality is distinguished by the abstracting work of thinking and from what thinking is distracted, in each specific case is solved in direct dependence, first of all, on the nature of the object being studied and the tasks that are put before the research.
As a result of the process of abstraction, there are various concepts about objects (“plant”, “animal”, “human”, etc.), thoughts about individual properties of objects and relationships between them, considered as special “abstract objects” (“whiteness” , "volume", "length", "heat capacity", etc.).
An important example of scientific knowledge of the world is idealization as a specific kind of abstraction. Abstract objects do not exist and are not realizable in reality, but there are prototypes for them in the real world. Idealization- this is the process of formation of concepts, the real prototypes of which can be indicated only with varying degrees of approximation. Examples of concepts that are the result of idealization can be: "point" (an object that has neither length, nor height, nor width); "straight line", "circle", "point electric charge", "absolutely black body", etc.
The introduction of idealized objects into the research process makes it possible to construct abstract schemes of real processes, which are necessary for deeper penetration into the patterns of their course.
The aim of all knowledge is generalization- the process of mental transition from the individual to the general, from the less general to the more general. In the process of generalization, a transition is made from individual concepts to general ones, from less general concepts to more general ones, from individual judgments to general ones, from judgments of lesser generality to judgments of greater generality, from a less general theory to a more general theory, in relation to which a less general theory is its special case. We would not be able to cope with the abundance of impressions that flood over us every hour, every minute, every second, if we did not continuously combine them, generalize and fix them by means of language. Scientific generalization is not just the selection and synthesis of similar features, but the penetration into the essence of a thing: the perception of the single in the diverse, the general in the singular, the regular in the random.
Examples of generalization can be the following: a mental transition from the concept of "triangle" to the concept of "polygon", from the concept of "mechanical form of matter movement" to the concept of "form of matter movement", from the concept of "spruce" to the concept of "coniferous plant". In the nature of the very understanding of facts lies an analogy that connects the threads of the unknown with the known. The new can be comprehended, understood only through the images and concepts of the old, known. The first airplanes were created by analogy with how birds, kites and gliders behave in flight.
Analogy- this is a plausible probable conclusion about the similarity of two objects in any sign on the basis of their established similarity in other signs. Moreover, the conclusion will be the more plausible, the more similar features the compared objects have and the more significant these features are.
Despite the fact that analogies allow us to draw only probable conclusions, they play a huge role in cognition, and not only in it, since they are the basis of imagination and lead to the formation of hypotheses, i.e. scientific guesses and assumptions that, in the course of additional research and evidence, can turn into scientific theories. An analogy with what is already known helps to understand what is unknown. The analogy with what is relatively simple helps to understand what is more complex. Analogy is most often used as a method in the so-called similarity theory, which is widely used in modeling.
One of the characteristic features of modern scientific knowledge is the increasing role of the modeling method. Modeling- this is a practical or theoretical operation of an object, in which the object being studied is replaced by some natural or artificial analogue, through the study of which we penetrate into the object of knowledge. For example, by examining the properties of an aircraft model, we thereby learn the properties of the aircraft itself.
The model is a means and a way of expressing the features and relationships of an object taken as the original. A model is an imitation of one or a number of properties of an object with the help of some other objects and phenomena. A model can be any object that reproduces the required features of the original. If the model and the original are of the same physical nature, then we are dealing with physical modeling. Physical modeling is used as a technique for experimental research on models of the properties of building structures, buildings, aircraft, ships, as a way to identify shortcomings in the operation of relevant systems and find ways to eliminate them. When a phenomenon is described by the same system of equations as the object being modeled, then such modeling is called mathematical. If some aspects of the modeled object are presented in the form of a formal system using signs, which is then studied in order to transfer the information obtained to the modeled object itself, then we are dealing with logical-sign modeling.
Modeling plays a huge heuristic role, being a prerequisite for a new theory. Modeling is widely used because it makes it possible to study the processes characteristic of the original, in the absence of the original itself. This is often necessary because of the inconvenience of studying the object itself and for many other reasons: high cost, inaccessibility, its vastness, etc.

In cognitive activity, such a method as formalization- generalization of forms of processes of different content, abstraction of these forms from their content. Any formalization is inevitably some coarsening of a real object.
It is wrong to think that formalization is only a method of mathematics, mathematical logic and cybernetics. It permeates all forms of practical and theoretical human activity, differing only in levels. Our ordinary language expresses the weakest level of formalization. The extreme pole of formalization is mathematics and mathematical logic, which studies the form of reasoning, abstracting from the content.
The process of formalization of reasoning is that, firstly, there is a distraction from the qualitative characteristics of objects; secondly, the logical form of judgments is revealed, in which statements regarding these subjects are fixed; thirdly, the reasoning itself is transferred from the plane of considering the connection of objects to the plane of actions with judgments based on formal relations between them. The use of special symbols makes it possible to eliminate the ambiguity of ordinary language words.
In formalized reasoning, each symbol is strictly unambiguous; symbols make it possible to write concisely and economically expressions that in ordinary languages turn out to be cumbersome and therefore difficult to understand. The use of symbolism facilitates the derivation of logical consequences from given premises, the verification of the truth of hypotheses, the justification of the judgments of science, etc. Formalization methods are absolutely necessary in the development of such scientific and technical problems and areas as computer translation, the problems of information theory, the creation of various kinds of automatic devices for controlling production processes, etc.
Formalization is not an end in itself. Ultimately, it is needed to express a certain content, to clarify and disclose it. Formalization is only one (by no means universal) of the methods of cognition.
How research methods stand out induction- the process of deriving a general position from a number of particular (less general) statements, from single facts; deduction, on the contrary, is a process of reasoning going from the general to the particular or less general. There are usually two main types of induction: complete and incomplete. Full induction- the conclusion of some general judgment about all objects of a certain set (class) based on the consideration of each element of this set. It is clear that the scope of such induction is limited to objects, the number of which is finite and practically observable.
In practice, forms of induction are most often used, which involve a conclusion about all objects of a class based on knowledge of only a part of the objects of this class. Such inferences are called inferences of incomplete induction. They are the closer to reality, the deeper, essential connections are revealed. Incomplete induction, based on experimental research and including theoretical thinking (in particular, deduction), is capable of giving a reliable (or practically approaching a reliable) conclusion. It is called scientific induction.
According to de Broglie, induction, insofar as it seeks to push the already existing boundaries of thought, is the true source of real scientific progress. Great discoveries, leaps in scientific thought are ultimately created by induction, a risky but important creative method.
Using non-logical methods research expands the naturalist's palette. Rational norms and principles of research are complemented by intuitive approaches and other non-rationalistic components. The human brain can get rid of formalized, routine logical activity, leaving it to computers and, using their not yet fully understood capabilities, guess the patterns of the surrounding World.
The more we learn, the wider the border of the still unknown becomes. It can be confidently asserted that the World is immensely complex. And our brain (instrument of knowledge) is clearly limited in its capabilities, therefore, a complete, exhaustive picture of the World is not available to modern man. The imperfection of the human senses is compensated by technical means, however, knowledge remains only an approximate image of reality, since no reflection carries all the information about the object

What is research? Research is the scientific knowledge of objects and phenomena of the surrounding world. Science is a special form of knowledge of the surrounding world, as a result of which scientific knowledge arises. Signs of scientific knowledge: objectivity evidence-based consistency verifiability

What does "objectivity" mean? Objectivity is the independence of facts and conclusions from the consciousness of the author of the study, as well as from the consciousness of other people. Scientific knowledge cannot be ignored, it cannot be disregarded, it cannot be rejected. Scientific significance can only be refuted as a result of scientific research and the emergence of new objective knowledge.

What does "evidence" mean? Any scientific statement must be proven. Evidence can serve: the results of observations; experimental results; results of calculations and calculations A scientific statement must be verified and confirmed in practice. Before evidence is obtained, any knowledge is just an assumption.

What does "logical" mean? Any scientific statement must be consistent with previously formulated scientific statements. A new regularity, a new statement either includes previously formulated regularities as particular cases, or explains the causes of errors contained in previously formulated regularities.

What does "verifiable" mean? Any objective, proven and logical scientific statement can be tested in practice. For this scientific statement, there must necessarily be a way to verify it in practice. The result of the verification can be either a confirmation of this assertion or its refutation. If there is no such way of checking, then the statement is not scientific.

The Principle of Honesty There are weaknesses in any scientific statement. The presence of weaknesses is the result of the fact that in any study it is impossible to “embrace the immensity”. A scientific statement should indicate the presence of weaknesses or problems that are still waiting to be investigated.

"Occam's Razor" When explaining any fact or phenomenon, one should first choose the most probable reasons from the point of view of practical experience. One should not look for complex and unlikely explanations and causes if there are simpler and more likely explanations and causes. Complex and unlikely explanations and causes should be cut off like a razor. The author of this principle is the philosopher William of Ockham ().

Where does research start? Any research begins with the definition of: the object of research - a process or phenomenon of the surrounding world, unknown or with unknown properties, and therefore interesting for the researcher; subject of study - an unknown property of the object of study and therefore interesting to the researcher. Research cannot have no object. Research cannot be pointless.

Problem questions Interest in the object and subject of research inevitably gives rise to questions: "What is it?" The question arises when something completely new or unknown is discovered; "Why is that?" The question arises in the absence of obvious causes of the process or phenomenon; "Is it so?" The question arises when there are doubts about the explanation of the process or phenomenon “Could it be otherwise?” The question arises when there are assumptions about another variant of the development of the process or the existence of the phenomenon.

What is a "problem"? The presence of questions indicates a problem. A problem is: a task whose solutions are unknown or not fully known; the contradiction between the need to know something and the lack of knowledge at the moment. If the problem is not defined, then research is meaningless. If the problem is defined, then a hypothesis can be put forward.

What is a "hypothesis"? A hypothesis is an assumption that requires proof. The hypothesis must: be based on facts; verified by experience; be combined with other scientific knowledge in the field; explain the facts that have become the subject of the study be simple and obvious, do not refer to the incomprehensible and unreliable

What is the purpose of the study? The purpose of the study is to prove the hypothesis. The hypothesis must be proven in order to solve the problem and answer the questions that prompted the study. The result of the proof of the hypothesis is the explanation of the causes, properties or conditions for the existence of the subject of research. The explanation has signs of a theory of the subject under study.

What is a theory? Theory is scientific knowledge about the subject of research. Signs of the theory: the result of reflection on the subject; a system of reliable knowledge about the subject; describes and explains the subject; relies on evidence To give a theoretical explanation of the subject, it is necessary to apply special research methods.

What are research methods? A research method is a way of studying a subject to prove a hypothesis. The main research methods are: observation - a purposeful study of an object in its natural setting - counting and measurement - determining the quantitative characteristics of an object or comparing them with a standard description - fixing the features of an object obtained as a result of observations or measurements comparison - comparing an object with other objects experiment - studying properties an object in an artificially created environment modeling - the study of an object with the help of its artificial substitutes - models

Scientific research can be defined as purposeful knowledge. To conduct research means to study, to learn patterns, systematizing facts.

Scientific research has a number of distinguishing features: the presence of a clear formulated goal; desire to discover the unknown; systematic process and results; substantiation and verification of the obtained conclusions and generalizations.

It is necessary to distinguish between scientific and ordinary knowledge. Scientific knowledge, unlike everyday knowledge, involves the use of special research methods. In this regard, there is a need for a constant search for new methods for studying unexplored objects.

What are research methods

Research methods are ways to achieve the goal in scientific work. The science that studies these methods is called "Methodology".

Any human activity depends not only on the object (what it is aimed at) and the actor (subject), but also on how it is carried out, what means and methods are used. This is the essence of the method.

Translated from Greek, "method" means "method of knowledge." A correctly chosen method contributes to a faster and more accurate achievement of the goal, serves as a special compass that helps the researcher avoid most mistakes, paving his way.

The difference between a method and a technique and methodology

Very often there is confusion in the concepts of method and methodology. The methodology is a system of ways of knowing. For example, when conducting a sociological study, quantitative and qualitative methods can be combined. The totality of these methods will be a research methodology.

The concept of methodology is close in meaning to the research procedure, its sequence, algorithm. Without a quality technique, even the right method will not give a good result.

If methodology is a way of implementing a method, then methodology is the study of methods. In a broad sense, the methodology is

Classification of scientific research methods

All methods of scientific research are divided into several levels.

Philosophical Methods

The most famous among them are the oldest methods: dialectical and metaphysical. In addition to them, philosophical methods include phenomenological, hermeneutical, intuitive, analytical, eclectic, dogmatic, sophistical and others.

General scientific methods

An analysis of the process of cognition allows us to identify the methods on which not only scientific, but also any everyday human knowledge is built. These include theoretical level methods:

Analysis - the division of a single whole into separate parts, sides and properties for their further detailed study.
Synthesis is the combination of separate parts into a single whole.
Abstraction is the mental selection of any essential properties of the subject under consideration while simultaneously abstracting from a number of other features inherent in it.
Generalization - the establishment of a unifying property of objects.
Induction is a way of constructing a general conclusion based on known individual facts.

Examples of research methods

For example, by studying the properties of certain liquids, it is revealed that they have the property of elasticity. Based on the fact that water and alcohol are liquids, they conclude that all liquids have the property of elasticity.

Deduction- a way of constructing a private conclusion, based on a general judgment.

For example, two facts are known: 1) all metals have the property of electrical conductivity; 2) copper - metal. It can be concluded that copper has the property of electrical conductivity.

Analogy- such a method of cognition, in which knowledge of a number of common features for objects allows us to conclude that they are similar in other ways.

For example, science knows that light has properties such as interference and diffraction. In addition, it was previously established that sound has the same properties and this is due to its wave nature. Based on this analogy, a conclusion was made about the wave nature of light (by analogy with sound).

Modeling- creation of a model (copy) of the object of study for the purpose of its study.

In addition to methods of the theoretical level, there are methods of the empirical level.

Classification of general scientific methods

Empirical level methods

Method	Definition	Example
Observation	Research based on the senses; perception of phenomena	In order to study one of the stages in the development of children, J. Piaget observed the manipulative games of children with certain toys. On the basis of observation, he concluded that the child's ability to put objects into each other occurs later than the motor skills necessary for this.
Description	Fixing information	The anthropologist writes down all the facts about the life of the tribe, without exerting any influence on it.
Measurement	Comparison by common features	Determining body temperature with a thermometer; determination of weight by balancing weights on a balance scale; radar distance determination
Experiment	Research based on observation in conditions created specifically for this	On a busy city street, groups of people in various numbers (2,3,4,5,6, etc. people) stopped and looked up. Passers-by stopped nearby and also began to look up. It turned out that the percentage of those who joined increased significantly when the experimental group reached 5 people.
Comparison	Research based on the study of the similarities and differences of subjects; comparison of one thing with another	Comparison of economic indicators of the base year with the past, on the basis of which a conclusion is made about economic trends

Theoretical Level Methods

Method	Definition	Example
Formalization	Disclosure of the essence of processes by displaying them in a sign-symbolic form	Flight simulation based on knowledge of the main characteristics of the aircraft
Axiomatization	Application of axioms to construct theories	Geometry of Euclid
Hypothetical-deductive	Creating a system of hypotheses and deriving conclusions from this	The discovery of the planet Neptune was based on several hypotheses. As a result of their analysis, it was concluded that Uranus is not the last planet in the solar system. The theoretical justification for finding a new planet in a certain place was then confirmed empirically

Specific scientific (special) methods

In any scientific discipline, a set of certain methods is applied, related to different "levels" of methodology. It is quite difficult to tie any method to a particular discipline. However, each discipline relies on a number of methods. Let's take a look at some of them.

Biology:

genealogical - the study of heredity, the compilation of pedigrees;
historical - determining the relationship between phenomena that have taken place over a long period of time (billions of years);
biochemical - the study of the chemical processes of the body, etc.

Jurisprudence:

historical and legal - obtaining knowledge about legal practice, legislation in different periods of time;
comparative legal - search and study of similarities and differences between the state-legal institutions of countries;
right sociological method - the study of reality in the field of state and law using questionnaires, surveys, etc.

In medicine, there are three main groups of methods for studying the body:

laboratory diagnostics - the study of the properties and composition of biological fluids;
functional diagnostics - the study of organs by their manifestations (mechanical, electrical, sound);
structural diagnostics - the identification of changes in the structure of the body.

Economy:

economic analysis - the study of the constituent parts of the whole under study;
statistical and economic method - analysis and processing of statistical indicators;
sociological method - questioning, survey, interviewing, etc.
design and construction, economic modeling, etc.

Psychology:

experimental method - the creation of such circumstances that provoke the manifestation of any mental phenomenon;
method of observation - through the organized perception of the phenomenon, a mental phenomenon is explained;
biographical method, comparative genetic method, etc.

Empirical study data analysis

Empirical research is aimed at obtaining empirical data - data obtained through experience, practice.

The analysis of such data occurs in several stages:

Description of the data. At this stage, summarized results are described using indicators and graphs.
Comparison. Similarities and differences between the two samples are identified.
Exploring dependencies. Establishment of interdependencies (correlation, regression analysis).
Volume reduction. The study of all variables in the presence of a large number of them, identifying the most informative.
Grouping.

The results of any study conducted - analysis and interpretation of data - are drawn up on paper. The range of such research papers is quite wide: tests, abstracts, reports, term papers, theses, theses, dissertations, monographs, textbooks, etc. Only after a comprehensive study and evaluation of the findings, the results of the research are used in practice.

Instead of a conclusion

A. M. Novikov and D. A. Novikova in the book “ ” in the methods of theoretical and empirical research also distinguishes methods-operations (a way to achieve a goal) and methods-actions (solution of a specific problem). This specification is not accidental. A more rigid systematization of scientific knowledge increases its effectiveness.

Research methods as they are updated: February 15, 2019 by: Scientific Articles.Ru

What is research? Why is it carried out, what information is needed, and where can it be obtained? All these questions should be answered in order, starting with the definition of the given word.

Definitions

What is research? Before analyzing this concept and its components in detail, one should refer to several dictionaries for clarification.

So, from the source "Big Encyclopedic Dictionary" it follows that this process, which includes the collection of new knowledge, is divided into two levels - empirical and theoretical.

Let's look at another source, the dictionary of D. N. Ushakov, in order to understand what research is. Here the term is presented in different directions. This is an analysis of the crisis in the economy, and in medicine, as well as a scientific essay, where some question or analysis of social development is on the agenda.

Research data

To obtain some information, which is further investigated, you need to have the necessary data. They are first collected, then processed and finally analyzed. All this is carried out in several stages:

identifying a problem or situation;
understanding where it came from, how it developed, what it consists of;
establishing the place of existence of the problem in the knowledge system;
search for a way, as well as means and opportunities, which will resolve the situation with the help of new knowledge.

To pass all stages, you need an object of study, methodology (includes goals, approach, benchmark and priorities) and resources. Ultimately, you need to get some kind of result, which is expressed in the development of a program or the launch of a project, in the creation of a recommendation or a model.

A striking example is laboratory research, where scientists study the disease that needs to be fought. Chemists are trying to create a cure, laboratory workers are experimenting on animals, etc., until an antiviral drug is obtained that can save many lives.

Classification

In any field of science, their studies are carried out, whether it be medicine, psychology, economics or marketing. But for each direction there is a classification of types of research.

There are fundamental ones, where the main goal is to obtain new knowledge, as well as applied ones, which are needed in order to solve a scientific problem.

You can study empirically, that is, to conduct an observation, or based on some experience, or on the basis of analysis and theoretical knowledge.

Further, there are such types as quantitative and qualitative. It all depends on what needs to be studied. For example, if you need to study the behavior of people in a given situation, and the result needs to be calculated, this is a quantitative method. A qualitative one is needed when it is important to understand why a person acted this way and not otherwise. Here you can add another category - spot and repeated laboratory tests and others, based on the frequency of the conduct. There is not always enough information about the state of the object, therefore, after a certain period of time, the subject is studied again.

The next category is the use of different sources of information - secondary and primary. For example, a survey is conducted where the opinions of different people are found out, that is, this is data from the primary source. most often carried out when there is not enough information or some of them are outdated.

For example, the object is a group of people who eat the same product every day for some time, and scientists find out how this product affects the body.

Main characteristics

Having settled on a certain category of research or its type, the next step is to determine the goal, which is divided into three groups: descriptive, analytical and intelligence.

Most often, the descriptive view is used when you need to study people, as well as determine the characteristics by which they differ from each other. The reconnaissance method is needed for large-scale research, or rather, as a preliminary stage. The analytical view is the deepest, and, in addition to describing an object or phenomenon, it establishes the reasons that underlie the phenomenon under study.

After all the information received, it is easy to answer what research is and why it is needed. But it is worth remembering that a good study of any issue requires a lot of money in order to obtain reliable information, create a program, develop a method, or write a review.