What is research?
Research is about seeking to know or understand
What are the ways of knowing?
Take a minute to ponder some of what you know and how you acquired that
knowledge. Perhaps you know that you should make your bed in the morning
because your mother or father told you this is what you should do, perhaps
you know that cocks crow in the morning because you’ve grown up hearing
them do so, or perhaps you know that your friend is lying to you because she
is acting strange and won’t look you in the eye. But should we trust
knowledge from these sources? The methods of acquiring knowledge can be
broken down into five categories each with its own strengths and
weaknesses.
INTUITION
The first method of knowing is intuition. When we use our intuition, we are
relying on our guts, our emotions, and/or our instincts to guide us. Rather
than examining facts or using rational thought, intuition involves believing
what feels true. The problem with relying on intuition is that our intuitions
can be wrong because they are driven by cognitive and motivational biases
rather than logical reasoning or scientific evidence. While the strange
behavior of your friend may lead you to think s/he is lying to you it may just
be that s/he is holding in a bit of gas or is preoccupied with some other issue
that is irrelevant to you. However, weighing alternatives and thinking of all
the different possibilities can be paralyzing for some people and sometimes
decisions based on intuition are actually superior to those based on analysis
(people interested in this idea should read Malcolm Gladwell’s book Blink)
AUTHORITY
Perhaps one of the most common methods of acquiring knowledge is
through authority. This method involves accepting new ideas because some
authority figure states that they are true. These authorities include parents,
the media, doctors, Priests and other religious authorities, the government,
and professors. While in an ideal world we should be able to trust authority
figures, history has taught us otherwise and many instances of atrocities
against humanity are a consequence of people unquestioningly following
authority (e.g., Salem Witch Trials, Nazi War Crimes). On a more benign
level, while your parents may have told you that you should make your bed
in the morning, making your bed provides the warm damp environment in
which mites thrive. Keeping the sheets open provides a less hospitable
environment for mites. These examples illustrate that the problem with using
authority to obtain knowledge is that they may be wrong, they may just be
using their intuition to arrive at their conclusions, and they may have their
own reasons to mislead you. Nevertheless, much of the information we
acquire is through authority because we don’t have time to question and
independently research every piece of knowledge we learn through
authority. But we can learn to evaluate the credentials of authority figures,
to evaluate the methods they used to arrive at their conclusions, and
evaluate whether they have any reasons to mislead us.
RATIONALISM
Rationalism involves using logic and reasoning to acquire new knowledge.
Using this method premises are stated and logical rules are followed to
arrive at sound conclusions. For instance, if I am given the premise that all
ripe oranges are yellow and the premise that this is an orange then I can
come to the rational conclusion that this ripe orange is yellow without
actually seeing the orange. The problem with this method is that if the
premises are wrong or there is an error in logic then the conclusion will not
be valid. For instance, the premise that all ripe oranges are yellow is
incorrect; there are green ripe oranges and orange ripe oranges. Also, unless
formally trained in the rules of logic it is easy to make an error. Nevertheless,
if the premises are correct and logical rules are followed appropriately then
this is sound means of acquiring knowledge.
EMPIRICISM
Empiricism involves acquiring knowledge through observation and
experience. Once again many of you may have believed that all swans are
white because you have only ever seen white swans. For centuries people
believed the world is flat because it appears to be flat. These examples and
the many visual illusions that trick our senses illustrate the problems with
relying on empiricism alone to derive knowledge. We are limited in what we
can experience and observe and our senses can deceive us. Moreover, our
prior experiences can alter the way we perceive events. Nevertheless,
empiricism is at the heart of the scientific method. Science relies on
observations. But not just any observations, science relies on structured
observations which is known as systematic empiricism.
The Scientific Method (To be discussed later)
Intuitive knowing is also referred to as a common sense way of knowing e.g
does this orange have seeds?
Does this watermelon have seeds?
How did you know?
Is your knowledge conclusive of all oranges or all watermelons?
Common sense knowledge is one ways of knowing but it is very different
from scientific knowledge
- Common sense is referred to as subjective i.e based on our personal
experience
- Scientific knowledge is objective i.e based on collective experience –
consensus
Common sense Scientific knowledge
With common sense unless we We consciously decide what to
decide not to, we usually observe observe and how to observe it
inaccurately
Usually generalizes from only a few Science explicitly samples for
cases e.g the formation of generalizability
stereotypes
Common sense makes things up to Science basis conclusions only on
fill gaps in knowledge evidence
Believes in luck Documents in order to back up
conclusions about performance
People who rely on common sense Must respect rules regardless of
usually get personally and personal opinion
emotionally involved
Form views prematurely with little Constantly revises views and beliefs
or no revision
When it comes to problem solving, common sense
1. Has casual curiosity while science has persistent curiosity
2. Has a casual observation while science has systematic observation
3. Has casual experimentation while science is systematic
Question: What are the instances where common sense could be of value
to us?
So what is science?
1. A process of inquiry, a way of knowing
2. A systematic process of asking and answering questions
3. Driven by curiosity, creativity, skepticism, and a tolerance for
ambiguity
4. A prepared mind able to use serendipity
Scientific Research Is Therefore…
… a process of enquiry and investigation; it is systematic, methodical and
ethical; it is research that can help solve practical problems and increase
knowledge.
The Purpose Of Research Is To…
Review or synthesize existing knowledge
Investigate existing situations or problems
Provide solutions to problems
Explore and analyse more general issues
Construct or create new procedures or systems
Explain new phenomenon
Generate new knowledge
…or a combination of any of the above!
(Collis and Hussey 2003)
Characteristics of Scientific Research
1. Public: The results of research are made public so that they may be
subjected to additional testing, that is replication to determine if the
results will the same again and again
2. Objective: A researcher may have a personal opinion or belief, but he
or she does not allow that to become part of the research or to cloud
the judgment of the results
3. Empirical: Science is based on measuring what is observable, or that
can be detected, essentially in numerical form. Science cannot
measure questions like what is God like because there is nothing to
observe or measure
4. Systematic: Science does things in an orderly and precise way that is
written down so that it may be replicated
5. Predictive: All of science is based on the premise that the world is
orderly. Certain actions are followed by certain reactions. Rivers flow
down never upward
The Scientific method
- Observes
- Asks questions
- Formulates hypotheses
- Tests hypotheses
- Evaluates the outcome
