Using the Scientific Method to Motivate Biology Students - Research Paper Example

Using the Scientific Method to Motivate Biology Students The Scientific Method is a set of standards that rules out methodological biases as much as possible so the truth of a hypothesis that explains human and natural phenomena could be ascertained (Mc Murtry, 2010) to the highest level of objective believability, reliability and validity (Zane, 2010). Though slight variations exists (Fulton & Sabatino, 2008; Windschitl, Thompson, & Braaten, 2008), the following are its basic steps: hypothesize, operationalize, measure, evaluate, and replicate/revise/report (Lakin, Giesler, Morris, & Vosmik Jr., 2007). Lankin et al. (2007) developed a mnemonic for the scientific method so students can easily remember it and this was HOMER; with each letter representing the steps. In the hypothesizing stage, the researcher observes a phenomenon, forms a question about it, obtains existing knowledge and forms a hypothesis. In the operationalizing stage, the “translation of conceptual variables into operational definitions” occur, choosing the types of data to be obtain, with a though reliability, validity and ethical considerations (Lankin et al., 2007). In the measuring stage, the researcher gathers data through experiment, a correlational study, ethnography or a descriptive research. In the evaluation stage, the data is analyzed. Statistical, internal and external validity are considered. In the last stage, the researcher makes conclusions and recommendations. The scientific knowledge has the following characteristics: testable, revisable, explanatory, conjectural, and generative (Windschitl et al., 2008). Giddings and Grant (2006) differentiated methods and methodology. Methods are concrete and practical tools used to collect and analyze data while methodology is more abstract, pertaining to “the theoretical assumptions and principles that underpin a particular research approach” (Giddings & Grant, 2006). The two further added that to describe methods and methodology, the terms quantitative and qualitative are used. Quantitative research is being perceived synonymously with positivism, or the traditional scientific world view (Giddings & Grant, 2006). Syemers (2008) said that it belongs to the paradigm of causality. He further added that here, an individual looks for “a distribution of variables and for explanations which can be of deductive-nomological kind or an inductive nature which employs statistical methods (Syemers, 2008). Giddings and Grant (2006) described quantative data as usually referring to numbers and statistics. Quantitative research is used when the data you need to obtain is numerical in nature that in order to statistical tools will be needed in order to interpret them. In cases where you also have to manipulate one of the variables of the study in the laboratory or clinical setting, this type of method is used, using the experimental design. For example, if you need to determine the effect of a particular drug on rats, then you need to control the settings. Two set-ups will be made, with all other variables equal except for the administration of the drug. One set of rats will receive the drug while the other will not. The first set is called the experimental group and the latter one the control group. The differences observed between the two set-ups will be the data that will be processed and analyzed. Qualitative research on the other hand is being associated with interpretivism, with qualitative data being usually composed of narratives and words (Giddings & Grant, 2006). There are various qualitative methods and these includes “case studies, participatory observation, interview, analysis of policy documents” (Syemer, 2008); and doing an ethnography (Drew, Hay, & White, 2009; Sangasubana, 2011). An example of a study that will use the qualitative method is one that is interested on human perceptions about certain social issues. Here, interviews can be conducted. If you want an in-depth discussion of the changes or adjustments that a migrant family did in order to keep up with their present society, then doing ethnography is a good choice. A combination of both quantitative and qualitative methods will result to a mixed method research, using both types of data. This method compensates the shortcomings of the other two. In complex social phenomena like family violence, the mixed method is best used (Giddings & Grant, 2006). When it comes to human service, doing qualitative research is an inherent part of the profession, said Goussinsky, Reshef, Yanay-Ventura Yassour Borochowitz (2011) because it “emphasizes the great and multifaced complexity of characterizing human experience and sociocultural context in which humans act”. They mentioned that qualitative methods such as interviewing, having diagnostic skills, understanding the complex human nature and the way they interact with each other will be specially helpful in the human services profession. This holistic view about human as an individual and as a social being is provided by the qualitative approach. An example of a research study using the qualitative approach was conducted by Crowley, Gano and Guston (2007). Their study was: “Shielding” the knowledge transfer process in human service research. In the hypothesizing stage, they were interested in the way research findings are effectively transmitted between diverse stakeholders, the consumers and producers; and how these transmitted knowledge are used to improve programmatic outcomes. For their theoretical framework, they used the engineering model “which focuses on the inevitability of science in advancing knowledge” and the socio-organizational model which highlights the “importance of communication between and among groups” (Crowley et al., 2007). In the operationalizing stage, they decided to “ask both producers and consumers about the degree of emphasis placed on interpersonal contacts and the ease of dissemination techniques between them” (Crowley et al., 2007). They asked for the qualities of the research process that make knowledge the most useful; the extent to which the participants value the concept was the data. In the measuring stage, or data gathering stage, they gathered data through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with thirty-four respondents. These are composed of research managers at the Department Health and Human Services and representatives from a particular set of consumer organizations. In the evaluation stage, the grouped analyzed their data using the two conceptual frameworks and they found out that the valued qualities in both parties signal convergence around a novel third approach which was the Shield model. This made the Crowley and company (2007) conclude that “aspects of the original two models reinforce a professional norm of objectivity that shelters the knowledge production and transmission process from external political pressures”. Lastly, they recommended that future research be made that will distinctly map out the knowledge transmission process, depending on specific internal and external characteristics of the exact dyads involved. BIBLIOGRAPHY Crowley, Jocelyn Elise, Gretchen L. Gano, and David Guston. "'Shielding' the knowledge transfer process in human service research." Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 17.1 (2007): 39+. Retrieved August 15, 2011, from Gale Power Search http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do? Drew, S., Hay, T., &White, J.(2009, May ) Ethnography versus case study: positioning research and researchers. .Qualitative Research Journal,(Vol. 9).  (1), pp. 18+ Retrieved August 15, 2011, from Gale Power Search http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do? Fulton, J. P., & Sabatino, L. (2008). Using the Scientific Method to Motivate Biology Students to Study Precalculus. Primus: Problems, Resources & Issues in Mathematics Undergraduate Studies, 18(1), 5-21. Retrieved August 15, 2011 from EBSCOhost  http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=33468362&site=ehost-live Giddings, L. S. &Grant, B. M.(2006, Oct. ) Mixed methods research for the novice researcher. .Contemporary Nurse,(Vol. 23).  (1), pp. 3 Retrieved August 15, 2011, from Gale Power Search http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do? Goussinsky, R., Reshef, A., Yanay-Ventura, G., &Yassour-Borochowitz, D. (2011) "Teaching qualitative research for human services students: a three-phase model." The Qualitative Report 16.1 (2011): 126+. Retrieved August 15, 2011, from Gale Power Search http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do? Lakin, J. L., Giesler, R., Morris, K. A., & Vosmik, J. R. (2007). Faculty Forum: HOMER as an Acronym for the Scientific Method. Teaching of Psychology, 34(2), 94-96. Retrieved August 15, 2011 from EBSCOhost  http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=25512018&site=ehost-live McMurtry, J. (2009). Rationality and Scientific Method: Paradigm Shift in an Age of Collapse.Interchange, 40(1), 69-91. doi:10.1007/s10780-008-9083-y Retrieved August 15, 2011 from EBSCOhost http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=36253262&site=ehost-live Smeyers, P. (2008). Qualitative and quantitative research methods: old wine in new bottles? On understanding and interpreting educational phenomena. Paedagogica Historica, 44(6), 691-705. Retrieved August 15, 2011 from EBSCOhost   http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=35656463&site=ehost-live Windschitl, M., Thompson, J., & Braaten, M. (2008). Beyond the scientific method: Model-based inquiry as a new paradigm of preference for school science investigations. Science Education, 92(5), 941-967. Retrieved August 15, 2011 from EBSCOhost http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=34095321&site=ehost-live Zane, T.(2010,Summer) How to stay true to our science: three principles to guide our behavior. .The Behavior Analyst Today,(Vol. 11).  (3), pp. 206 Retrieved August 15, 2011, from Gale Power Search http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do? Read More