Science and Scientific Research
What is research? Depending on who you ask,
you will likely get very different answers to this seemingly simple question.
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Some people will say that
they routinely research different online websites to find the best place to buy
goods or services they want.
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Television news channels
supposedly conduct research in the form of viewer polls on topics of public
interest such as forthcoming elections or government-funded projects.
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Undergraduate students
research the Internet to find the information they need to complete assigned
projects or term papers.
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Graduate students working
on research projects for a professor may see research as collecting or
analyzing data related to their project.
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Businesses and consultants
research different potential solutions to organizational problems or to
identify customer purchase patterns.
However, none of the above can be considered “scientific research” unless: (1) it contributes to a body of
science, and (2) it follows the scientific method.
Science
What is science? To some, science refers to difficult high school or
college-level courses such as physics, chemistry, and biology meant only for
the brightest students. To others, science is a craft practiced by scientists
in white coats using specialized equipment in their laboratories.
Etymologically, the word “science” is derived from the Latin word scientia
meaning knowledge. Science refers to a systematic and organized body of knowledge in any area of inquiry that
is acquired using “the scientific method” (which we will discuss later).
Science can be grouped into two broad categories: natural science and social
science.
Natural science is the science of naturally occurring objects or phenomena, such as light,
objects, matter, earth, celestial bodies, or the human body. Natural sciences
can be further classified into physical sciences, earth sciences, life sciences,
and others. Physical sciences consist of disciplines such as physics (the
science of physical objects), chemistry (the science of matter), and astronomy
(the science of celestial objects). Earth sciences consist of disciplines such
as geology (the science of the earth). Life sciences include disciplines such
as biology (the science of human bodies) and botany (the science of plants).
In contrast, social science is the science of people or
collections of people, such as groups, firms, societies, or economies, and their
individual or collective behaviors. Social sciences can be classified into
disciplines such as psychology (the science of human behaviors), sociology (the
science of social groups), and economics (the science of firms, markets, and
economies).
Sciences can also be classified based on their
purpose.
Basic sciences, also called pure sciences, are those that explain
the most basic objects and forces, relationships between them, and laws
governing them. Examples include physics, mathematics, and biology.
Applied sciences, also called practical sciences, are sciences that
apply scientific knowledge from basic sciences in a physical environment. For
instance, engineering is an applied science that applies the laws of physics
and chemistry for practical applications such as building stronger bridges,
while medicine is an applied science that applies the laws of biology for
solving human ailments. Both basic and applied sciences are required for human development.
However, applied sciences cannot stand on their own right, but instead relies
on basic sciences for its progress.
Scientific Knowledge
The purpose of science is to create scientific
knowledge. Scientific knowledge refers to a generalized body of laws and
theories to explain a phenomenon or behaviour of interest that are acquired
using the scientific method.
As scientists analyze and interpret their data, they generate hypotheses, theories, or laws, which help explain their
results and place them in context of the larger body of scientific knowledge.
These different kinds of explanations are
tested by scientists through additional experiments, observations, modelling, and theoretical
studies. Thus, the body of scientific knowledge builds on previous ideas and is
constantly growing. It is deliberately shared with colleagues through the process
of peer
review, where
scientists comment on each other's work, and then through publication in the
scientific literature, where it can be evaluated and integrated into the body
of scientific knowledge by the larger community.
So, four factors are essential to the classification
of an item of information
as scientific
knowledge:
1) independent and rigorous testing,
2) peer review and publication,
3) measurement of actual or potential rate of error
4) degree of acceptance within the scientific community.
And this is not the end: One of the hallmarks
of scientific knowledge is that it is subject to change, as new data are collected and
reinterpretations of existing data are made. Major theories, which are
supported by multiple lines of evidence, are rarely completely changed, but new data
and tested explanations add nuance and detail.
Scientific method
Scientific method refers to a standardized set of
techniques for building scientific knowledge, such as how to make valid observations,
how to interpret results, and how to generalize those results. The scientific method
allows researchers to independently and impartially test pre-existing theories
and prior findings, and subject them to open debate, modifications, or
enhancements. The scientific method must satisfy four characteristics:
Replicability: Others should be able to independently replicate
or repeat a scientific study and obtain similar, if not identical, results.
Precision: Theoretical concepts, which are often hard to
measure, must be defined with such precision that others can use those
definitions to measure those concepts and test that theory.
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. A theory that is
specified in imprecise terms or whose concepts are not accurately measurable
cannot be tested, and is therefore not scientific. Sigmund Freud’s ideas on
psychoanalysis fall into this category and is therefore not considered a “theory”,
even though psychoanalysis may have practical utility in treating certain types
of ailments.
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.”
Parsimony prevents scientists from pursuing overly complex or outlandish
theories with endless number of concepts and relationships that may explain a
little bit of everything but nothing in particular.
The scientific method, as applied to social sciences,
includes a variety of research approaches, tools, and techniques, such as
qualitative and quantitative data, statistical analysis, experiments, field
surveys, case research, and so forth. However, one should recognize that the
scientific method operates primarily at the empirical level of research, i.e.,
how to make observations and analyze and interpret these observations. Very
little of this method is directly pertinent to the theoretical level, which is
really the more challenging part of scientific research.
The term ‘socio-political
research’
‘Socio-political’ means ‘relating to, or
involving a combination of social and political factors’.
Examples of socio-political
issues
An example of a contemporary socio-political issue in the United States
is the issue of gun control. Citizens
are conflicted about whether private citizens should be allowed to own guns.
That conflict has expanded into government in the form of existing and
impending regulations about gun ownership.
Another example of a socio-political issue in Western Europe nowadays is
immigration. The question of who should be allowed to live in certain
states of Western Europe as well as why
and how has a direct impact on the European
society. But it is not only a social problem – it is also a political question,
since it is the government and other political institutions that play a role in
determining who can legally live in this or that European State.
Socio-political context plays a critical role on the global stage as
well. War is often the result of not just political conflict, but social
conflict as well.
So when we speak of socio-political studies we usually speak of studies
that are taking into consideration both social and political factors. This why
we can speak of socio-political research as of interdisciplinary research –
since it combines political science and sociology or social science. Thus, we
can speak, for example, of a political
sociology.
When we speak of sociology in general we mean the academic study of
social behaviour, including its origins, development, organization, and
institutions. It is a social science that uses various methods of empirical
investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about social
order, social disorder and social change.
Contemporary political
sociology involves,
but is not limited to, the study of the relations between state, society and
citizens. Where a typical research question in political sociology might have
been: “Why do so few American or European citizens choose to vote?” or even, “What
difference does it make if women get elected?”, political sociologists also now
ask: “How are emotions relevant to global poverty?” or "What difference
does knowledge make to democracy?". The opening up of political sociology
does not mean that old topics have been discarded. Traditionally there were
four main areas of research in the field of political sociology:
1.
The socio-political
formation of the modern state;
2.
“Who rules?” How
social inequality between groups (class, race, gender, etc.) influences
politics;
3.
How public opinion,
ideologies, personalities, social movements and trends outside of the formal
institutions of political power affect formal politics;
4.
Power relationships
within and between social groups (families, workplaces, bureaucracy, media,
etc.).
In other
words, political sociology was traditionally concerned with how social trends,
dynamics, and structures of domination affect formal political processes, as
well as exploring how various social forces work together to change political
policies. Political sociology still takes these
questions seriously, but it is now more concerned with the play of power and
politics across societies, which includes, but is not restricted to, relations
between the state and society.
In part, this is a product of the
growing complexity of social relations, the impact of social movement
organising, and the relative weakening of the state as a result of
globalization. In large part, however, it is due to the radical rethinking of social
theory. This is as much
focused now on micro questions (such as the formation of identity through
social interaction), as it is on macro questions (such as how to capture and
use state power).
Chief influences here include
cultural studies (Stuart Hall), post-structuralism (Michel Foucault, Judith Butler), pragmatism (Luc Boltanski), structuration theory (Anthony
Giddens), and cultural
sociology (Jeffrey C. Alexander).
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