ECEG 7901

Research Methods in
Engineering

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 Outline
I. THEORY ON RESEARCH METHODS
1. Research methods
2. Systems and Scientific Modelling
3. Scientific inquiry and methodology
4. Process in Research Proposal Development
5. The scientific research process – a more pragmatic approach
6. Planning research projects/activities
7. Presentation of Scientific Report (writing and speaking)
8. Management of R&D information and R&D forums
9. Intellectual Property Rights

II. PRACTICE ON RESEARCH METHODS

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Chapter 1: Research Methods
1.1. Introduction

1.2. Definitions of research

1.3. Research in science, humanities and art

1.4. Types of researches

1.5. Cutting edge R&D areas

1.6. Significance of research

1.7. Research methods and methodologies

1.8. Research and Scientific Method

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 1.1 Introduction
 Humans possess the vital instinct of inquisitiveness which
makes them probe and attain fuller understanding of the
unknown.

 This helps them harness and utilize the knowledge

acquired to improve the whole spectrum of quality of life.

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 Introduction …
Though there is a vast body of knowledge in almost every


discipline in the forms of

 literature,
 art,
 culture and even on the
 Internet (in electronic form)

humans still need much more knowledge and understanding to

overcome existing and emerging challenging problems in
society, business, technology, the environment, etc
Definitions of research
 The Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English lays
down the meaning of research as


“a careful investigation or inquiry specially through
search for new facts in any branch of knowledge.”

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Definitions of research . . .
 The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines research in
more detail as
"a studious inquiry or examination especially investigation
aimed at
 the discovery and interpretation of facts,
 revision of accepted theories or laws in light of new
facts/observations, or
 practical application of such new or revised theories or
laws"

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 Definitions of research . . .
Different other authors define a research in more or less
similar ways.
Magraz defines it as follows:
 “A research is an instrument or means used to enrich
knowledge, accelerate development, and enable
individuals and society solve problems in a coordinated
manner.”

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 Definitions of research . . .
D. Slesinger and M. Stephenson in the Encyclopedia of Social
Sciences define research as

“the manipulation of things, concepts or symbols for the

purpose of generalizing, to extend, correct or verify
knowledge, whether that knowledge aids in the
construction of theory or in the practice of an art.”

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 Definitions of research . . .
According to Clifford Woody, research comprises
 defining and redefining problems,
 formulating hypothesis or suggested solutions;
 collecting, organizing and evaluating data;
 making deductions and reaching conclusions; and at last
 carefully testing (validating) the conclusions to
determine whether they fit the formulating hypothesis.

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 Definitions of research . . .
 Research should be an original contribution to the
existing stock of knowledge making for its advancement.

 It is the pursuit of truth with the help of study,

observation, comparison and experiment.

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Research in science,
humanities and art
 Approaches to research depend on epistemologies,
which vary considerably both within and between
sciences, humanities and art.

 Epistemology, one branch of philosophy, is the theory

of knowledge, especially with regard to its methods,
validity, and scope.

 Next, we recall science, humanities and art

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 Research in science,
humanities and art . . .
 Science, is the intellectual and practical activity
encompassing the systematic study of the structure and
behaviour of the physical and natural world through
experiment, observation and logical argument.

 Social science is the scientific study of human society

and social relationships.
 Subjects within social science include psychology,
economics and politics.

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 Research in science,
humanities and art . . .
 Humanities is a study concerned with human culture,
especially literature, history, art, music, and philosophy.

 Note:
 culture is the customs, institutions, and achievements of a
particular nation, people, or group manifested in the form of arts,
and other intellectual abilities.
 custom: a traditional and widely accepted way of behaving or
doing something that is specific to a particular society, place, or
time/history.

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 Research in science,
humanities and art . . .
Art is
 the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to

aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of

more than ordinary significance.

 the expression or application of creative skill and

imagination, especially through a visual medium such as
artifacts (painting, drawings, sculpture, etc) as well as
performances (literature, poem, music, dance, etc).

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 Research in science,
humanities and art . . .
 Generally,
 the class of objects/or acts subject to aesthetic criteria;

 works of art collectively artifacts or performances and

 similar works produced by such skill and imagination is

also termed an art.

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 Research in science,
humanities and art . . .
 Subjects of study primarily concerned with human
creativity and social life (as contrasted with scientific or
technical subjects) are also termed arts.

 An artist is one, such as a painter, sculptor, writer, or

performer who is able by virtue of imagination and
talent or skill to create works of aesthetic value,
especially in the fine arts.
 Research in science,
humanities and art . . .
It can be perceived easily that there is no clear boundary
between humanities, art and social science.

We can also accordingly say that there are three general

forms of researches:
 Research in science
 Research in the humanities
 Research in the arts

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 Research in science
 relies on the application of the scientific method/principles
(i.e. empirical activities involving experimentation, observational study and
logical argument/ reasoning).

 provides scientific information and theories for the explanation of

the nature and properties of the world.

 Its findings thus obtained usually have universal significance

 can be subdivided into different classifications according to their

academic and application disciplines.

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 Research in science . . .
 “Research in science is an orderly/structured process of
exploration through experimentation and observation on
natural and social phenomenon that is carried out

 to discover and/or interpret new scientific facts,

 verify/nullify an already established empirical or theoretical

knowledge

 and/or utilize the new or revised theories or laws for practical

application

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 Research in the humanities
 Humanities scholars usually do not search for the ultimate correct
answer to a question, but instead explore the issues and details
that surround it.

 Context is always important which can be social, historical, political,

cultural or ethnic.

 Involves different methods such as for example

 hermeneutics (concerned with interpretation) and

 semiotics (the study of signs and symbols and their use or

interpretation), and

a different, more relativist epistemology.
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 Research in the humanities …
 An example of research in the humanities is historical
research, which is embodied in historical method.

 Historians use
 primary sources (monuments, archeological findings,..) and
 secondary sources (books, literature, etc) and other evidence

to systematically investigate a topic, and then to write

histories in the form of accounts of the past.

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 Research in the arts
 can take form when creative works are considered both the
research and the object of research itself

 also seen as 'practice-based research‘

 It is the debatable body of thought which offers an alternative to

purely scientific methods in research in its search for knowledge
and truth.

 may usually utilize methods such as intuition and heuristics (which

are also used in science when we have no or insufficient
theories/principles to explain certain phenomenon).
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 Interrelationship of science,
humanities and art
 Economics

Political science

Entrepreneurship

Science/ Humanities
engineerin
g Philosophy
(mother of
all
knowledge)

Art

Architecture Business History

 For instance architecture has not only science/engineering and art

elements but also humanities.
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 Broad grouping of researches
Though each research study has its own specific purpose, we may think of
research objectives as falling into a number of following broad groupings:
exploratory or formulative research studies: used to gain familiarity

with a phenomenon or to achieve new insights into it

descriptive research studies : used to portray accurately the

characteristics of a particular entity (individual, situation or a group)

experimental (hypothesis-testing ) research studies : used to test a

hypothesis of a causal relationship between variables

diagnostic research studies: used to determine the frequency with which

something occurs or with which it is associated with something else
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 Types of researches
Based on the purpose, methodology and/or discipline researches may
be classified in a number of different independent ways as follows:
 Basic/applied research
 Experimental (empirical)/ conceptual research
 Descriptive (exploratory) research
 Quantitative/qualitative research
 Analytic/synthetic research
 Primary/Secondary research
 Miscellaneous
 Historical

 Conclusion-oriented research

 Decision-oriented research

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 Basic research
 Is also called pure research or fundamental research.

 Its main objective is to generate or formulate theoretical and scientific laws of

nature.

 That is, is concerned with generalizations and with the formulation of a

theory.

 Is directed towards finding information that has a broad base of

applications and,

 Adds to the already existing organized body of scientific knowledge.

 Is also termed “Gathering knowledge for knowledge’s sake.

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 Basic research . . .
 The primary purposes of basic research are
 discovery,
 interpretation,
 documentation, or
 the research and development of methods and systems
for the advancement of human knowledge.
 Examples of basic research
 Research concerning some natural phenomenon (physics,
biology, chemistry, etc) or relating to pure mathematics
 studies, concerning human behaviour carried out with a view to
make generalizations about human behaviour (psychology)

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 Basic research . . .
 A basic research is mainly done in an experimental laboratories (or in
fields) and under strictly controlled situations.

 Doing basic research is usually expensive as

 it may use very accurate and sophisticated instrumentation and
 its output may not be utilized immediately.

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 Applied research
 Aims at finding an immediate solution for pressing practical
problem facing an industrial/business organization or a society.

 Is carried out to identify problems for which it seeks solutions on such

practical areas as engineering, health, education, agriculture, etc.

 Also identifies social, socio economic or political trends that may

affect a particular institution or the marketing research.

 As its return may be immediately observed, it may be said that it is

relatively cheaper (than that of basic research)
 One may find sponsorship for such research

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 Applied research . . .
 Basic researches and applied researches are related, support each
other and not totally complimentary.

 Findings of basic researches may be practically utilized in applied

researches in describing and interpreting the real causes or
problems and propose possible means of solutions.

 For example, the discovery of the atomic energy release principles

by Albert Einstein in physics could be used to research, design
and develop a nuclear power plant that generates electricity.

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 Experimental/empirical
research
 Is used to test a hypothesis of a causal relationship between
variables using an empirical method of exploration, observation,
interpreting (logical reasoning), testing and formulation.

 Empirical research relies on experience or observation alone, often

without due regard for system and theory.

 It is data-based research, coming up with conclusions which are

capable of being verified by observation or experiment.

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Experimental/empirical
research . . .
 In such a research it is necessary to get at facts firsthand , at their
source, and actively to go about doing certain things to stimulate the
production of desired information.

 The researcher must first provide himself with a working hypothesis or

guess as to the probable results.

 He then works to get enough facts (data) to prove or disprove his

hypothesis.

 He then sets up experimental designs which he thinks will manipulate

the persons or the materials concerned so as to bring forth the desired
information.

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 Experimental/empirical
research . . .
 Characterized by the experimenter’s control over the variables under study
and his deliberate manipulation of one of them to study its effects.

 Is appropriate when proof is sought that certain variables affect other

variables in some way.

 Evidence gathered through experiments or empirical studies is today considered to

be the most powerful support possible for a given hypothesis.

 Designing of the experiment is one challenging task.

 Experiment may employ physical setups and/or simulations representing

either the entire real world system or its scaled-down pilot sample.

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 Conceptual research
 Conceptual research is that related to some abstract idea (s) or
theory.

 It is generally used by philosophers and thinkers to develop new

concepts or to reinterpret existing ones.

 Mainly involves logical reasoning and may apply pre-established

theorems and axioms in the process of finding/ generating and
proofing a solution to a problem.

e.g. mathematics, statistics, philosophy

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 Descriptive research
 This method gives description of phenomenon that has taken place in
certain time, place and situation.

 The major purpose of descriptive research is description of the state

of affairs as it exists at present.

 That is, it is mainly used to portray accurately the characteristics of

a particular entity (individual, situation or a group).

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 Descriptive research …
 The main characteristic of this method is that the researcher has no
control over (manipulate) the variables.

 He can only (measure and) report/describe what has happened or what

is happening.

 For instance, in market research, the researcher seeks to measure such

items as frequency of shopping, preferences of people, or similar data
which he will then use to describe about the market characteristics.

 May also include attempts by researchers to discover causes even

when they cannot control the variables.

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Descriptive research …
 The methods of research utilized in descriptive research are survey
methods of all kinds including surveys and fact-finding enquiries of
different kinds, comparative and correlational methods.

 That is, it may further be subdivided into three sub classes:

 survey study,
 case study,
 comparative and
 Correlational
 a. Survey study
 As the name implies this study does not go into the depth of the
issue (problem & solution) but only in shallow.

 It generates useful preliminary findings on the problems and

possible means of solutions

 The result may then be utilized as hints for full researches that
intend to go to deep and broad researches.
 b. Case study
 In this method problems and means of solutions are studied in depth
but for a narrow scope of the problem and coverage at hand.

 Problems may be studied in an individual basis or in group basis.

Example: 1. Energy efficiency status of the Mugher Cement factory

 Here, though “energy” is a broad generic term which may be of
electrical, thermal, chemical or mechanical.
 Mugher Cement factory is a case in point, say, among other cement
factories or even other industries.
 c. Comparative study
 It is used to identify better or best means/solution under certain conditions
among existing ones by comparative analysis method.

 Example: which electricity energy supply method is the most feasible for
Ethiopia?
Electricity from hydropower, diesel generator, nuclear power plant, wind
energy, photovoltaic?

 Analysis criterion may be based on:

 economical considerations,
 environmental friendliness,
 technologically,
 need of skilled man power,
 Resource requirement (water, diesel oil, nuclear fuel, …)
 Space requirement
 d. Correlational
 It is used to explore and study if there are some correlation among
two or more variables in order to gain greater situational insight.
 For instance, we may wish to know
 if there is a relationship between sex and choice of field of study;
 if criminal behavior is related to social class background;
 The purpose of correlational studies is not to establish cause-effect
relationship among variables
 but to determine whether the variables under study have some kind of
association or not.
 Variables being studied may have positive or negative relationship or they
may not have relationship at all.
 Quantitative research
 Quantitative research is based on the measurement of quantity or amount.

 It is applicable to phenomena that can be expressed in terms of quantity.

 Involves the generation of data in quantitative form which can be subjected to

rigorous quantitative analysis in a formal and rigid fashion.

 This approach can be further sub-classified into

 inferential,
 experimental and
 simulation approaches to research.
 Inferential approach
 Its purpose in research is to form a data base from which to infer
characteristics or relationships of population.

 This usually means survey research where a sample of population is

studied (questioned or observed) to determine its characteristics.

 It is then inferred that the population has the same characteristics.

 Experimental approach
 Experimental approach is characterized by much greater control over
the research environment

 In this case some variables are manipulated to observe their effect on

other variables.
 Simulation approach
 Involves the construction of an artificial environment within which relevant
information and data can be generated.

 This permits an observation of the dynamic behaviour of a system (or its

sub-system) under controlled conditions.

 The term ‘simulation’ in the context of business and social sciences applications
refers to “the operation of a numerical model that represents the structure of
a dynamic process”.

 Given the values of initial conditions, parameters and exogenous variables, a

simulation is run to represent the behaviour of the process over time.
 The qualitative approach
 This approach to research is concerned with subjective assessment
of attitudes, opinions and behaviour as well as trends, patterns etc.

 Research in such a situation is a function of researcher’s insights

and impressions.

 Generates results either in non-quantitative form or in the form

which are not subjected to rigorous quantitative analysis.

 Generally, the techniques of focus group interviews, projective

techniques and depth interviews are used.

 Analytic research
 In this type of research, it is supposed that a system is given/known
but the problem may be to determine/understand
 either the outputs given a set of inputs or
 the possible inputs for a specified set of given outputs.

 Ideally unique or very near/identical solutions exist for this type of

problem.

 May employ one or more pre-established principles/ theories or use

empirical methods.
 Synthetic research
 In this type of research, it is supposed that the set of inputs and a specified set of
outputs are known.

 The problem then is to determine/model the system itself.

 That is we synthesize or more specifically “design” the system that satisfies the
input-output relations.

 It should be noted that there may be many alternative (non-unique) systems that can
satisfy the problem.

 Designing the best system, from the points of views/criterions of such as simplicity, cost
effectiveness, reliability, accuracy, efficiency etc will then be the guiding principles.
 Historical (method) of
research
 Historical research is that which utilizes historical sources like
documents, remains, etc. to study events or ideas of the past.

 May include the philosophy of persons and groups at any remote point
of time.

 In general in this method past phenomenon are studied in an

orderly manner.

 Contextual example: The rain fall magnitude and water level of the
Awash II hydro power station for the past 30 years.
 Cutting edge R&D areas
 Cutting edge R&D areas in science and engineering nowadays can be
said to be at three frontiers:

 Material science (nano-science and technology)

 Micro and nano-electronics

 Biotechnology (bionanotechnology,…, genetic engineering

[cloning, stem cells, ])
 Example from wikipedia
 The College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE), on the campus
of the University at Albany is a global education, research, development
and technology deployment resource for students and researchers in
nanotechnology.

 Since its inception in 2004, CNSE has gained worldwide recognition as a leader
and pioneer in nanotechnology education, innovation, and economic
outreach and investment.

 CNSE began as a combined vision of government, academia, and industry.

 The common goal was to propel New York to a leadership position in technology
and economic development.
 Example from wikipedia . . .
 Four key drivers comprised the strategy of CNSE :

i. select an overarching discipline (nanotechnology);

ii. invest in state-of-the-art infrastructure;

iii. focus on world-class, hands-on education and training

incorporating the entire supply chain; and

iv. leverage public-private partnerships.

 Cutting edge R&D areas
 The traditional departmental structure at CNSE is tailored into constellation
"think-tanks" that encourage and stimulate cross-disciplinary educational
curricula and research programs.

 There are four such think-tanks:

 Nanoscience
 Nanoengineering
 Nanobioscience
 Nanoeconomics
 Nanoscience :
 refers to the observation, identification, description, discovery, experimental
investigation, and theoretical interpretation of nanoscale phenomena.

 Is also an area in which the overlap/convergence of biological, opto-

electronic and other physical phenomenon can be studied

 Example: minute biological agents (various membranes) having electrical and

optical phenomenon may be utilized in electricity (such as PV) and electronics .
 Nanoengineering :
 is the application of nano-science principles to practical ends, such as the design,
manufacture, and operation of efficient and functional structures, machines, processes, and
systems on the atomic scale.
 Example:
 Material science/tech: nano tubes having excellent mechanical characteristics but at reduced size,
cost, etc and increased aesthetics etc are being/proposed to be produced

 Nano electronics: to send one word from Eth to USA over the Internet via the traditional
electrical/electronic circuitry requires electrical energy to illuminate a 40W lamp for about 10 hours!

 If we could replace the traditional electronic circuit with complete optonics or optoelectronics, the
required energy can tremendously reduce)
 MEMs/NEMs (Micro/Nano Electro Mechanical sensors)
 Nanobioscience :
 refers to the application of nanoscale scientific concepts and principles to the study
of biological and biomedical structures and systems.
 Example:
 genetic engineering & biotechnology: (cross breeding, cloning, stemcell transplanting)

 Medicine: may be of chemical based; hormone based and/or equipment based

diagnostic & therapeutic procedures such as nuclear and other radiation techniques.

 Nowadays being proposed are peels containing sufficient no. of highly miniaturized (to
order of a bio-cell size) programmed electronic devices with missions of detecting and
fighting particular disease in the blood but not other blood vital cells.
Nanoeconomics :
 is the formulation, study, and analysis of the economic and business principles
underlying the development and deployment of nanoscale know-how,
products, and systems - entrepreneurship.
 Significance of research
 Research inculcates scientific and inductive thinking and it promotes
the development of logical habits of thinking and organization.

 Research provides the basis for nearly all government policies in

the economic system.

 Research has its special significance in solving various operational and

planning problems of business and industry.

 Research is equally important for social scientists in studying social

relationships and in seeking answers to various social problems.
 Motivation of research
Possible motives of individuals or groups for doing research may be
either one or more of the following:

 To professionals in research methodology, research may mean a source of

livelihood;
 Desire to get a research degree along with its consequential benefits;
 To philosophers and thinkers, research may mean the outlet for new ideas and
insights;
 Desire to face the challenge in solving the unsolved problems, i.e., concern over
practical problems initiates research;
 Desire to get intellectual joy of doing some creative work;
 Desire to be of service to society;
 Desire to get respectability.
 etc
List of countries by R&D spending
Funding for R&D by public and governmental agencies is one measurement

 
of a Country
country’s economic development
Expenditures on R&D and technological
 % of GDP Year
advancement.
(billions of US$)
1  United States 405.3 2.7% 2011
2  China 153.7 1.4% 2011
3  Japan 144.1 3.3% 2011
4  Germany 69.5 2.3% 2011
5  France 42.2 1.9% 2011
6  India 36.1 0.9% 2011
7  Russia 23.1 1.0% 2011
8  Brazil 19.4 0.9% 2011
9  Israel 9.4 4.2% 2011
10  Iran 6.2 0.7% 2010
11  South Africa 3.7 0.7% 2011
12  Egypt 0.91 0.23% 2007
13  Sudan 0.18 0.23% 2007
14  Uganda 0.13 0.39% 2007
15  Ethiopia 0.1 0.17% 2007
 Research Methods versus
Methodology
 There are differences between research methods and
research methodology.  

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 Research Methods/techniques
 Research methods may be understood as all those methods/techniques
that are used for the conduction of research.

 That is, researchers use them in performing research operations.

 At times, a distinction is also made between research techniques and

research methods.

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 Research Methods
 Research techniques refer to the behaviour and instruments we use in
performing research operations such as making observations, recording
data, techniques of processing data and the like.

 Research methods refer to the behaviour and instruments used in selecting

and constructing research technique.

 It is the methods that generate techniques.

 However, in practice, the two terms are taken as interchangeable and when we
talk of research methods we do, by implication, include research techniques.
Example:
Type Method Technique
Laboratory Research Small group study of Use of audio-visual recording
random behaviour, play and devices, use of observers, etc.
role analysis
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 Research Methods …
 The object of research is to arrive at a solution for a given problem.

 The available data and the unknown aspects of the problem have to be related to
each other to make a solution possible.

 Keeping this in view, research methods can be put into three groups: 
 Collection of data
 Statistical/analytical techniques
 Evaluate the (validity and) accuracy of the results

 Research methods falling in the above stated last two groups are generally taken
as the analytical tools of research.

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 Research Methods …
 Collection of data
 these methods will be used where the data already available are not sufficient to arrive
at the required solution;
 May involve appropriate experimental setup and/or a simulation of a sound
model/system to generate data (to justify a proposed hypothesis)

 Statistical/analytical techniques:
 used for establishing relationships between the data and the unknowns;
 May be analytical, numerical, statistical or empirical techniques and/or qualitative
analysis techniques

 Evaluate the (validity and) accuracy of the results

 Compare the result of the proposed hypothesis with that of the null hypothesis (pre-
established knowledge/truth) based on a set criterion.

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 Research Methods …
 The selection of the research method is crucial for what conclusions you can
make about a phenomenon.

 It affects what you can say about the cause and factors influencing the
phenomenon.

 It is also important to choose a research method which is within the

limits/scope of what the researcher can do.

 Time, money, feasibility, ethics and availability to measure the phenomenon

correctly are examples of issues constraining the research.

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 Research methodology
 Research methodology is a way to systematically solve the research
problem.

 It may be understood as a science of studying how research is done

scientifically.

 In it we study the various steps that are generally adopted by a researcher

in studying his research problem along with the logic behind them.

 Thus, it is necessary for the researcher to know not only the research
methods/techniques but also the methodology.

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 Research methodology . . .
 Researchers not only need to know how to develop certain indices or tests, how to
calculate the mean, the standard deviation or chi-square, how to apply particular
research techniques;

 They also need to know

 which of these methods or techniques are relevant,
 which are not,
 what would they mean and indicate
 and why.
 
 Researchers also need to understand the assumptions underlying
various techniques and

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 Research methodology. . .
 Researchers need to know the criteria by which they can decide certain
techniques and procedures will be applicable to certain problems and others
will not.
 
 All this means that it is necessary for the researcher to design his methodology for his
problem as the same may differ from problem to problem.

 Research methodology has many dimensions and research methods do

constitute a part of the research methodology.

 The scope of research methodology is wider than that of research methods.

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 Research methodology. . .
 Thus, when we talk of research methodology we not only talk of the
research methods but also consider the logic behind the methods

 we use in the context of our research study and

 explain why we are using a particular method or technique and

 why we are not using others

 understand the assumptions underlying various techniques

so that research results are capable of being evaluated either by the

researcher himself or by others.

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 Research methodology. . .
 Answers for the following questions:
 Why a research study has been undertaken,
 how the research problem has been defined,
 in what way and why the hypothesis has been formulated,
 what data have been collected and what particular method has
been adopted,
 why particular technique of analyzing data has been used and a
host of similar other questions are usually answered when we talk
of research methodology concerning a research problem or study. 

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 Research and Scientific Method
 The two terms, research and scientific method, are closely related.

 The philosophy common to all research methods, although they may

vary considerably from one science to another, is usually given the name
of scientific method.

 In this context, Karl Pearson writes,

 “The scientific method is one and same in the branches (of science)
 and that method is the method of all logically trained minds …
 the unity of all sciences consists alone in its methods, not its material;
 the man who classifies facts of any kind whatever, who sees their mutual
relation and describes their sequences, is applying the Scientific Method and
is a man of science.”

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Research and Scientific Method…
 The ideal of science is to achieve a systematic interrelation of facts.

 Scientific method attempts to achieve this ideal by

 experimentation,
 observation,
 logical arguments from accepted postulates and
 a combination of these three in varying proportions.

 Experimentation is done to test hypotheses and to discover new

relationships, if any, among variables.

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Research and Scientific Method…
 But the conclusions drawn on the basis of experimental data are generally
criticized for either

 faulty assumptions,

 poorly designed experiments,

 badly executed experiments and/or

 faulty interpretations.

 As such the researcher must pay all possible attention while developing
the experimental design and must state only probable inferences.

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Research and Scientific Method…
The scientific method is, thus, based on certain basic postulates which
can be stated as under:
1. It relies on empirical evidence;
2. It utilizes relevant concepts and principles;
3. It is committed to only objective considerations;
4. It presupposes ethical neutrality, i.e., it aims at nothing but making
only adequate and correct statements about population objects;
5. It results into probabilistic predictions;
6. Its methodology is made known to all concerned for critical scrutiny
and for use in testing the conclusions through replication;
7. It aims at formulating most general axioms or what can be termed
as scientific theories.
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Research and Scientific Method…
 Thus, the scientific method encourages a rigorous, impersonal mode of
procedure dictated by the demands of logic and objective procedure.

 Accordingly, scientific method implies an objective, logical and

systematic method, i.e.,

 a method free from personal bias or prejudice,

 a method to ascertain demonstrable qualities of a phenomenon capable of
being verified,
 a method wherein the researcher is guided by the rules of logical
reasoning,
 a method wherein the investigation proceeds in an orderly manner and
 a method that implies internal consistency.

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