INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH DR MOHD ZULHILMI PAIZ B ISMADI

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DEFINITION OF RESEARCH

• creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock

of knowledge, including knowledge of humans, culture and society, and the use of this
stock of knowledge to devise new applications.
• to establish or confirm facts, reaffirm the results of previous work, solve new or
existing problems, support theorems, or develop new theories

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AIMS OF RESEARCH

• observe and describe

• predict
• find the cause
• explain

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SCIENCE

"knowledge attained through study or practice,“

"knowledge covering general truths of the operation of general laws, esp. as obtained
and tested through scientific method [and] concerned with the physical world.“

(Webster Dictionary)

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SCIENCE
• Branch of knowledge or study dealing with a body of facts or truths systematically
arranged and showing the operation of general laws: the mathematical science
• Systemic knowledge of the physical or material world gained through observations
and experimentation
• Knowledge, as of facts or principles; knowledge gained by systematic study
• Skill, esp. reflecting a precise application of facts or principle; proficiency
• A continuing effort on the part of human being to discover and increase knowledge
through research.

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SCIENCE
• Branch of knowledge or study dealing with a body of facts or truths systematically
arranged and showing the operation of general laws: the mathematical science
• Systemic knowledge of the physical or material world gained through observations
and experimentation
• Knowledge, as of facts or principles; knowledge gained by systematic study
• Skill, esp. reflecting a precise application of facts or principle; proficiency
• A continuing effort on the part of human being to discover and increase knowledge
through research.

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SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

• systematic approach to increase the body of knowledge

• study of assumptions, foundation and its implications of science
• measures, quantify, prove, disprove, manipulation
• based on facts and figures
• MSc and PhD – training that improve your scientific research skills

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SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH TYPES

• Paradigm shift research

• Non- paradigm shift research – improvement research, applied research, proving
concept

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PARADIGMS

“the practices that define a scientific discipline at certain point in time.”

“paradigms are discrete and culturally based”

(Thomas Kuhn)

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PARADIGM SHIFT RESEARCH
• The result of scientists working at the fringe of the paradigm, performing research
that most other researchers feel is a little misguided, or a dead end.
• Significant advancement to body of knowledge.
• Mostly theoretical, ideology, difficult to prove
• In most instances, this view is correct but, every so often, a scientist has a revelation.
More often than not, they feel the weight of scientific and public opinion, and become
ridiculed.
• A certain amount of error is accepted, and it can be absorbed by slight changes in
the paradigm.

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PARADIGM SHIFT RESEARCH
• The basic and fundamental principles may be shown to have error and there is a
paradigm shift, a way of looking at the same information in a completely different
way.
• Ptolemy believed that the earth was at the center of the universe, and that the sun
and other planets revolved around it.
• Copernicus postulated that the sun was at the center of the solar system, which was
regarded as the center of the universe at that time.
• Fringe science beginning to build up evidence against a paradigm.
• Galileo, and the invention of the telescope, the model fell into place, and the first
fairly accurate model of the universe appeared.

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PARADIGM SHIFT RESEARCH

Does Ptolemy wrong then?

Is it bad science and irrational?

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PARADIGM SHIFT RESEARCH
• Ptolemy’s measurements were supremely accurate and were used for measuring the
motion of the planets until the time of Copernicus.
• His rigorous and meticulous approach was faultless, and he was a good empirical
scientist.
• Using the equipment he had available, with no telescopes and limited mathematics,
there was little wrong with his theory or methods.
• The paradigm shifted – Newton’s ideas and physics worked within a new paradigm
• Research has limitation – equipment, knowledge gap in other discipline, time
• Limitations lead to assumptions

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INTEGRAL OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
• Observe
• Reason
• Prove
• Conclude

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INTEGRAL OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
• Observe
• Reason
• Prove
• Conclude

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INDUCTIVE VS DEDUCTIVE REASONING
Inductive Reasoning
• process where a small observation is
used to infer a larger theory, without
necessarily proving it
• used to try to discover a new piece of
information
• Today, I left for work at eight o'clock,
and was on time. Therefore, every day
that I leave the house at eight o'clock, I
will arrive at work on time.
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Deductive Reasoning
• starts with a general principle and
deduces that it applies to a specific case
• used to try to prove it
• Every day, I get in my car to leave for
work, at eight o'clock. Every day, the
journey takes 45 minutes, and I arrive at
work on time. If I leave for work at eight
o'clock today, I will be on time.
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PROCESS OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

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DEDUCTIVE REASONING

“Every day, I get in my car to leave for work, at eight o'clock. Every day, the journey
takes 45 minutes, and I arrive at work on time. If I leave for work at eight o'clock today,
I will be on time.”

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DEDUCTIVE REASONING

“Every day, I get in my car to leave for work, at eight o'clock. Every day, the journey
takes 45 minutes, and I arrive at work on time. If I leave for work at eight o'clock today,
I will be on time.”
• Premise - Every day, I get in my car to leave for work, at eight o'clock. Every day,
the journey takes 45 minutes, and I arrive at work on time.
• Deduction - If I leave for work at eight o'clock today, I will be on time.
• Deduction statement is correct IF premise is correct

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‘TRUTH’ IN SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
Realism
• the acceptance that non-observable
phenomena actually exist
• quantum physicists believe that the
Large Hadron Collider will create micro-
black holes
Anti- Realism
• a theory should never be regarded as
truth
• science is full of theories that are
proved incorrect, and that the majority
of theories ultimately are rejected or
refined.

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‘TRUTH’ IN SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
• The slow accumulation of observations, and the testing of small hypotheses, in order
to construct a larger theory, is one way of avoiding potential problems with realism
and anti-realism.
• In theoretical physics, empirical data always takes priority over theory, avoiding the
worst of the debate
• The slow and patient research into the structure of the atom by J. J. Thomson,
Rutherford, and Bohr slowly built up proof for the existence of an electron. Even if
they could not directly see elementary particles, their proof has come to be accepted
as true.
• This is the attitude of most scientists; they try to ignore the debate and let the
philosophers decide the fine details about the nature of reality!
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PROVING ‘TRUTH’ IN RESEARCH – EMPIRICAL

• Theory is proven based on observation, experiments, experience

• Statistical data, pattern, behaviour
• Used widely in scientific research
• Stephen Hawking and Einstein, are not scientists. They generate sweeping and
elegant theories and mathematical models to describe the universe and the very
nature of time, but measure nothing.
• Example: CFD and FEA model/ Analytics engine

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PROVING ‘TRUTH’ IN RESEARCH – FALSIFICATION

• The belief that for any hypothesis to have credence, it must be inherently
disprovable before it can become accepted as a scientific hypothesis or theory.
• Prove otherwise wrong
• Used widely in paradigm shift research
• Not all research can be falsified such as anthropology, sociology where case studies
take precedence.
• Example: Newton’s gravity

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PROVING & REASONING

• Proving and reasoning need to come together

• Prove without reason, or reason without proof, will make people question the validity
of your work
• Main question in research: “how do I prove that my result is correct?”
• Use facts and figures – publish
• Neutral stand on argument – eliminate bias

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LOGIC PROOFS

• Premise – proof – conclude

• Premises – a list of statements or arguments
• Proof – a list of statements, usually beginning with the premises, in which each
statement that is not a premise must be true if the statements preceding it are true.

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PREMISE – PROOF – CONCLUDE

• Premise 1: All monkeys are primates.

• Premise 2: All primates are mammals.
• Premise 3: All mammals are vertebrate animals.
• Conclusions: Monkeys are vertebrate animals.

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IMAGINE A CIRCLE THAT CONTAINS ALL OF
HUMAN KNOWLEDGE

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BY THE TIME YOU FINISH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL,
YOU KNOW A LITTLE

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BY THE TIME YOU FINISH HIGH SCHOOL, YOU
KNOW A BIT MORE

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WITH A BACHELOR'S DEGREE, YOU GAIN A
SPECIALTY

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A MASTER'S DEGREE DEEPENS THAT SPECIALTY

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READING RESEARCH PAPERS TAKES YOU TO THE
EDGE OF HUMAN KNOWLEDGE

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ONCE YOU'RE AT THE BOUNDARY, YOU FOCUS

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YOU PUSH AT THE BOUNDARY FOR A FEW YEARS

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UNTIL ONE DAY, THE BOUNDARY GIVES WAY

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OF COURSE, THE WORLD LOOKS DIFFERENT TO
YOU NOW, DON'T FORGET THE BIGGER PICTURE

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SUMMARY

• Do scientific research, not just research

• Your research can be paradigm to you, not to others
• If you cannot prove your research is correct, prove the opposite is false
• Do extensive deductive and inductive reasoning
• Premise – prove – reason – conclude

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INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH DR MOHD ZULHILMI PAIZ B ISMADI

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