RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES

AN INTRODUCTORY COURSE
Academic year 2024 – 2025
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What is science?
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What is science?
- A systematic and organized body of
knowledge in any area of inquiry
that is acquired using the scientific
method.
Knowledge may be defined broadly as
perception, awareness, understanding, and
recall of information (e.g., facts, theories,
stories, memories) and sense perception–i.e.,
what we perceive as humans from our five
senses.
Science is an essential tool for solving the
greatest problems of our time and
understanding the world around us.
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- Science can be grouped into two broad

categories: (1) natural science
(2) social science
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Natural science is the science of
naturally occurring objects or
phenomena, such as light, objects,
matter, earth, celestial bodies, or
the human body.
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Natural sciences can be further classified
into
• Physical sciences: physics (the science of
physical objects), chemistry (the science
of matter), and astronomy (the science
of celestial objects).
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• Earth sciences: geology (the science

of the earth).
• Life sciences : biology (the science
of human bodies), and botany (the
science of plants).
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Social science is the science of people
or collections of people, such as
groups, firms, societies, or
economies, and their individual or
collective behaviors.
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Social sciences can be classified:
- Psychology - the science of human
behaviors,
- Sociology - the science of social groups,
- economics - the science of firms,
markets, and economies.
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Basic sciences are those that explain the most basic objects and
forces, relationships between them, and laws governing
them.
• Examples: physics, mathematics, and biology.
• Basic research is driven by curiosity about how some aspect of
the world works.
• This type of research is not conducted to solve specific
problems for specific communities nor is it conducted to
develop specific applications. Rather, the goal of basic research
is to contribute to knowledge–i.e., what communities believe
to be true.
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Applied sciences are those that apply scientific
knowledge from basic sciences in a physical
environment.
Applied research is the work that gets done to solve
workplace, educational, personal, and social
problems. Investigators tackle these types of
projects to make the world a better place.
Researchers use this method to analyze obstacles,
solve problems and create commercial
opportunities.
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For instance, engineering is an applied
science that applies the laws of
physics and chemistry for practical
applications such as building
stronger bridges or fuel efficient
combustion engines.
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Medicine is an applied science that

applies the laws of biology for
solving human ailments.
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What is Scientific Knowledge?

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Scientific Knowledge
A generalized body of laws and
theories to explain a
phenomenon or behavior of
interest .
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Laws are observed patterns of

phenomena or behaviors.
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Theories are systematic explanations

of the underlying phenomenon or
behavior.
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What is scientific research?

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What is scientific research?
It is the orderly investigation of a
subject matter for the purpose of
adding to knowledge, developping
new knowledge, to learn how to
solve problems at work, school,
and home.
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Scientific research
- It operates at two levels:
(1) a theoretical level
(2) an empirical level.
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Scientific research
- The theoretical level →developing
abstract concepts about a natural or
social phenomenon and relationships
between those concepts (i.e., build
“theories”).
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Scientific research
- The empirical level is → testing the
theoretical concepts and relationships
to see how well they reflect our
observations of reality, with the goal of
ultimately building better theories.
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Deductive research
- The goal → test concepts and patterns known from theory using
new empirical data.

- Deduction is the process of reasoning from two general premises,

or things that are known, to a specific conclusion.
These three parts are:
A. major premise
B. minor premise
C. conclusion
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inductive research
- The goal → to infer theoretical concepts and patterns
from observed data.
- It is a process of reasoning from the specific (particular
facts or instances) to the general (principles, theories,
rules). It uses two premises that support the probable
truth of the conclusion.
An inductive argument looks like this:
If A is true and B is true, then C is probably true.
The cycle of research
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Scientific methods
- It is a standardized set of tools and techniques
used to conduct research for building
scientific knowledge, such as how to make
valid observations, how to interpret results,
and how to generalize those results.
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Scientific method
- The scientific method must satisfy 4
characteristics:
(i) Replicability: Others should be able to
independently replicate or repeat a scientific
study and obtain similar, if not identical,
results.
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Scientific method
(ii) Precision: Theoretical concepts must be
defined with such precision that others can
use those definitions to measure those
concepts and test that theory.
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Scientific method
(iii) Falsifiability: A theory must be stated in a
way that it can be disproven. Theories that
cannot be tested or falsified are not scientific
theories and any such knowledge is not
scientific knowledge.
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Scientific method
(iv) Parsimony: When there are multiple
explanations of a phenomenon, scientists
must always accept the simplest or logically
most economical explanation. This concept
is called parsimony or “Occam’s razor.”
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Types of Scientific Research
- Exploratory research → (1) to scope out the
magnitude or extent of a particular phenomenon,
problem, or behavior, (2) to generate some initial
ideas about that phenomenon, or (3) to test the
feasibility of undertaking a more extensive study
regarding that phenomenon.
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Types of Scientific Research
-Descriptive research → making careful
observations and detailed documentation of
a phenomenon of interest. These
observations must be based on the scientific
method, and therefore, are more reliable than
casual observations by untrained people.
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Types of Scientific Research
-Explanatory research → seeking
explanations of observed phenomena,
problems, or behaviors.
 REVIEW
1. Science; Natural sciences; Social sciences; Basic
sciences; Applied sciences
2. Scientific knowledge; scientific research;
inductive research; deductive research
3. Scientific method: replicability, precision;
falsifiability, parsimony.
4. Exploratory; descriptive; explanatory