Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
1
Scientific Process and Research
Inquisitiveness is the mother of all inventions.
Human being, by its instinct, is curious in nature;
everywhere they want to know what is this, what
is this for, why this is so, and what's next. This
inquisitiveness has laid the foundations of many
inventions. When they want to satisfy their
inquisitiveness on various phenomena in a logi-
cal sequence of steps, they should take the role of
the scientific process.
universal applications. Universality refers to the
fact that a study could provide a similar result
under the same situations. Verifiability refers
to the verifications of results or findings from
subsequent studies. Not all scientific studies
should lead to predictability, but when it predicts,
it should predict with sufficient accuracy.
Scientific method is a pursuit of truth as
determined by logical considerations. Logical
sequence aims at formulating propositions/
hypotheses explicitly and accurately so that
these not only explain the phenomenon and
unearth the undiscovered truth but also possible
alternatives. All these are done through
investigations/experimentations/observations.
Thus, observation, investigation, and experimen-
tation are the integral part of a scientific process
either in isolation or in combination; through
observation, one can describe and explain the
phenomenon of interest. Investigations lead to
provide a deeper insight into the phenomenon
to unearth or expose the hidden truth. On the
other hand, experimentations are mostly
conducted under control conditions where most
of the variables under considerations are allowed
to remain constant, barring the variables of inter-
est. The scientific method is mainly based on
some basic postulates like:
1. It assumes the ethical neutrality of the prob-
lem under consideration, which leads to
adequate and correct statement about
1.1
Scientific Methods
There are various ways or methods of knowing
the unknowns, to answer to the inquisitiveness.
Among the various methods, the scientific
method is probably the most widely used
method. The scientific process aims at describing
explanation, and understating, of various known
or unknown phenomena in nature. Thus, it
increases the knowledge of human beings in
multifarious ways. Any scientific process may
have three basic steps: systematic observation,
classification, and interpretation. Scientific
methods are characterized by their objectivity,
generality, verifiability, and creditability. Objec-
tivity refers to procedures and findings not
influenced by personal feelings, values, and
beliefs of a researcher. Thus, objectivity in a
scientific process ensures an unbiased, unpreju-
diced, and impersonal study. Generality refers
to the power of generalization of the study
from a particular phenomenon under study.
Scientific
the
population objects.
2. It relies on empirical evidences.
3. It utilizes pertinent and relevant concepts.
studies
should have general or
