The Process of Scientific Inquiry - Coursework Example

The Process of Scientific Inquiry Question 1: According to the text, scientific inquiry follows a cyclical process that begins with a question and ends with asking a new question(s). Explain the process of scientific inquiry by describing each of the steps involved Answer: One of the lectures from Marietta College stated that scientific inquiry involves the activities of making relevant observations about a certain thing then posing questions regarding it so that its validity can be ensured. If more questions are raised for a specific thing then more evidence will be researched to satisfy those queries. Scientific inquiry can be considered as a cyclic process; experiment observations and results might provide new conclusions, which give way to new hypothesis. Then, these new hypothesis will be verified on the basis new experimentation and evidence. There are different notions regarding the number of steps involved in the process of scientific inquiry. According to Bardach (2000); there are eight steps namely; theory, hypothesis, conceptualization, choice of research method, population and sampling, observation, data processing and analysis. Bardach (2000) further stated that in the first step; a theory needs to be selected on the basis of which the hypothesis will be chosen later. A set of hypothesis will be developed to guide the direction of the research. Then, in the third step of conceptualization, the variables of the research need to be defined. After the identification of the variables, it needs to be determined how the concepts and variables will actually be measured to produce results for the hypothesis. In the fifth step, the research methods need to be identified which shall be adapted to pursue the inquiry. The next step is very important as it involves the choice of the sample that will represent the entire population and results will be produced on the basis of these samples. The seventh step is the process of actually collecting the data and the eighth step is to transform the data into an appropriate form for analysis. Question 2: Discuss the characteristics of a good research hypothesis. What distinguishes a null hypothesis from a research hypothesis? How would you explain the difference between non-directional research and directional research hypothesis? Answer: Mueller (2010) stated that a good hypothesis should be considered as one’s assumption of why and how something happens. It should be simple and concise. The hypothesis should portray the real purpose of the inquiry and thus the research. A good hypothesis possesses clearly defined words; there should be no ambiguous words in the statement. Lastly, the most important characteristic of a good hypothesis is that it should be testable. If the statement cannot be tested then it cannot work as a hypothesis. A testable hypothesis gives a clear direction to the research. All Psych Online (2004) explained that a hypothesis gives us the opportunity to determine if our research is correct or not. Every study involves basically two hypotheses; research hypothesis is to find any possible difference between two groups and null hypothesis assumes that there is no difference between them. The thing that distinguishes null hypothesis from a research hypothesis is that null hypothesis states that there is no relationship between two variables (Ho). Sharma described another type of hypothesis in her article which is alternative hypothesis; this hypothesis is established on the basis of prior literature or studies. This hypothesis is used when the null hypothesis is rejected. There are two types of alternative hypothesis; directional hypothesis and non-directional hypothesis. Directional hypothesis predicts the direction of the findings of the research; it is usually used to find the relation between two groups rather than to compare them. It is also called a one tail hypothesis. Holah (2006) described non-directional hypothesis; it is used to predict the difference between variables, no specific direction of the expected findings is determined in this hypothesis. It is called a two tailed hypothesis. Question 3: When critically reviewing a research article, what are some basic questions a researcher will want to ask in order to determine the quality of the article? Explain why each of these questions explores the quality of the article? Answer: To critically review someone’s work requires skills and experience. It takes one sometime to gain expertise in this regard and be able to review an article for its quality. However, there are some basic factors that are expected from a good quality article [7]. Uni Learning (2000) explained that the foremost question that should be asked by the reviewer is regarding the author and the source where it has been published; what is the author’s background in this area of knowledge and where has this paper been published. If it has been published at some authentic and known source, then one can be assured that the respective research should not be considered futile. Uni Learning (2000) further explained that it should be noticed if the author is consistent in stating his ideas and does not write any contradicting statements. A good author will always give credit to the respective authors when their work is quoted in the article. A good article or paper will give good reasoning to support ideas and presents valid arguments when disagrees with some past work. The paper has an added value if the referenced work is recent and not outdated. One of the lectures at Dallas TeleCollege (2009) stated that assumptions are an important part of any paper or article. It should be reviewed if the author has mentioned any assumptions that were considered during the research. The reviewer should sense the tone of the author; if the paper has been written in a biased tone and if the author presents his arguments with good reasoning. Another important factor to judge the quality of a good paper is to judge if the charts, figures and data is relevant to the research hypothesis. Question 4: According to the text, what are the basic principles of ethical research? Explain why it is important to adhere to these principles? Answer: There are several principles of ethical research which are expected to be followed by researchers. The foremost principle that should be followed is that the consent of the participants should be present throughout the research. The participants should be given information regarding the researchers i.e. his name and contact information and the sponsor of the research. The participant should be informed about the basics of the research, it is not necessary to disclose the hypothesis of the research to the participant but he should have knowledge about the purpose of the research. The participants in the research should be informed about any risks that might be involved or any effects that might be the result of their participation. One of the lectures at Colorado College (2008) stated that the confidentiality and privacy of the data collected from the subjects should be given top priority and this assurance should be communicated to the subjects regularly. The researcher should decide what he will do with the data after the research is completed; if he will destroy the data or save it for future use. In either case, the participants should be informed and their consent should be involved in the actions. If it is saved for future use then the purpose of the future use should also be communicated to the subject. Another relevant principle mentioned in the lecture is that any work that is quoted or mentioned in the article should be cited in the correct manner and credit should be given to the respective authors. Question 5: What are the differences between a Thurstone and Likert scale? Under what conditions is the one to be preferred above the other? Answer: Trochim (2006a) stated that a Likert scale is most commonly used in questionnaires. The subject gives his level and strength of agreement to a statement in the Likert scale questionnaire. This scale is to quantify the degree of preferences, attitudes, and subjective reactions. Usually 5 ordered response levels are utilized which are of the following format: Strongly disagree Disagree Neither disagree nor agree Agree Strongly Agree The feedback from the respondents can be interpreted as in terms of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, on the basis of the above mentioned scale of agreement. Trochim, M., K., (2006b) explained that thurstone scale is used for statements that are to be responded by the subject in terms of agreement or disagreement. Unlike Likert, there are only two options to choose from; which are Agree Disagree Likert scale gives a better answer since it gives the subject more options to choose from and thus explain his level of agreement in a better manner. Some people might not a strong opinion about something; Likert scale provides an option to cater to such a situation. It has a neutral point in the options which is “Neither agree nor disagree”, this can be chosen by the people who don’t have knowledge about the questions or don’t have a strong opinion about the matter. Question 6: What are the factors that help distinguish a good questionnaire? What are the important points to remember about each of these factors? Answer: Marketing research and information state in one of their articles that the foremost characteristic about a good questionnaire is that it should serve the research objectives as much as possible. It should be to collect complete and accurate information from the subjects. The questionnaire should be framed in such a way that it makes the subjects understand the questions without any difficulty. It should not provide any opportunity to the subject to give incorrect information to the interviewer or hide his preference level. On the other hand, in most situations the questions should not be open ended thereby giving the participant the opportunity to enter any answer. It is easier to interpret the results of closed ended questions rather than open ended questions. One of the qualities of a good questionnaire is that it keeps the questions brief and interesting, coupled with vocabulary which the participant would be able to comprehend. This will keep the respondent interested throughout the interview or survey. The article further explains that good questionnaires follow a certain flow of questions i.e. they should be organized in a consistent manner. Questions that are related to one matter should be grouped together so that the participant is not discomforted by the constant shift from topic to the other. The layout of the questionnaire has a great impact on the quality and quantity of data collected from the subjects. Therefore a good questionnaire is always formatted in an organized and clear manner to facilitate the subject to answer the questions correctly and quickly. Reference Marietta College, Scientific Methodology, http://www.marietta.edu/~biol/introlab/Scientific%20method.pdf Bardach, E., (2000), Eight Steps to Scientific Inquiry, http://74.125.153.132/search?q=cache:ik912onIkVAJ:jpkc.ecnu.edu.cn/ggzcgl/lunwenzuoye/xueweizhengce.doc+Eight+Steps+to+Scientific+Inquiry&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=pk Mueller, A., (2010), How to Write a Good Hypothesis http://www.ehow.com/how_4450414_write-good-hypothesis.html All Psych Online, (2004), Research Methods, http://allpsych.com/researchmethods/developingthehypothesis.html Sharma, M., Battina, S., Developing Hypotheses and Questions, Arizona State University http://www.public.asu.edu/~kroel/coursesb/coursesa/www500/HYPOTHESIS%20Fri.pdf Holah, M., (2006), Directional Hypothesis, Psych Exchange, http://www.psychexchange.co.uk/glossary/directional-hypothesis-343/ Dallas TeleCollege, (2009), Questions for Critical Reading, http://ollie.dcccd.edu/services/studyhelp/studyskills/sub/rdgcri.htm Uni Learning, (2000), Critical Reading Checklist, http://unilearning.uow.edu.au/reading/2b.html Colorado College, (2008), Principles of Ethical Research, http://www.coloradocollege.edu/dean/oir/irb/ethicalresearch.htm Marketing research and information, Questionnaire Design, systemshttp://www.fao.org/docrep/w3241E/w3241e05.htm#the%20qualities%20of%20a%20good%20questionnaire Trochim, M., K., (2006a), Likert Scaling, Research Methods- Knowledge Base, http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/scallik.php Trochim, M., K., (2006b), Thurstone Scaling, Research Methods- Knowledge Base, http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/scalthur.php Read More