what is scientific research method pdf

Scientific Research

• First Online: 13 October 2024

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• Syed Amin Tabish 2  

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Research involves systematic and creative efforts to expand our understanding of humans, culture, and society and to apply this knowledge in novel contexts. Scientific research specifically employs rigorous scientific methods to collect, analyze, and interpret data. Researchers classify scientific studies based on data collection techniques (such as causality and time relationships) and descriptive versus analytical features. Clinical research begins with formulating hypotheses—a way to make claims about population parameters based on sampled data. Scientific research is a neutral, systematic, and planned process that leverages existing knowledge to advance understanding beyond what is currently documented. Researchers classify studies based on data collection techniques (observational or experimental), causal relationships (descriptive or analytical), and time frames (prospective, retrospective, or cross-sectional). The foundation of scientific inquiry lies in formulating clear, specific hypotheses to address research questions, followed by rigorous testing using scientific methods. The scientific method operates neutrally, objectively, and rationally, aiming to validate or refute hypotheses. A robust research plan includes data collection procedures, variable evaluation, and ensuring analyzable data. Statistical analysis plans, subject and control calculations, and diligent data observation are essential components. Scientific research involves systematically collecting, interpreting, and evaluating data to contribute to scientific knowledge. Researchers adhere to ethical principles in medical research, including respect for humans, society, benefit, harmlessness, autonomy, and justice. Research methods guide data collection and analysis. Researchers choose methods based on data type (qualitative vs. quantitative), source (primary vs. secondary), and purpose (descriptive vs. experimental). Quantitative data analysis employs statistical methods, while qualitative data interpretation uses techniques like thematic analysis. Research methods serve as the foundational elements of scientific inquiry. They provide the essential “how” for systematically building knowledge. As researchers accumulate information, each well-designed study contributes evidence that can support, amend, refute, or deepen existing understanding. Decisions made during research—such as data collection strategies, adherence to logical rules, and bias mitigation—are critical. Learning research methods involves honing the ability to make informed decisions. Beyond traditional approaches, emerging vectors like hypothesis-driven, data-mining-inspired, and computational models expand the scientific method’s 3D space. These diverse methods will significantly influence our understanding of nature, impacting experimental design, peer review, funding, education, medical diagnostics, and legal considerations. The scientific method is a systematic process employed by researchers and scientists to explore observations and address questions. It involves several steps: asking a question, conducting background research, constructing a hypothesis, testing it through experiments, analyzing data, and drawing conclusions. Scientists engage in a dynamic, open-ended investigation, following five key steps: defining a research question, making predictions, gathering data, analyzing that data, and finally drawing conclusions.

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Tabish, S.A. (2024). Scientific Research. In: Health Care Management: Principles and Practice. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-3879-3_27

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Research Methodology: An Introduction

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According to Mugenda & Mugenda (2010), research is process of carrying out a diligent inquiry or a critical examination of a given phenomenonexhaustive study that follows some logical sequence. Mouly defines research as a process of arriving at effective solutions to problems through systematic collection, analysis and interpretation of data. Research also involves a critical analysis of existing conclusions or theories with regard to newly discovered facts Research is the continued search for knowledge and understanding of the world around us. Clifford Woody argues that research is the process of designing and redefining problems, formulating hypothesis or suggested solutions, collecting, organizing and evaluating data, making deductions and reaching conclusions and carefully testing the conclusions to determine whether they fit the formulated hypothesis.

Research is any original and systematic investigation undertaken to increase knowledge and understanding and to establish facts and principles. It comprises the creation of ideas and generation of new knowledge that lead to new and improved insights and the development of new material, devices, products and processes. The word " research " perhaps originates from the old French word recerchier that meant to 'search again'. It implicitly assumes that the earlier search was not exhaustive and complete and hence a repeated search is called for.

Educational Journal, 2023

In the simplest of terms, the research definition is a process of seeking out knowledge. This knowledge can be new, or it can support an already known fact. The purpose of research is to inform and is based on collected and analyzed data. This exploration occurs systematically, where it is either tested or investigated to add to a body of knowledge. Research is a systematic and scientific approach to understanding the world around us. It is a process of inquiry that involves the collection and analysis of data to answer questions or solve problems.

It is an investigation of finding solutions to scientific and social problems through objective and systematic analysis. It is a search for knowledge, that is, a discovery of hidden truths. Here knowledge means information about matters. The information might be collected from different sources like experience, human beings, books, journals, nature, etc. A research can lead to new contributions to the existing knowledge. Only through research is it possible to make progress in a field. Research is indeed civilization and determines the economic, social and political development of a nation. The results of scientific research very often force a change in the philosophical view of problems which extend far beyond the restricted domain of science itself. Research is not confined to science and technology only. There are vast areas of research in other disciplines such as languages, literature, history and sociology. Whatever might be the subject, research has to be an active, diligent and systematic process of inquiry in order to discover, interpret or revise facts, events, behaviours and theories. Applying the outcome of research for the refinement of knowledge in other subjects, or in enhancing the quality of human life also becomes a kind of research and development. Research is done with the help of study, experiment, observation, analysis, comparison and reasoning. Research Methods and Research Methodology Research methods are the various procedures, schemes and algorithms used in research. All the methods used by a researcher during a research study are termed as research methods. They are essentially planned, scientific and value-neutral. They include theoretical procedures, experimental studies, numerical schemes, statistical approaches, etc. Research methods help us collect samples, data and find a solution to a problem. Particularly, scientific research methods call for explanations based on collected facts, measurements and observations and not on reasoning alone. They accept only those explanations which can be verified by experiments. Research methodology is a systematic way to solve a problem. Foundations of research are built and conducted over a structure called methodology (Remenyi et al. 1998) and a valid study will always adapt encouraging research methodology (Buckley et al. 1975). It is a science of studying how research is to be carried out. Essentially, the procedures by which researchers go about their work of describing, explaining and predicting phenomena are called research methodology. It is also defined as the study of methods by which knowledge is gained. Its aim is to give the work plan of research. It consists a logical sequence of steps or actions that are necessary to effectively solve a research problem.

Research may be very broadly defined as systematic gathering of data and information and its analysis for advancement of knowledge in any subject. research attempts to find answer intellectual and practical questions through application of systematic methods. Types of research can be classified in many different ways.

Unicorn seal. Indian Museum Kolkata H-53. Sign 336. baṭa 'rimless, wide-mouthed pot' rebus: bhaṭa 'furnace' PLUS muka 'ladle' (Tamil)(DEDR 4887) Rebus: mūh 'ingot' (Santali) Vikalpa. ḍabu 'an iron spoon' (Santali) Rebus: ḍab, ḍhimba, ḍhompo 'lump (ingot?). Thus, together, furnace ingots. kolom 'three' rebus: kolimi 'smithy, forge' kāṇḍa, kãṝ ʻstalk, arrow'(CDIAL 3023) rebus: khaṇḍa 'implements'.(Oriya) Cargo manifest smithy ingots implements maritime treasure guard-Invoiced, delivered on jāngaḍa 'on approval basis' accounting system-system in vogue even today for high-value diamond transactions

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Harris, Trump Voters Differ Over Election Security, Vote Counts and Hacking Concerns

Just 20% of voters are highly confident the supreme court would be politically neutral if it rules on legal issues in 2024 election, table of contents.

• Other findings: Voters’ plans for casting ballots, confidence in Supreme Court to be politically neutral if it must resolve 2024 election challenges
• Confidence in poll workers, state election officials
• Are the parties committed to fair and accurate elections?
• GOP confidence in absentee ballot counts remains low
• 2. Confidence in voting access and integrity; expectations for whether and when the election results will be clear
• How easy will it be to vote this year?
• Acknowledgments
• The American Trends Panel survey methodology

Pew Research Center conducted this study to understand Americans’ views of voting and their expectations around the 2024 presidential election.

For this analysis, we surveyed 5,110 U.S. adults – including 4,025 registered voters – from Sept. 30 to Oct. 6, 2024. Everyone who took part in this survey is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), a group of people recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses who have agreed to take surveys regularly. This kind of recruitment gives nearly all U.S. adults a chance of selection. Surveys were conducted either online or by telephone with a live interviewer. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other factors. Read more about the ATP’s methodology .

Here are the questions used for this report , the topline and the survey methodology .

With voting underway in the 2024 presidential race, majorities of American voters are at least somewhat confident that the election will be run smoothly, that votes will be counted accurately and that ineligible voters will be prevented from casting ballots.

But supporters of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have sharply different expectations for how this year’s election may unfold. In many cases, these differences are as wide as they were in the lead-up to the 2020 election .

Harris supporters are more optimistic about the way the election will be run: 90% say they are at least somewhat confident that elections across the United States will be administered well. This compares with 57% of Trump supporters who are confident the election will be run smoothly.

This pattern in views extends to other aspects of the presidential race:

• Harris supporters are more confident than Trump supporters that, after all the votes are counted, it will be clear who won (85% vs. 58%).
• Harris supporters are much more confident that mail-in ballots will be counted as voters intend (85% vs. 38%).
• Harris supporters also are more confident that election systems across the U.S. are secure from hacking and other technological threats (73% vs. 32%).

The latest national survey by Pew Research Center, conducted among 5,110 U.S. adults (including 4,025 registered voters) from Sept. 30 to Oct. 6, 2024, finds that voters who support Harris are more confident in the way the 2024 election will unfold than President Joe Biden’s supporters were four years ago.

And those who support Trump are deeply skeptical about the way the election will be conducted – expressing even less confidence on some election issues than his supporters did four years ago.

Wide partisan gaps in election confidence since 2020

In 2018, Republican candidate supporters were 8 percentage points more likely than Democratic candidate supporters to say that year’s midterm election would be run well. By 2020, Biden’s supporters were 22 points more likely than Trump’s to expect the election to run smoothly. The gap this year is even wider: 33 points between Harris and Trump supporters.

Harris, Trump supporters differ on whether votes will be counted accurately 

As was the case four years ago, Trump supporters are particularly skeptical that absentee and mail-in ballots will be counted as voters intend.

Harris supporters are more than twice as likely as Trump supporters to say they are very or somewhat confident that absentee and mail-in ballots will be counted accurately (85% vs. 38%).

By contrast, sizable majorities of both coalitions (93% of Harris supporters, 77% of Trump supporters) are at least somewhat confident that in-person votes will be counted accurately.

However, far more Harris (57%) than Trump (24%) supporters are very confident this will happen.

There is broad confidence among voters overall that local poll workers and state election officials will do a good job during the upcoming election.

Yet Harris supporters are more likely than Trump supporters to express a high degree of confidence in these administrators.

Read more on views of election administration and vote counting in Chapter 1

Related: Key facts about U.S. poll workers

Voters’ views of illegal voting, access to voting

Roughly nine-in-ten among both Trump and Harris supporters are confident that eligible voters will be able to cast a ballot if they want to.

But there are bigger divisions on whether people who are ineligible to vote will be prevented from doing so.

Today, 87% of Harris voters are at least somewhat confident that ineligible voters will be prevented from casting ballots. Just 30% of Trump supporters say this.

Most voters are at least somewhat confident that it will be clear which candidate won the election after all the votes are counted. But here again, Harris backers (85%) are much more likely than Trump supporters (58%) to express confidence that the winner will be clear.

Do voters think election systems in the U.S. are safe from hacking?

Overall, 52% of voters are at least somewhat confident that U.S. election systems are secure from hacking and other technological threats. Nearly as many voters (47%) are not confident about this.

• 73% of Harris supporters say they are confident that election systems are secure. This is higher than the share of Biden supporters who said this in the weeks before the 2020 election (53%).
• The pattern is reversed among Trump supporters: 32% now say election systems are secure from hacking and other technological threats, down from 60% four years ago.

A smaller share of voters plan to cast ballots by mail compared with 2020. Four years ago, during the COVID-19 pandemic, a record share of voters cast ballots by mail in the presidential election . Today, a much smaller share of voters plan to vote by mail (39% then, 28% today). But as in 2020 amid the Biden-Trump matchup , Harris supporters are about twice as likely as Trump supporters to say they plan to cast a ballot via mail.

Read more on voters’ expectations around voting in Chapter 3

Trump backers who plan to vote by mail are more confident that mail-in ballots will be counted accurately. Though most Trump supporters plan to cast a ballot in person, 17% say they plan to vote absentee or by mail. These voters express far more confidence in the accuracy of mail-in ballots than do those who plan to vote in person (67% vs. 31%).

Most voters are not confident the Supreme Court would be politically neutral if it had to resolve legal challenges related to the 2024 election. Overall, just 20% of voters are extremely or very confident the court would remain politically neutral if it had to resolve any legal challenges that stemmed from the 2024 election. But Trump voters express more confidence than Harris voters do (34% vs. 6%).

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Most Voters Say Harris Will Concede – and Trump Won’t – If Defeated in the Election

How voters expect harris’ and trump’s policies to affect different groups in society, in tight u.s. presidential race, latino voters’ preferences mirror 2020, americans in both parties are concerned over the impact of ai on the 2024 presidential campaign, americans view walz more positively than vance, but many aren’t familiar with either vp nominee, most popular, report materials.

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