Research Methods

for

MSc Students

Scientific Inquiry

Objectives
At the end of this module, you will be able to:
Differentiate categories of research
Define scientific inquiry
Describe purposes (uses) of scientific inquiry
Describe characteristics of scientific inquiry
Describe fundamental principles of scientific inquiry
Describe fundamental assumption of scientific inquiry
Apply the concepts of scientific inquiry

Contents
Introduction
Scientific inquiry (definition)
Uses of scientific inquiry
Characteristics of scientific inquiry
Fundamental principles of scientific inquiry
Fundamental assumption of scientific inquiry

Introduction
Research is a quest for knowledge through diligent
search or investigation or experimentation aimed at the
discovery and interpretation of new knowledge.
Scientific research plays a very important role in our efforts
to maintain health and combating diseases (helps us
create new knowledge and develop proper tools).
Not only does it enable health care providers to diagnose
and treat diseases, research also provides evidence for
policies and decisions on health and development.

Introduction
The research process is the cornerstone for informed
and effective decision-making.
Its integral to countries efforts to improve the health
of their populations and the effectiveness of their
health systems, particularly during times of dramatic
epidemiological, demographic and economic
changes that profoundly affect health systems.
Research can have different categories based on
different approaches.
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Introduction
Philosophical approach:
a) Empirical research
) based upon observation and experience
b) Theoretical research
) based upon theory and abstraction
Health research mainly follows the empirical approach
Even in abstraction with mathematical models,
advances in understanding of disease occurrence and
causation cannot be made without a comparison of the
theoretical constructs with that which we actually
observe in populations.
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Introduction
Functional approach:
a) Basic (pure) research
) search for knowledge without a defined goal of utility or
specific purpose
) necessary to generate new knowledge and technologies
to deal with major unresolved health problems.
b) Applied research
) problem-oriented or directed towards the solution for an
existing problem. E.g. A research conducted to assess utilization
of bed net in malarious area
) necessary to identify priority problems and to design
and evaluate policies and programmes that will deliver
the greatest health benefits, making optimal use of
available resources.
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Introduction
There is continuing controversy over the relative
benefits and merits to society of basic and
applied research.
Some claim that science, which depends
greatly on society for its support, should
address itself directly to the solution of the
relevant problems of man.
Others argue that scientific inquiry is most
productive when freely undertaken, and that
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the greatest advances in science have
resulted

Introduction

It is generally recognized that there needs to be

a healthy balance between the two types of
research
More affluent and technologically advanced
societies able to support a greater proportion
of basic research than those with fewer
resources to spare.
Developing countries focus more on applied
research.
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Introduction
Health research triangle:
a) Biomedical research

deals primarily with basic research involving processes at the cellular

level

b) Health services research

deals with issues in the environment surrounding man, which

promote changes at the cellular level

c) Behavioral research

deals with the interaction of man and the environment in a manner

reflecting the beliefs, attitudes and practices of the individual in
society
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Scientific inquiry (definition)

Inquiry is the science, art and spirit of imagination.

Its formal and active exploration/investigation to determine the
facts of a case or cases using critical, logical and creative-thinking
skills
Scientific inquiry is a process by which scientist test, refine
and discover new ideas.
It is the process of questioning, asking what, why, how; and
searching for answers to these questions.
Its democratic thinking, allowing independence & freedom of
thought; encouraging disagreement & alternative explanations.
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Definition

Scientific inquiry usually involves:

Generating a question or problem to be solved
Choosing a course of action and carrying out the
procedures of the investigation
Gathering and recording the data through
observation and instrumentation to draw
appropriate conclusion
Through these process scientific ideas become
understood, then accepted or rejected.
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Definition

In general;
Scientific Inquiry begins with an understanding
of current contents of the knowledge.
It produces new contents of understanding.
Its is directed toward testing and choosing
from alternative theories.

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Purpose of scientific inquiry

Because scientists have discovered that nature has an inherent
and elegant order, the objective of scientific inquiry is to find
out and characterize these patterns.
The purpose of scientific inquiry includes:
Creating knowledge that clarifies a particular aspect of the world
Making connections with world situations
Encouraging more active problem solving approach to learn and think
Reviewing what is already known in light of experimental evidence
Proposing answers, explanations and predictions

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Steps in scientific inquiry

Natural
phenomenon

Pose Question
Hypothesis
(Plausible
explanation)
Design study or
experiment
( to test
hypothesis)

Hypothesis
incorrect

Collect, analyze
and interpret
data

Communicate

Draw
conclusions

Hypothesis
correct
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Characteristics of scientific inquiry

Objective
Observations, measurements, interpretations, and
conclusions should be free from any researchers bias,
prejudice, or preconception

Accurate

Scientists use instruments to make high quality

measurements

Controlled
Scientists seek to control the conditions of an
experiment.
Uses procedures (design or statistical modeling)
to
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Characteristics
Reproducible
Independent investigators confirm their accuracy
Cumulative
Most good experiments answer some questions,
yet point to new ones.
Tentative
Scientific inquiry is a continual process of
updating old knowledge and creating new
knowledge.
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Fundamental principles of
scientific inquiry
1) Order
It differs from common sense in arriving at
conclusions by employing an organized
observation of entities or events which are
classified or ordered on the basis of common
properties and behaviors.
It is this commonality of properties and behaviors
that allows predictions, which, carried to the
ultimate, become laws.
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Fundamental principles
2) Inference and chance
Reasoning or inference is the force of advances in research.
Inferential suppositions, presumptions or theories may be so
developed, through careful construction, as to pose testable
hypothesis.
The testing of hypothesis is the basic method of advancing
knowledge in science.
Two distinct approaches or arguments have evolved in the
development of inferences: deductive and inductive.

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Fundamental principles
a) Induction
) moves from specific to general it builds
) researchers make repeated observations and use this
evidence to generate theories to explain what they have
observed.
E.g. if a researcher made a number of observations in
different settings of women cooking dinner for their
husbands, then s/he may derive a general theory: All
women cook dinner for their husbands
conclusion is more likely to be valid if the premises are

true, i.e. there is a possibility that the premises may be

true but the conclusions false.
) suited to empirical research (e.g. health research)
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Fundamental principles
b) Deduction
moves from general to specific (top down approach)
starting with a theory (called hypothesis) and then
testing it by observation.
hypothesis is the provisional assumption
researchers make about the population or
phenomena they wish to study before starting with
observations.
) a good hypothesis must enable the researcher to
test it through a series of empirical observations.
E.g. All women will cook dinner for their husbands.
) allow researchers to check the consistency of the
hypothesis against their observations
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) suited to theoretical research

Fundamental principles
3) Evaluation of probability
) Probability is a measure of uncertainty or variability of the
characteristic among individuals in the population
If entire population is observed, the calculation of the relative
frequencies of the variables provides all the information about the
variability
If only a sample of individuals in the population is observed,
inference from the sample to the population will involve:
identification of the probabilities of the events being observed
identification of laws of probability that allow us to measure the
amount of uncertainty in our inferences
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Fundamental principles
4) Hypothesis testing
) Hypotheses are carefully constructed statements
about a phenomenon in the population
) We come closer to the truth by knocking down
existing hypotheses and replacing them with ones
of greater plausibility
) In health research, hypotheses are often
constructed and tested to identify causes of disease
and to explain the distribution of disease in
populations

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Fundamental assumption of
scientific inquiry
Life is not totally chaotic or random but has logical and

persistent patterns of regularity

This is labelled as positivism, a view of science and

knowledge.
All sciences are based on the fundamental assumption

that there exists a persistent pattern or regularity

in what is being studied.
Exceptions to regularity are insufficient to overthrow

this assumption because scientific inquiry is concerned

with the study of patterns rather than exceptions.
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Fundamental assumption...
Positivism is a philosophy that developed in the 18
century in a period known as the Enlightenment;
a time when scientists stopped relying on religion,
conjecture and faith to explain phenomena, and instead
began to use reason and rational thought.
This period saw the emergence of the view that it is
only by using scientific thinking and practices that we
can reveal the truth about the world.

Positivism assumes a stable observable reality that

can be measured and observed.
For positivists, scientific knowledge is proven
knowledge, and theories are therefore derived in a
systematic, rigorous way from observation and
experiment.
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Major pillars of scientific inquiry

1) Scientific theory
) In scientific terms, theory implies something that
has been proven and is generally accepted as
being true.
) Scientific theory is an explanation of a set of
related observations or events based upon proven
hypotheses and verified multiple times by an
independent groups of researchers.
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Scientific theory
The purpose of scientific theory
To drive research hypothesis
To plan a research
To explain generalization and patterns of
regularity
To predict phenomenon
To interpret the finding

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Scientific theory

Process of generating scientific theory

1) Specify the topic

The first step in theory verification

Literature review help for this purpose

2) Specify the assumption

Assumption are suppositions that are not yet

tested but considered as true

Researchers should test their assumption when

there is doubt
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Scientific theory
3) Specify the range of phenomenon
Specification of the scope of research
4) Specify the major concepts and variables
Concepts are mental image or perceptions
A variable is a concept that has more than
one measurable value

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Scientific theory
5) Specify proposition, hypothesis and
relationships
Proposition is a statement about one or
more concept or variable.
Hypothesis is an expected but yet
unconfirmed relationships between two or
more variables.
Specification of the interrelationship
between the variables is crucial.
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Scientific theory
6) Specify the theory
Specify the theory as applied to a particular
phenomenon under investigation based on
related concepts, assumptions, and a set of
interrelated propositions
Researchers use it as guide for their
activities

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Scientific theory
Relation between theory and research
There is an intimate connection between theory and

research
Theory provides guidance for research, research in turn

verifies theory
This interactive process between theory and research

contributes to the enrichment and development of

scientific theories
deductive process emphasizes theory as a guidance for
research
inductive process stresses research as impetus for theory
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Scientific theory
a) Deductive process
GENERAL
SPECIFIC
(A top down approach)

Theory
topic of interest

Hypothesis
to test

In deductive process,

hypotheses are derived

from existing theories to
provide guidance for further
research

Observations
that address
your hypothesis

Confirmation
Testing of Ho,
Reject or do not
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reject

Scientific theory
a) Inductive process
SPECIFIC
GENERAL
(A bottom up approach)
In the inductive process,

Development
of Theory

Hypothesis
formulation

existing theories are corroborated

or modified, and new theories are
developed from research findings.

The resulting, corroborated,

modified, or reconstructed

Detection of
regularities

Observations
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Scientific theory
Theory

Research

Valid and useful theory must have empirical

research implications
Theoretical considerations play the dominant role
in the formulation and interpretation of any data
Theories that do not have rich and varied set of
researchable implications are merely ways of
talking about reality; they do not involve
assertions about reality
Data without theory are dumb

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Scientific theory
Research

Theory

Valid and useful empirical research must be

motivated by theory and have theoretical
implications
The role of data are modification and clarification
of theories as well as decisions between
competing theories
Theories without data are blind
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Major pillars
2) Empiricism
) Is most critical characteristic of scientific inquiry
) is an evidence-based approach that relies on
direct observation and experimentation in the
acquisition of new knowledge
) Empirical evidence is the only means scientists
use to confirm, modify, or construct theories
) Whether a question can be studied scientifically
depends on whether it can be subjected to
verifiable observations

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Thank
You
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