The Scientific Method and Qualities of a Researcher
Qualities of a Researcher
Cognitive Attitude: The unknown assumes before expressing your interest to know.
Moral Attitude: It refers to the honesty and responsibility of the researcher with their work.
Objective Attitude: This refers to how the researcher approaches their work.
Computer Literacy: Possessing the necessary computer skills.
Perseverance: The ability to maintain effort and focus despite challenges.
Scientific Basics
- Murphy’s Law: Although there is only one possibility that something goes wrong, it no doubt will go wrong.
- Patrick’s Theorem: If your first experiment works, it is very likely you are using the wrong equipment.
- Skinner’s Constant: It is that which, when multiplied, divided, added to, or subtracted from the result, produces the calculated and expected result (also known as the Finnigan Factor).
- Horner’s Postulate: Experience varies proportionally with the broken equipment.
- Law of the Perversity of Inanimate Objects: Any inanimate object, regardless of its composition or configuration, can, at any time and in a totally unexpected way and for reasons that remain always dark and mysterious, act against our desires and projects.
- Allen’s Axiom: If all else fails, read the instructions.
- Principle of Small Parts: The probability of finding a piece that falls off the bench varies directly with its size and inversely with its importance to completing the work that we are doing.
- Compensation Corollary: It can be considered a success if every experiment provides 50% wrong results with reference to the developed theory.
- Gumperson’s Law: The probability of a certain event occurring is inversely proportional to the desire we have for it.
- The Principle of Orders: The materials needed for yesterday’s work must be ordered no later than tomorrow night.
- VIII of Scientific Principle: By definition, when investigating the unknown, we do not know in advance what we are going to find.
- Kettering’s Rule: If something does not work, it is for any reason other than the one we believe it does not.
- Gummidge’s Law: The experience of a researcher varies inversely with the number of words the public generally understands about the subject.
- Futility Factor: No experiment is a total failure. At least it can serve as a bad example.
- Andersson’s Eleventh Law: Never break the piece for which we have spares.
Another possible answer: Observation, comparison, the statement of a problem or hypothesis, experimentation or testing of the hypothesis, and the conclusion of a scientific fact that may or may not be refuted.
Definitions
Empirical: Knowledge based on experience.
Psychology: The science that studies behavior and states of consciousness.
Science: Knowledge of certain things by their principles and causes.
Target: Refers to something specific, a purpose, or a goal.
Subjective: What is said based on personal feelings and intuition.
Introspection: The first basic method of psychological study.
Extrospection: Impartial and independent observation of external factors.
Behavior: The course of action or behavior towards something.
Soul: The spiritual part of the body.
Mind: Intellectual potential.
Psyche: The human soul, intelligence.
Consciousness: The faculty of thinking.
Knowledge
Knowledge is the mental process that can obtain information, such as psychosis. It is associated with two basic forms of information processing by the brain:
- Analytical Thinking: It moves from particular facts to general truths.
- Intuitive Thinking: It is to capture an idea or truth without the support of reason.
Types of Knowledge
Regular Knowledge: Arising from observation, experience, imagination, and reflection, it is more informal and colloquial.
Scientific Knowledge: It consists of an orderly body of statements based on scientific methods.
Scientific Method
An organized system of data obtained from the confrontation of ideas and facts observed after an investigation. This method provides an empirical test that can be improved by any investigator.
Basic Steps in the Scientific Method:
- Observation and Data Collection
- Approaching a Problem
- Hypothesis and Experimentation
- Generalization and Conclusion
Characteristics of Scientific Knowledge:
- Not Absolutely True: Absolute accuracy is probably an unattainable goal for science.
- Not Infallible: Scientific knowledge can only be considered firm until empirical evidence suggests otherwise.
- Indispensable and Unpredictable: It is essential but its future course is rarely foreseeable.
- Verifiable: It must be testable, made public, and open to scrutiny.
- Positive: Scientific knowledge always provides something valuable.
- Not a Monopoly: Scientific knowledge is not the only type of knowledge.
- Ever-Evolving: It is old in its use but constantly being refined.
- Neutral: It gives power to the user but provides little information on who will use it or how.