On the topic: “The concept of method and methodology of scientific research. Methodology and methodology of scientific research

Methodology of scientific research.

The concept of methodology and method. 3
Methods of scientific knowledge

2.1. General scientific methods 5

2.2. Methods of empirical and theoretical knowledge. 7

Bibliography. 12

1. The concept of methodology and method.

Any scientific research is carried out using certain techniques and methods, according to certain rules. The study of the system of these techniques, methods and rules is called methodology. However, the concept of “methodology” in the literature is used in two meanings:

1) a set of methods used in any field of activity (science, politics, etc.);

2) the doctrine of the scientific method of knowledge.

Methodology (from “method” and “logy”) is the study of structure, logical organization, methods and means of activity.

A method is a set of techniques or operations of practical or theoretical activities. The method can also be characterized as a form of theoretical and practical mastery of reality, based on the patterns of behavior of the object being studied.

Methods of scientific knowledge include the so-called all general methods, i.e. universal methods of thinking, general scientific methods and methods of specific sciences. Methods can also be classified according to the relationship between empirical knowledge (i.e. knowledge gained as a result of experience, experiential knowledge) and theoretical knowledge, the essence of which is knowledge of the essence of phenomena, their internal connections. The classification of methods of scientific knowledge is presented in Fig. 1.2.

Each industry applies its own specific scientific, special methods, determined by the essence of the object of study. However, often methods characteristic of a particular science are used in other sciences. This happens because the objects of study of these sciences are also subject to the laws of this science. For example, physical and chemical research methods are used in biology on the basis that objects of biological research include, in one form or another, physical and chemical forms of the movement of matter and, therefore, are subject to physical and chemical laws.

There are two universal methods in the history of knowledge: dialectical and metaphysical. These are general philosophical methods.

The dialectical method is a method of understanding reality in its inconsistency, integrity and development.

The metaphysical method is a method opposite to the dialectical one, considering phenomena outside of their mutual connection and development.

Since the mid-19th century, the metaphysical method has been increasingly displaced from natural science by the dialectical method.

2. Methods of scientific knowledge

2.1. General scientific methods

The relationship between general scientific methods can also be presented in the form of a diagram (Fig. 2).

Brief description of these methods.

Analysis is the mental or real decomposition of an object into its constituent parts.

Synthesis is the combination of elements learned as a result of analysis into a single whole.

Generalization is the process of mental transition from the individual to the general, from the less general to the more general, for example: the transition from the judgment “this metal conducts electricity” to the judgment “all metals conduct electricity”, from the judgment: “the mechanical form of energy turns into thermal” to the judgment “every form of energy is converted into heat.”

Abstraction (idealization) is the mental introduction of certain changes to the object being studied in accordance with the goals of the study. As a result of idealization, some properties and attributes of objects that are not essential for this study can be excluded from consideration. An example of such idealization in mechanics is material point, i.e. a point with mass but without any dimensions. The same abstract (ideal) object is an absolutely rigid body.

Induction is the process of deriving a general position from the observation of a number of particular individual facts, i.e. knowledge from the particular to the general. In practice, incomplete induction is most often used, which involves making a conclusion about all objects of a set based on knowledge of only a part of the objects. Incomplete induction, based on experimental research and including theoretical justification, is called scientific induction. The conclusions of such induction are often probabilistic in nature. This is a risky but creative method. With a strict setup of the experiment, logical consistency and rigor of conclusions, it is able to give a reliable conclusion. According to the famous French physicist Louis de Broglie, scientific induction is the true source of truly scientific progress.

Deduction is the process of analytical reasoning from the general to the particular or less general. It is closely related to generalization. If the initial general provisions are an established scientific truth, then the method of deduction will always produce a true conclusion. Especially great importance The deductive method is used in mathematics. Mathematicians operate with mathematical abstractions and base their reasoning on general principles. These general provisions apply to solving private, specific problems.

Analogy is a probable, plausible conclusion about the similarity of two objects or phenomena in some characteristic, based on their established similarity in other characteristics. An analogy with the simple allows us to understand the more complex. Thus, by analogy with the artificial selection of the best breeds of domestic animals, Charles Darwin discovered the law natural selection in the animal and plant world.

Modeling is the reproduction of the properties of an object of cognition on a specially designed analogue of it - a model. Models can be real (material), for example, airplane models, building models, photographs, prosthetics, dolls, etc. and ideal (abstract) created by means of language (both natural human language and special languages, for example, the language of mathematics. In this case we have a mathematical model. Typically this is a system of equations that describes the relationships in the system being studied.

The historical method involves reproducing the history of the object under study in all its versatility, taking into account all the details and accidents. The logical method is, in essence, a logical reproduction of the history of the object being studied. At the same time, this history is freed from everything accidental and unimportant, i.e. it is, as it were, the same historical method, but freed from its historical form.

Classification is the distribution of certain objects into classes (divisions, categories) depending on their general characteristics, fixing the natural connections between classes of objects in a unified system of a specific branch of knowledge. The formation of each science is associated with the creation of classifications of the objects and phenomena being studied.

2. 2 Methods of empirical and theoretical knowledge.

Methods of empirical and theoretical knowledge are schematically presented in Fig. 3.

Observation.

Observation is a sensory reflection of objects and phenomena of the external world. This is the original method empirical knowledge, allowing you to obtain some primary information about the objects of the surrounding reality.

Scientific observation is characterized by a number of features:

· purposefulness (observation should be carried out to solve the research problem);

· systematic (observation must be carried out strictly according to a plan drawn up based on the research objective);

· activity (the researcher must actively search and highlight the moments he needs in the observed phenomenon).

Scientific observations are always accompanied by a description of the object of knowledge. The latter is necessary for fixation technical properties, the sides of the object being studied that constitute the subject of research. Descriptions of observational results form the empirical basis of science, based on which researchers create empirical generalizations, compare the objects under study according to certain parameters, classify them according to some properties, characteristics, and find out the sequence of stages of their formation and development.

According to the method of conducting observations, they can be direct or indirect.

During direct observation, certain properties and aspects of an object are reflected and perceived by human senses. Currently, direct visual observation is widely used in space research as an important method of scientific knowledge. Visual observations from a manned orbital station are the simplest and most effective method for studying the parameters of the atmosphere, land surface and ocean from space in the visible range. From orbit artificial satellite On Earth, the human eye can confidently determine the boundaries of cloud cover, types of clouds, boundaries of the removal of turbid river waters into the sea, etc.

However, most often observation is indirect, that is, it is carried out using certain technical means. If, for example, before the beginning of the 17th century, astronomers observed celestial bodies naked eye, Galileo's invention of the optical telescope in 1608 raised astronomical observations to a new, much higher level.

Observations can often play an important heuristic role in scientific knowledge. In the process of observations, completely new phenomena can be discovered, allowing one or another scientific hypothesis to be substantiated. From all of the above it follows that observations are very important method empirical knowledge, ensuring the collection of extensive information about the world around us.

An experiment is a more complex method of empirical knowledge compared to observation. It involves the active, purposeful and strictly controlled influence of the researcher on the object being studied in order to identify and study certain of its aspects, properties, and connections. It has a number of unique features:

· an experiment allows you to study an object in a “purified” form, that is, eliminate all kinds of side factors, layers that complicate the research process;

· during the experiment, the object can be placed in some artificial, in particular extreme conditions (at ultra-low temperatures, at high pressures, under enormous stress electromagnetic field and etc.);

· while studying any process, an experimenter can interfere with it and actively influence its course;

· experiments can be repeated as many times as necessary to obtain reliable results.

Preparing and conducting an experiment requires compliance with a number of conditions. So, a scientific experiment:

1. never put at random, it presupposes the presence of a clearly formulated research goal;

2. it is not done “blindly”, it is always based on some initial theoretical principles;

3. it is not carried out unplanned, the researcher first outlines the ways of its implementation;

4. requires a certain level of development of technical means of cognition necessary for its implementation;

5. must be carried out by people with sufficiently high qualifications.

Depending on the nature of the problems solved during the experiments, the latter are usually divided into research and testing.

Research makes it possible to discover new, unknown properties in an object. The result of such an experiment may be conclusions that do not follow from existing knowledge about the object of study. Tests are used to test and confirm certain theoretical constructs.

Measurement is a process that involves determining the quantitative values of certain properties, aspects of the object or phenomenon being studied using special technical devices.

An important aspect of the measurement process is the methodology for carrying it out. It is a set of techniques that use certain principles and means of measurement. In this case, the principles of measurements mean some phenomena that form the basis of measurements (for example, measuring temperature using the thermoelectric effect).

Based on the method of obtaining results, measurements are distinguished between direct and indirect. In direct measurements, the desired value of the measured quantity is obtained by directly comparing it with a standard or is issued by a measuring device. In indirect measurement, the desired value is determined on the basis of a known mathematical relationship between this value and other values obtained by direct measurements (for example, finding the electrical resistivity of a conductor by its resistance, length and cross-sectional area).

Idealization is the mental introduction of certain changes to the object being studied in accordance with the goals of the research. As a result of such changes, for example, some properties, aspects, or features of objects may be excluded from consideration. Thus, the widespread idealization in mechanics, called a material point, implies a body devoid of any dimensions. Such an abstract object, the dimensions of which are neglected, is convenient when describing movement. Moreover, such an abstraction makes it possible to replace a wide variety of real objects in research: from molecules or atoms when solving many problems of statistical mechanics to the planets of the solar system when studying, for example, their movement around the Sun.

The advisability of using idealization is determined by the following circumstances:

Firstly, idealization is appropriate when the real objects to be studied are sufficiently complex for the available means of theoretical, in particular, mathematical analysis.

Secondly, it is advisable to use idealization in cases where it is necessary to exclude certain properties and connections of the object under study, without which it cannot exist, but which obscure the essence of the processes occurring in it.

Thirdly, the use of idealization is advisable when the properties, aspects, and connections of the object being studied that are excluded from consideration do not affect its essence within the framework of this study.

The main positive significance of idealization as a method of scientific knowledge is that the theoretical constructions obtained on its basis then make it possible to effectively study real objects and phenomena.

Formalization. Formalization refers to a special approach in scientific knowledge, which consists in the use of special symbols, which allows one to escape from the study of real objects, from the content of the theoretical provisions describing them, and to operate instead with a certain set of symbols (signs).

To build any formalized system it is necessary:

a) specifying the alphabet, that is, a certain set of characters;

b) setting the rules by which “words” and “formulas” can be obtained from the initial characters of this alphabet;

c) setting rules according to which one can move from some words and formulas of a given system to other words and formulas.

An important advantage of this system is the possibility of carrying out research of any object within its framework in a purely formal way without directly addressing this object.

Another advantage of formalization is to ensure the brevity and clarity of recording scientific information, which opens up great opportunities for operating with it.

Bibliography.

1. Kochergin A.N. Methods and forms of knowledge. – M.: Nauka, 1990.

2. Kraevsky V.V. Methodology scientific research: A manual for students and graduate students of humanitarian universities. – SPb.: SPb. State Unitary Enterprise, 2001.

3. Novikov A.M., Novikov D.A. Methodology. M.: Sinteg, 2007.

4. Ruzavin G.I. Methodology of scientific research: Textbook. A manual for universities. – M.: UNITY-DANA, 1999.

2.1. General scientific methods 5

2.2. Methods of empirical and theoretical knowledge. 7

Bibliography. 12

1. The concept of methodology and method.

1) a set of methods used in any field of activity (science, politics, etc.);

2) the doctrine of the scientific method of knowledge.

Methodology (from “method” and “logy”) is the study of structure, logical organization, methods and means of activity.

A method is a set of techniques or operations of practical or theoretical activity. The method can also be characterized as a form of theoretical and practical mastery of reality, based on the patterns of behavior of the object being studied.

Methods of scientific knowledge include the so-called universal methods, i.e. universal methods of thinking, general scientific methods and methods of specific sciences. Methods can be classified according to the relationship between empirical knowledge (i.e. knowledge obtained as a result of experience, experimental knowledge) and theoretical knowledge, the essence of which is knowledge of the essence of phenomena and their internal connections. The classification of methods of scientific knowledge is presented in Fig. 1.2.

There are two universal methods in the history of knowledge: dialectical and metaphysical. These are general philosophical methods.

The dialectical method is a method of understanding reality in its inconsistency, integrity and development.

The metaphysical method is a method opposite to the dialectical one, considering phenomena outside of their mutual connection and development.

Since the mid-19th century, the metaphysical method has been increasingly displaced from natural science by the dialectical method.

2. Methods of scientific knowledge

2.1. General scientific methods

The relationship between general scientific methods can also be presented in the form of a diagram (Fig. 2).

Brief description of these methods.

Analysis is the mental or real decomposition of an object into its constituent parts.

Synthesis is the combination of elements learned as a result of analysis into a single whole.

Abstraction (idealization) is the mental introduction of certain changes to the object being studied in accordance with the goals of the study. As a result of idealization, some properties and attributes of objects that are not essential for this study can be excluded from consideration. An example of such idealization in mechanics is a material point, i.e. a point with mass but without any dimensions. The same abstract (ideal) object is an absolutely rigid body.

Deduction is the process of analytical reasoning from the general to the particular or less general. It is closely related to generalization. If the initial general provisions are an established scientific truth, then the method of deduction will always produce a true conclusion. The deductive method is especially important in mathematics. Mathematicians operate with mathematical abstractions and base their reasoning on general principles. These general provisions apply to solving private, specific problems.

Modeling is the reproduction of the properties of an object of cognition on a specially designed analogue of it - a model. Models can be real (material), for example, airplane models, building models, photographs, prosthetics, dolls, etc. and ideal (abstract) created by means of language (both natural human language and special languages, for example, the language of mathematics. In this case, we have a mathematical model. Usually this is a system of equations that describes the relationships in the system being studied.

2. 2 Methods of empirical and theoretical knowledge.

Methods of empirical and theoretical knowledge are schematically presented in Fig. 3.

Observation.

Observation is a sensory reflection of objects and phenomena of the external world. This is the initial method of empirical cognition, which allows us to obtain some primary information about the objects of the surrounding reality.

Scientific observation is characterized by a number of features:

· purposefulness (observation should be carried out to solve the research problem);

· systematic (observation must be carried out strictly according to a plan drawn up based on the research objective);

· activity (the researcher must actively search and highlight the moments he needs in the observed phenomenon).

Scientific observations are always accompanied by a description of the object of knowledge. The latter is necessary to record the technical properties and aspects of the object being studied, which constitute the subject of the study. Descriptions of observational results form the empirical basis of science, based on which researchers create empirical generalizations, compare the objects under study according to certain parameters, classify them according to some properties, characteristics, and find out the sequence of stages of their formation and development.

According to the method of conducting observations, they can be direct or indirect.

During direct observation, certain properties and aspects of an object are reflected and perceived by human senses. Currently, direct visual observation is widely used in space research as an important method of scientific knowledge. Visual observations from a manned orbital station are the simplest and most effective method for studying the parameters of the atmosphere, land surface and ocean from space in the visible range. From the orbit of an artificial Earth satellite, the human eye can confidently determine the boundaries of cloud cover, types of clouds, boundaries of the removal of turbid river waters into the sea, etc.

However, most often observation is indirect, that is, carried out using certain technical means. If, for example, until the beginning of the 17th century, astronomers observed celestial bodies with the naked eye, then Galileo’s invention of the optical telescope in 1608 raised astronomical observations to a new, much higher level.

Observations can often play an important heuristic role in scientific knowledge. In the process of observations, completely new phenomena can be discovered, allowing one or another scientific hypothesis to be substantiated. From all of the above, it follows that observations are a very important method of empirical knowledge, ensuring the collection of extensive information about the world around us.

Facts, their generalization and systematization. Classification of scientific research methods: empirical methods research (methods-operations, methods-actions); theoretical research methods (methods - cognitive actions, methods-operations)

The development of science proceeds from the collection of facts, their study, systematization, generalization and disclosure of individual patterns to a logically coherent system of scientific knowledge, which makes it possible to explain already known facts and predict new ones.

The process of knowledge comes from collecting facts. But facts in themselves are not science. They become part of scientific knowledge only in a systematized, generalized form.

Facts are systematized using the simplest abstractions - concepts (definitions), which are the most important structural elements of science. The broadest concepts of a category (form and content, product and cost, etc.).

An important form of knowledge is principles (postulates), axioms. A principle is understood as the initial position of any branch of science (axioms of Euclidean geometry, Bohr's postulate in quantum mechanics, etc.).

The most important component in the system of scientific knowledge is scientific laws– reflecting the most significant, stable, repeating, objective, internal connections in nature, society and thinking. Laws appear in the form of a certain relationship of concepts and categories.

The highest form of generalization and systematization is theory. Theory – the doctrine of generalized experience (practice), formulating scientific principles and methods that allow us to understand existing processes and phenomena, analyze the actions of various factors and offer recommendations for practical activities.

Method- way theoretical research or the practical implementation of any phenomenon or process. A method is a tool for solving the main task of science - discovery objective laws reality. The method determines the need and place of application of induction and deduction, analysis and synthesis, comparison of theoretical and experimental research.

Methodology– this is the doctrine of the structure of logical organization, methods and means of activity (the doctrine of the principles of construction, forms and methods of scientific research activities). The methodology of science characterizes the components of scientific research - its object, the subject of analysis, the research task (or problem), the totality of the study of the means necessary to solve the problem of this type, and also forms an idea of the sequence of research movement in the process of solving the problem. The most important point of application of the methodology is the formulation of the problem, the construction of the subject of research, the construction scientific theory, as well as checking the result obtained from the point of view of its truth.

Any research process is based on certain concepts, ideas, theories, methodological principles, approaches, as well as a set of applied methods and techniques. In order to carry out the work qualitatively and document the results obtained, it is necessary to clearly understand the essence and interrelation of such basic concepts as methodology, method and methodology. The specified conceptual apparatus is shown in Fig. 2.5.

Rice. 2.5. The relationship between the concepts methodology, method and technique

Classification of scientific research methods

Empirical and theoretical research methods. Characteristics of theoretical methods (methods-operations) of research: analysis, synthesis, comparison, abstraction, concretization, generalization, formalization, induction, deduction, idealization, analogy, modeling, model, subject modeling.

Theoretical methods (methods - cognitive actions): dialectics, evidence, method of analysis of knowledge systems, deductive method, inductive-deductive method.

Empirical methods (operational methods): observation, measurement, survey, testing.

Empirical methods (action methods): object tracking methods, transformative methods, forecasting.

A significant, sometimes decisive role in the construction of any scientific work is played by the applied research methods.

Research methods are divided into empirical And theoretical(see Table 2).

Table 2 - Scientific research methods

THEORETICAL	EMPIRICAL
methods - operations	action methods	methods - operations	action methods
- analysis - synthesis - comparison - abstraction - concretization - generalization - formalization - induction - deduction - idealization - analogy - modeling - thought - experiment - imagination	- dialectics (as a method) - scientific theories tested by practice - proof - deductive (axiomatic) method - inductive-deductive method - identifying and resolving contradictions - posing problems - building hypotheses	- study of literature, documents and performance results - observation - measurement, oral and written survey - expert assessments - testing	- methods for tracking an object: survey, monitoring, study and generalization of experience - methods for transforming an object: experimental work, experiment - methods for studying an object over time: retrospective, forecasting

We consider methodology as the study of the organization of activity. Then, if scientific research is a cycle of activity, then its structural units are directed actions. As is known, action– unit of activity, distinctive feature which is the presence of a specific goal. The structural units of action are operations correlated with objective and objective conditions for achieving the goal. The same goal, correlated with the action, can be achieved in different conditions; this or that action can be implemented by different operations. At the same time, the same operation may involve different actions.

Based on this, we highlight (see Table 2):

– methods-operations;

– methods-actions.

This approach does not contradict the definition method which the Encyclopedic Dictionary gives:

Firstly, a method as a way to achieve a goal, solve a specific problem - a method-action;

Secondly, a method as a set of techniques or operations for the practical or theoretical development of reality is a method-operation.

Thus, in the future we will consider research methods in the following grouping:

Theoretical methods:

Methods - cognitive actions: identifying and resolving contradictions, posing a problem, constructing a hypothesis, etc.;

Methods-operations: analysis, synthesis, comparison, abstraction and specification, etc.

Empirical methods:

Methods – cognitive actions: examination, monitoring, experiment, etc.;

Methods-operations: observation, measurement, survey, testing, etc.

Theoretical methods (methods-operations). Theoretical methods-operations have a wide field of application, both in scientific research and in practical activities.

Theoretical methods - operations are considered according to the main mental operations, which are: analysis and synthesis, comparison, abstraction and concretization, generalization, formalization, induction and deduction, idealization, analogy, modeling, thought experiment.

Analysis- this is the decomposition of the whole under study into parts, the identification of individual signs and qualities of a phenomenon, process or relationships of phenomena, processes. Analysis procedures are an organic component of any scientific research and usually form its first phase, when the researcher moves from an undifferentiated description of the object under study to the identification of its structure, composition, its properties and characteristics.

Synthesis– connection of various elements, sides of an object into a single whole (system). Synthesis is not a simple summation, but a semantic connection. Analysis and synthesis are closely related. If the researcher has a more developed ability to analyze, there may be a danger that he will not be able to find a place for details in the phenomenon as a whole. The relative predominance of synthesis leads to superficiality, to the fact that essential details for the study will not be noticed, which can be of great importance for understanding the phenomenon as a whole.

Comparison is a cognitive operation that underlies judgments about the similarity or difference of objects. With the help of comparison, the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of objects are identified, their classification, ordering and evaluation are carried out. Comparison is comparing one thing to another.

Comparison makes sense only in a collection of homogeneous objects that form a class.

An integral part of comparison is always analysis, since for any comparison in phenomena it is necessary to isolate the corresponding characteristics of comparison. Since comparison is the establishment of certain relationships between phenomena, then, naturally, synthesis is also used during the comparison.

Abstraction- one of the main mental operations that allows you to mentally isolate and turn into an independent object of consideration individual aspects, properties or states of an object in its pure form. Abstraction underlies the processes of generalization and concept formation.

Abstraction consists in isolating such properties of an object that do not exist in themselves and independently of it. Such isolation is possible only in the mental plane - in abstraction.

Specification– a process opposite to abstraction, that is, finding the holistic, interconnected, multilateral and complex. The researcher initially forms various abstractions, and then, based on them, reproduces this integrity through concretization.

Generalization– one of the main cognitive mental operations, consisting of isolating and fixing relatively stable, invariant properties of objects and their relationships. The function of generalization is to organize the variety of objects and their classification.

Formalization– displaying the results of thinking in precise concepts or statements. Formalization is opposed to intuitive thinking.

Formalization plays a significant role in the development of scientific knowledge, since intuitive concepts, although they seem clearer from the point of view of ordinary consciousness, are of little use for science: in scientific knowledge it is often impossible not only to resolve, but even to formulate and pose problems until the structure of the concepts related to them will be clarified. True science is possible only on the basis of abstract thinking, consistent reasoning of the researcher, proceeding in a logical linguistic form through concepts, judgments and conclusions.

In scientific judgments, connections are established between objects, phenomena or between their certain characteristics. In scientific conclusions, one judgment comes from another, and a new one is made on the basis of already existing conclusions.

There are two main types of inferences: inductive (induction) and deductive (deduction).

Induction- this is an inference from particular objects, phenomena to a general conclusion, from individual facts to generalizations.

Deduction- this is an inference from the general to the particular, from general judgments to particular conclusions.

Idealization- mental construction of ideas about objects that do not exist or are not realizable in reality, but those for which there are prototypes in the real world.

Analogy, modeling. Analogy – mental operation, when knowledge obtained from the consideration of any one object (model) is transferred to another, less studied or less accessible for study, less visual object, called a prototype, original. This opens up the possibility of transferring information by analogy from model to prototype.

This is the essence of one of the special methods theoretical level - modeling (construction and research of models). The difference between analogy and modeling is that if analogy is one of the mental operations, then modeling can be considered in different cases both as a mental operation and as an independent method - an action method.

Model– an auxiliary object that gives new information about the main object. The forms of modeling are varied and depend on the models used and the scope of their application. According to the nature of the models, subject and sign (information) modeling are distinguished.

Subject modeling is carried out on a model that reproduces certain geometric, physical, dynamic, or functional characteristics modeling object - the original; in a particular case - analog modeling, when the behavior of the original and the model is described by unified mathematical relations, for example, by unified differential equations. If the model and

the modeled object have the same physical nature, then we talk about physical modeling. At iconic modeling models are diagrams, drawings, formulas, etc. The most important type of such modeling is math modeling .

Modeling is always used together with other research methods; it is especially closely related to experiment.

A special type of modeling is thought experiment. In such an experiment, the researcher mentally creates ideal objects, correlates them with each other within the framework of a certain dynamic model, mentally simulating the movement and those situations that could take place in a real experiment.

Along with operations logical thinking theoretical methods-operations can also include (possibly conditionally) imagination as a thought process to create new ideas and images with its specific forms of fantasy (creation of implausible, paradoxical images and concepts) and dreams(as creating images of what is desired).

Theoretical methods (methods - cognitive actions). The general philosophical, general scientific method of cognition is dialectics– the real logic of meaningful creative thinking, reflecting the objective dialectics of reality itself. The basis of dialectics as a method of scientific knowledge is the ascent from the abstract to the concrete.

Laws of dialectics:

The transition of quantitative changes into qualitative ones, unity and struggle of opposites, etc.;

Analysis of paired dialectical categories: historical and logical, phenomenon and essence, general (universal) and individual, etc. are integral components of any well-constructed scientific research.

Scientific theories, proven by practice: any such theory essentially acts as a method in constructing new theories in a given or even in other areas of scientific knowledge. Therefore, the difference between scientific theory as a form of scientific knowledge and as a method of cognition in this case is functional in nature: being formed as a theoretical result of past research, the method acts as the starting point and condition for subsequent research.

Proof - method is a theoretical action during which the truth of a thought is substantiated with the help of other thoughts. Every proof consists of three parts:

Arguments (arguments),

Demonstrations.

According to the method of conducting evidence, there are direct and indirect, and according to the form of inference - inductive and deductive.

Rules of evidence:

1. The thesis and arguments must be clear and precisely defined.

2. The thesis must remain identical throughout the entire proof.

3. The thesis should not contain a logical contradiction.

4. The arguments given in support of the thesis must themselves be true, beyond doubt, must not contradict each other and be a sufficient basis for this thesis.

5. The proof must be complete.

– deductive method(synonym - axiomatic method) – a method of constructing a scientific theory, in which it is based on certain initial provisions axioms(synonym - postulates), from which all other provisions of this theory ( theorems) are derived purely logically through proof. The construction of a theory based on the axiomatic method is usually called deductive;

– the second method has not received a name in the literature, but it certainly exists, since in all other sciences, except those listed above, theories are built according to a method that we will call inductive-deductive: first, an empirical basis is accumulated, on the basis of which theoretical generalizations (induction) are built, which can be built at several levels - for example, empirical laws and theoretical laws - and then these obtained generalizations can be extended to all objects and phenomena covered by this theory (deduction).

Most theories in the sciences about nature, society and man are constructed using the inductive-deductive method: physics, chemistry, biology, geology, geography, psychology, pedagogy, etc.

Other theoretical research methods (in the sense of methods - cognitive actions): identifying and resolving contradictions, posing a problem, constructing hypotheses, etc. up to the planning of scientific research, we will consider below in the specifics of the time structure of research activity - the construction of phases, stages and stages of scientific research.

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE OF UKRAINE

TAVRICHESKY NATIONAL UNIVERSITY named after. IN AND. VERNADSKY

Faculty of Economics

Department of Finance

Extramural

Discipline: “Scientific Research Methods”

on the topic: “The concept of method and methodology of scientific research”

Simferopol, 2009

1. The essence of scientific knowledge. Concept of research method and scientific method

2. Concept of methodology

3. Philosophical and general scientific methods of scientific research

4. Private and special methods of scientific research

List of sources used

The essence of scientific knowledge. Concept of research method and scientific method

Science is the same area of professional human activity as any other - pedagogical, industrial, etc. The only specific quality of science is that if other branches of human activity use knowledge obtained by science, then science is the field of activity where the main goal is to obtain scientific knowledge itself.

The science and is defined as a sphere of human activity, the function of which is the development and theoretical systematization of objective knowledge about reality.

Science as a phenomenon is an extremely multifaceted phenomenon. In any case, when talking about science, it is necessary to keep in mind at least three of its main aspects, in each specific case clearly distinguishing what we are talking about:

science as a social institution (a community of scientists, a set of scientific institutions and scientific service structures);

science as a result (scientific knowledge);

science as a process (scientific activity).

“The unity of all science,” wrote Karl Pearson in his “Grammar of Science,” “lies only in its method, and not in its material.” Generally speaking, the scientific method is a continuous process of testing, modifying, and developing ideas and theories in accordance with available evidence. To a certain extent, the scientific method is simply an extension of the ordinary rational approach based on common sense.

The direction of scientific research, of course, depends to a large extent on the range of interests of individual scientists and their curiosity, but a variety of social factors are no less important. The availability of money and scientific equipment, an atmosphere conducive to scientific research, and the needs of society - all this largely determines which problems need to be addressed and which ones not. All of these questions are beyond the scope of a discussion of the scientific method as such.

The scientific method is the main and most powerful means of rational knowledge. However, it serves only as a means to an end. And goals are not chosen on a rational basis.

Considering in detail the application of the scientific method in any situation, we can identify a number of clearly distinguishable and interrelated stages. The first stage is the observation stage, which can be called “natural history”. At this stage, there is simply an accumulation of a huge mass of heterogeneous material, the nature of which mainly depends on the random interests of one or several researchers; part of it is based on precise measurements, and part of it is only fragmentary descriptive data. An attempt is then made to systematize the available facts and, perhaps, to obtain some systematic description of the entire body of data.

People are accustomed to identifying the concepts of “knowledge” and “science”, so that they cannot imagine any other knowledge other than scientific. What is its essence and features? The essence of the scientific method can be explained quite simply: this method allows one to obtain knowledge about phenomena that can be tested, stored and transmitted to others. It follows that science does not study all phenomena at all, but only those that are repeated. Its main task is to find the laws according to which these phenomena occur.

At different times, science has achieved this goal in different ways. The ancient Greeks carefully observed phenomena and then, with the help of speculation, tried to penetrate into the harmony of nature with the power of the intellect, relying only on sensory data accumulated in memory. During the Renaissance, it became obvious that the goal cannot be achieved only with the help of the five senses - it is necessary to invent devices that are nothing more than a continuation and deepening of our senses. At the same time, two questions immediately arose: how much can one trust the readings of the instruments and how to save the information obtained with their help. The second problem was soon solved by the invention of printing and the consistent application of mathematics in the natural sciences. It turned out to be much more difficult to resolve the first question - about the reliability of knowledge obtained with the help of instruments. Essentially, it has not yet been finally resolved, and the entire history of the scientific method is a history of constant deepening and modification of this issue. Quite soon, scientists realized that instrument readings, as a rule, can be trusted, that is, they reflect something real in nature that exists independently of the instruments. Over time, knowledge improves and allows scientists to correctly predict more subtle natural phenomena.

The facts and concepts of science may seem random, if only because they were established at random times by random people and often under random circumstances. But, taken together, they form a single, regular system in which the number of connections is so large that it is impossible to replace a single link in it without affecting all the others. Under the pressure of new facts, this system is constantly changing and being refined, but never loses its integrity and unique completeness. Taken as a whole, the system of scientific concepts is the product of a long evolution: over the course of many years, old links in it were replaced by new, more advanced ones, and completely new concepts always arose taking into account and on the basis of the previous ones.

Science (in the current sense of the word) has existed for no more than 300-400 years. In such an insignificant period of time, it completely changed the way of life of civilized peoples, their attitude to the world, way of thinking and even moral categories. Modern science is developing at a very fast pace; currently, the volume of scientific knowledge doubles every 10-15 years. About 90% of all scientists who have ever lived on Earth are our contemporaries. The entire world around us shows how much progress humanity has made. It was science that was the main reason for such a rapidly progressing scientific and technological revolution, the transition to a post-industrial society, the widespread introduction of information technology, the emergence of a “new economy” for which the laws of classical economic theory do not apply, the beginning of the transfer of human knowledge into electronic form, so convenient for storage, systematization, search and processing, and many others. All this convincingly proves that the main form of human knowledge - science today is becoming more and more significant and essential part of reality. However, science would not be so productive if it did not have such a developed system of methods, principles and imperatives of knowledge. It is the correctly chosen method, along with the scientist’s talent, that helps him to understand the deep connection of phenomena, reveal their essence, discover laws and regularities. The number of methods that science is developing to understand reality is constantly increasing. Their exact number is perhaps difficult to determine. After all, there are about 15,000 sciences in the world and each of them has its own specific methods and subject of research. At the same time, all these methods are in a dialectical connection with general scientific methods, which they, as a rule, contain in various combinations and with the universal, dialectical method. This circumstance is one of the reasons that determines the importance of any scientist having philosophical knowledge. After all, it is philosophy as a science “about the most general patterns existence and development of the world” studies trends and ways of development of scientific knowledge, its structure and research methods, considering them through the prism of its categories, laws and principles. In addition to everything, philosophy endows the scientist with that universal method, without which it is impossible to do in any field of scientific knowledge.

The main features of scientific knowledge are:

1. The main task of scientific knowledge is the discovery of objective laws of reality - natural, social (public), laws of knowledge itself, thinking, etc. “The essence of scientific knowledge lies in the reliable generalization of facts, in the fact that behind the random it finds the necessary, natural, behind individual – the general and on this basis carries out the prediction of various phenomena and events.” Scientific knowledge strives to reveal the necessary, objective connections that are recorded as objective laws. If this is not the case, then there is no science, because the very concept of scientificity presupposes the discovery of laws, a deepening into the essence of the phenomena being studied.

2. Immediate purpose and highest value scientific knowledge is an objective truth, comprehended primarily by rational means and methods, but, of course, not without the participation of living contemplation. Hence, a characteristic feature of scientific knowledge is objectivity, the elimination, if possible, of subjectivist aspects in many cases in order to realize the “purity” of consideration of one’s subject. Einstein also wrote: “What we call science has its exclusive task of firmly establishing what exists.” Its task is to give a true reflection of processes, an objective picture of what exists. At the same time, it must be borne in mind that the activity of the subject is the most important condition and prerequisite for scientific knowledge. The latter is impossible without a constructive-critical attitude to reality, excluding inertia, dogmatism, and apologetics.

3. Science, to a greater extent than other forms of knowledge, is focused on being embodied in practice, being a “guide to action” for changing the surrounding reality and managing real processes. The vital meaning of scientific research can be expressed by the formula: “To know in order to foresee, to foresee in order to practically act” - not only in the present, but also in the future. All progress in scientific knowledge is associated with an increase in the power and range of scientific foresight. It is foresight that makes it possible to control and manage processes. Scientific knowledge opens up the possibility of not only predicting the future, but also consciously shaping it. “The orientation of science towards the study of objects that can be included in activity (either actually or potentially, as possible objects of its future development), and their study as subject to objective laws of functioning and development is one of the most important features of scientific knowledge. This feature distinguishes it from other forms of human cognitive activity.” An essential feature of modern science is that it has become such a force that predetermines practice. Many modern manufacturing processes were born in scientific laboratories. Thus, modern science not only serves the needs of production, but also increasingly acts as a prerequisite for the technical revolution. Great discoveries over the past decades in leading fields of knowledge have led to a scientific and technological revolution that has embraced all elements of the production process: comprehensive automation and mechanization, the development of new types of energy, raw materials and materials, penetration into the microworld and into space. As a result, the prerequisites were created for the gigantic development of the productive forces of society.

4. Scientific knowledge in epistemological terms is a complex contradictory process of reproduction of knowledge that forms an integral developing system of concepts, theories, hypotheses, laws and other ideal forms, enshrined in language - natural or - more characteristically - artificial (mathematical symbolism, chemical formulas, etc.) .P.). Scientific knowledge does not simply record its elements, but continuously reproduces them on its own basis, forms them in accordance with its norms and principles. In the development of scientific knowledge, revolutionary periods alternate, the so-called scientific revolutions, which lead to a change in theories and principles, and evolutionary, quiet periods, during which knowledge deepens and becomes more detailed. The process of continuous self-renewal by science of its conceptual arsenal is an important indicator of scientific character.

5. In the process of scientific knowledge, such specific material means as instruments, instruments, and other so-called “scientific equipment” are used, often very complex and expensive (synchrophasotrons, radio telescopes, rocket and space technology, etc.). In addition, science, to a greater extent than other forms of knowledge, is characterized by the use of ideal (spiritual) means and methods such as modern logic, mathematical methods, dialectics, systemic, hypothetico-deductive and other general scientific techniques to study its objects and itself. and methods (see below for details).

6. Scientific knowledge is characterized by strict evidence, validity of the results obtained, and reliability of the conclusions. At the same time, there are many hypotheses, conjectures, assumptions, probabilistic judgments, etc. That is why the most important thing here is the logical and methodological training of researchers, their philosophical culture, the constant improvement of their thinking, and the ability to correctly apply its laws and principles.

The concept of method (from the Greek word “methodos” - the path to something) means a set of techniques and operations for the practical and theoretical development of reality.

The method equips a person with a system of principles, requirements, rules, guided by which he can achieve the intended goal. Mastery of a method means for a person knowledge of how, in what sequence to perform certain actions to solve certain problems, and the ability to apply this knowledge in practice.

A method (in one form or another) comes down to a set of certain rules, techniques, methods, norms of cognition and action. It is a system of instructions, principles, requirements that guide the subject in solving a specific problem, achieving a certain result in a given field of activity. It disciplines the search for truth, allows (if correct) to save energy and time, and move towards the goal in the shortest way. The main function of the method is to regulate cognitive and other forms of activity. Research methods are divided into empirical (empirical - literally - perceived through the senses) and theoretical.

Regarding research methods, the following circumstance should be noted. In the literature on epistemology and methodology, a kind of double division, a division of scientific methods, in particular theoretical methods, is found everywhere. Thus, the dialectical method, theory (when it acts as a method - see below), identification and resolution of contradictions, construction of hypotheses, etc. It is customary to call them, without explaining why (at least the authors were unable to find such explanations in the literature), methods of cognition. And such methods as analysis and synthesis, comparison, abstraction and concretization, etc., that is, basic mental operations, are methods of theoretical research.

A similar division occurs with empirical research methods. So, V.I. Zagvyazinsky divides empirical research methods into two groups:

1. Working, private methods. These include: studying literature, documents and results of activities; observation; survey (oral and written); method expert assessments, testing.

2. Complex, general methods, which are based on the use of one or more private methods: examination; monitoring; study and generalization of experience; Experienced work; experiment.

There are certain approaches to the classification of research methods (Fig. 1.).

Rice. 1 - Approaches to classification of research method

Empirical level methods include observation, description, comparison, counting, measurement, questionnaire, interview, testing, experiment, modeling, etc. Methods of the theoretical level include axiomatic, hypothetical, formalization, abstraction, general logical methods (analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, analogy), etc. Methods of the metatheoretical level are dialectical, metaphysical, hermeneutic, etc. Some scientists include the method of system analysis at this level and others include it among the general logical methods.

Depending on the scope of application and degree of generality, methods are distinguished (Fig. 2.).

Rice. 2 - Classification of research method depending on the scope of application

a) general methods apply to any subject of nature, any science. These are various forms of the dialectical method, which makes it possible to connect together all aspects of the process of cognition, all its stages, for example, the method of ascent from the abstract to the concrete, etc.

b) Special methods do not concern its subject as a whole, but only one of its aspects (phenomena, essence, quantitative side, structural connections) or a certain research technique: analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction. Special methods are: observation, experiment, comparison and, as a special case, measurement.

c) Private methods are special methods that operate either only within a particular industry or outside the industry where they originated. Thus, the methods of physics led to the creation of astrophysics, crystal physics, geophysics, chemical physics and physical chemistry, biophysics. The spread of chemical methods led to the creation of crystal chemistry, geochemistry, biochemistry and biogeochemistry. Often a set of interrelated partial methods is used to study one subject, for example, molecular biology simultaneously uses the methods of physics, mathematics, chemistry, cybernetics in their interrelation.

In the course of progress, methods can move from a lower category to a higher one: specific ones can turn into special ones, and special ones into general ones.

There is a whole field of knowledge that specifically deals with the study of methods and which is usually called methodology. Methodology literally means “the study of methods” (for this term comes from two Greek words: “methodos” - method and “logos” - doctrine). Each science uses different methods, which depend on the nature of the problems it solves. However, the uniqueness of scientific methods lies in the fact that they are relatively independent of the type of problem, but are dependent on the level and depth of scientific research, which is manifested primarily in their role in scientific research processes.

The method of scientific research is a way of understanding objective reality. A method is a certain sequence of actions, techniques, and operations.

The concepts of technology, procedure and methodology of scientific research should be distinguished from the concept of method under consideration.

Research technique is understood as a set of special techniques for using a particular method, and research procedure is a certain sequence of actions, a way of organizing research.

Methodology is a set of methods and techniques of cognition. For example, the methodology of criminological research is understood as a system of methods, techniques, means of collecting, processing, analyzing and evaluating information about crime, its causes and conditions, the identity of the criminal and other criminological phenomena.

2. Concept and essence of methodology

1) a set of methods used in any field of activity (science, politics, etc.);

2) the doctrine of the scientific method of knowledge.

Let's consider modern general definitions of methodology (Table 1).

Source

Definition

“Methodology (from “method” and “logy”) is the study of structure, logical organization, methods and means of activity”

“Methodology is a system of principles and methods of organizing and constructing theoretical and practical activities, as well as the doctrine of this system”

“The doctrine of methods of activity (method and “logos” - doctrine)”

“Methodology – 1) a set of research techniques used in any science; 2) the doctrine of the method of cognition and transformation of the world"

“The concept of “methodology” has two main meanings: a system of certain methods and techniques used in a particular field of activity (in science, politics, art, etc.); the doctrine of this system, general theory method, theory in action"

“The main goal of the methodology of science is the study of those methods, means and techniques with the help of which new knowledge in science is acquired and substantiated. But, in addition to this main task, the methodology also studies the structure of scientific knowledge in general, the place and role in it various forms knowledge and methods of analysis and construction various systems scientific knowledge"

“Methodology is a discipline about general principles and forms of organization of thinking and activity"

General approach to solve problems of one class or another

V.V. Kraevsky)

Methodology as a way, a means of connecting science and practice

ON THE. Masyukov, groups of specialists began to form, calling themselves “methodologists”, and their scientific direction of “systematic thinking activity” methodology. These groups of methodologists (O.S. Anisimov, Yu.V. Gromyko, P.G. Shchedrovitsky, etc.) began to conduct “organizational and activity games” with groups of workers, first in the field of education, then in agriculture, with political scientists, etc. .d., aimed at understanding innovation activities, which brought them quite wide popularity. In parallel with this, publications by scientists began to appear in the press devoted to the analysis and scientific substantiation of innovative activities - in education, engineering, economics, etc. . In recent years, the term “methodology” has spread among programmers with a completely new “sound.” By methodology, programmers began to understand one or another type of strategy, that is, one or another general method of creating computer programs. Thus, along with the methodology of research activities, a new direction began to form - the methodology of practical activities.

Methodology is the study of the organization of activities. This definition unambiguously determines the subject of the methodology – the organization of activities. It is necessary to consider the content of the concept “organization”. In accordance with the definition given in, organization is 1) internal orderliness, consistency in the interaction of more or less differentiated and autonomous parts of the whole, determined by its structure; 2) a set of processes or actions leading to the formation and improvement of relationships between parts of the whole; 3) an association of people who jointly implement a certain program or goal and act on the basis of certain procedures and rules.

Let us note that not every activity needs organization or application of methodology. As is known, human activity can be divided into reproductive and productive activities (see, for example,). Reproductive activity is a cast, a copy of the activity of another person, or a copy of one’s own activity, mastered in previous experience. Productive activity aimed at obtaining an objectively new or subjectively new result. In the case of productive activity, the need to organize it arises, that is, the need to apply methodology arises. If we proceed from the classification of activities by target orientation: play-learning-work, then we can talk about the following focus of the methodology:

Game activity methodologies

Methodologies of educational activities;

Methodologies of labor and professional activities.

Thus, the methodology considers the organization of activity (activity is the purposeful activity of a person). Organizing an activity means ordering it into an integral system with clearly defined characteristics, a logical structure and the process of its implementation - a time structure (the authors proceed from a pair of dialectic categories “historical (temporal) and logical”). The logical structure includes the following components: subject, object, subject, forms, means, methods of activity, its result. External to this structure are the following characteristics of activity: features, principles, conditions, norms.

The methodology structure diagram contains the following critical components (Fig. 5).

General diagram of the methodology structure

Rice. 5 - General diagram of the methodology structure

Such an understanding and construction of methodology allows us to generalize from a unified position and in a single logic the various approaches and interpretations of the concept of “methodology” available in the literature and its use in a wide variety of activities.

Each science has its own methodology.

Ultimately, both lawyers and philosophers understand the methodology of scientific research as the doctrine of methods (method) of knowledge, i.e. about a system of principles, rules, methods and techniques designed to successfully solve cognitive problems. Accordingly, the methodology of legal science can be defined as the doctrine of methods for studying state legal phenomena.

There are the following levels of methodology (Table 2.).

Table 2 - Main levels and methodologies

3. Philosophical and general scientific methods of scientific research

Among the universal (philosophical) methods, the most famous are dialectical and metaphysical.

When studying objects and phenomena, dialectics recommends proceeding from the following principles (Fig. 6.).

Rice. 6 - Compliance with the principles of dialectics in scientific research

It is advisable to divide all general scientific methods in scientific research into three groups (Fig. 7).

Rice. 7 - Classification of general scientific methods of scientific research

General logical methods are analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, analogy. We present a detailed description of general logical research methods in Table 3.

Table 3 - Characteristics of general logical research methods

	Method name
		Dismemberment, decomposition of the object of study into its component parts. Types of analysis are classification and periodization.
		Connecting individual sides, parts of the research object into a single whole.
	Induction	The movement of thought (cognition) from facts, individual cases to the general situation. Inductive inferences “suggest” an idea, a general idea. For example, the induction method is used in jurisprudence to establish causal relationships between phenomena, actions and resulting consequences
	Deduction	Derivation of an individual, particular from any general position; the movement of thought (cognition) from general statements to statements about individual objects or phenomena. Through deductive reasoning, a certain thought is “derived” from other thoughts
	Analogy	A way of obtaining knowledge about objects and phenomena based on the fact that they are similar to others; reasoning in which, from the similarity of the objects under study in some characteristics, a conclusion is made about their similarity in other characteristics.

Methods at the theoretical level include axiomatic, hypothetical, formalization, abstraction, generalization, ascent from the abstract to the concrete, historical, method of system analysis.

We present a description of the essential content of these methods in Table 4.

Table 4 - Characteristics of theoretical level methods

	Method name
	Axiomatic method	A method of research that consists in the fact that some statements (axioms, postulates) are accepted without proof and then, according to certain logical rules, the rest of the knowledge is derived from them
	Hypothetical method	A method of research using a scientific hypothesis, i.e. assumptions about the cause that causes this consequence, or about the existence of some phenomenon or object. A variation of this method is the hypothetico-deductive method of research, the essence of which is to create a system of deductively interconnected hypotheses from which statements about empirical facts are derived.
	Formalization	Displaying a phenomenon or object in the symbolic form of any artificial language (for example, logic, mathematics, chemistry) and studying this phenomenon or object through operations with the corresponding signs. The use of artificial formalized language in scientific research allows us to eliminate such shortcomings of natural language as ambiguity, inaccuracy, and uncertainty. When formalizing, instead of reasoning about the objects of research, they operate with signs (formulas). Formalization is the basis for algorithmization and programming
	Abstraction	Mental abstraction from some properties and relationships of the subject being studied and highlighting the properties and relationships that interest the researcher. Usually, when abstracting, the secondary properties and connections of the object under study are separated from the essential properties and connections.
	Generalization	Establishment general properties and relationships between objects and phenomena; definition general concept, which reflects the essential, basic characteristics of objects or phenomena of a given class. At the same time, generalization can be expressed in highlighting not essential, but any characteristics of an object or phenomenon. This method of scientific research is based on philosophical categories general, special and individual.
	Historical method	Is to identify historical facts and on this basis in such a mental reconstruction of the historical process in which the logic of its movement is revealed. It involves studying the emergence and development of research objects in chronological sequence
	System method	Consists in the study of a system (i.e. a certain set of material or ideal objects), the connections of its components and their connections with external environment. At the same time, it turns out that these relationships and interactions lead to the emergence of new properties of the system that are absent in its constituent objects

Methods of the empirical level include: observation, description, counting, measurement, comparison, experiment, modeling. Let us characterize the essence of these methods using Table 5.

Table 5 - Characteristics of empirical methods

	Method name
	Observation	A way of cognition based on the direct perception of the properties of objects and phenomena using the senses. As a result of observation, the researcher gains knowledge about the external properties and relationships of objects and phenomena. It is used, for example, to collect sociological information in the field of law. If the observation was carried out in a natural setting, then it is called field, and if the conditions environment, the situation was specifically created by the researcher, then it will be considered laboratory
	Description	Recording the characteristics of the object under study, which are established, for example, by observation or measurement. Description can be: 1) direct, when the researcher directly perceives and indicates the characteristics of the object; 2) indirect, when the researcher notes the signs of an object that were perceived by other persons
		Determination of quantitative relationships between objects of study or parameters characterizing their properties For example, legal statistics studies the quantitative side of mass and other legally significant phenomena and processes, i.e. their size, degree of prevalence, ratio of individual components, change in time and space.
	Measurement	Determining the numerical value of a certain quantity by comparing it with a standard.
	Comparison	Comparison of features inherent in two or more objects, establishing differences between them or finding commonality in them. This method is based on the study, comparison of similar objects, identifying similarities and differences in them, advantages and disadvantages. In this way, it is possible to solve practical problems of improving state institutions
	Experiment	Artificial reproduction of a phenomenon or process under given conditions, during which the hypothesis being put forward is tested. Experiments can be classified according to various reasons: by branches of scientific research - physical, biological, chemical, social, etc.; according to the nature of the interaction of the research tool with the object - conventional (experimental means directly interact with the object under study) and model (the model replaces the research object).
	Modeling	Obtaining knowledge about the object of research using its substitutes - an analogue, a model. A model is understood as a mentally represented or materially existing analogue of an object. Based on the similarity between the model and the simulated object, conclusions about it are transferred by analogy to this object.

4. Private and special methods of scientific research

There are private and special methods of scientific research. Particulars, as a rule, are used in related sciences, and have specific features that depend on the object and conditions of cognition. Special research methods are used only in one branch of scientific knowledge, or their use is limited to several narrow fields of knowledge.

For example, private methods of state studies and jurisprudence are:

1) formal legal (special legal);

2) concrete sociological.

The formal legal method is a special system of methods and techniques for studying state legal phenomena. It includes:

a) description of the rules of law;

b) establishing legal characteristics of certain phenomena;

c) development of legal concepts;

d) classification of legal concepts;

e) establishing their nature from the point of view of the provisions of legal science;

f) their explanation from the point of view of legal theories;

g) description, analysis and generalization of legal practice.

This method is also applicable when studying the forms of the state, determining the competence of its bodies, etc.

Concrete sociological methods are based on the application of methods of concrete sociology to study state and legal phenomena. Concrete sociological research is the scientific study, analysis and systematization of social facts, phenomena and processes related to various spheres of social life.

Methods of concrete sociological research include: study of documents (documentary method), surveys in the form of questionnaires and interviews, the method of expert assessments and others.

Not only the methods for obtaining information about phenomena, but also the methods for collecting, processing and evaluating them are important.

In this regard, sociology distinguishes, for example, the following methods:

registration of single events (observation, survey, study of documents, etc.);

data collection (continuous, sample or monographic survey);

data processing and analysis (description and classification, typology, system analysis, statistical analysis, etc.).

Let us consider the essence of the most common methods of concrete sociological research of phenomena using Table 6.

Table 6 - The essence of common methods of sociological research

	Method name
	Survey methods	The survey can be conducted in absentia by distributing, collecting and processing questionnaires (questioning) or in person in the form of a conversation with the respondent (interviewing). The survey method often requires the development of a questionnaire
	Interview	A conversation between an interviewer and a respondent according to a specific plan. The interview can be conducted by the researcher himself or his assistants. The interviewer, using a questionnaire, plan, form or card, asks questions, directs the conversation, and records the respondents’ answers.
	Method of expert assessments.	Is to study expert opinions with in-depth knowledge and practical experience in a particular field. Both scientific and practical workers are selected as experts (no more than 20 - 30 people).
	Grouping	Consists in dividing statistical indicators into qualitatively homogeneous groups according to essential characteristics
	Correlation analysis.	To measure statistical relationships between the characteristics of the phenomenon being studied

When conducting specific sociological studies of phenomena, other methods are used: sociometry, tests, biographical, psychological and logical-mathematical.

List of sources used

Archibald R.S. Management of high-tech programs and projects. – M.: DMK Press, 2002.

Bezrukova V.S. Pedagogy. Projective pedagogy. – Ekaterinburg: Business book, 1996.

Big Soviet Encyclopedia. 3rd edition. – M.: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1968-1979.

Descartes R. Reasoning about the method. The beginnings of philosophy. – M.: Vezha, 1998.

Kagan M.S. Human activity. – M.: Politizdat, 1974.

Kanke V.A. Basic philosophical directions and concepts of science.

Results of the twentieth century. - M.: Logos, 2000.

Kotarbinsky T. Treatise on good work. Per. from Polish – M.: Economics, 1975.

Kochergin A.N. Methods and forms of knowledge. – M.: Nauka, 1990.

Kraevsky V.V. Methodology of scientific research: A manual for students and graduate students of humanitarian universities. – SPb.: SPb. State Unitary Enterprise, 2001.

Kraevsky V.V., Polonsky V.M. Methodology for teachers: theory and practice. – Volgograd: Peremena, 2001.

Leshkevich T.G. “Philosophy of Science: Traditions and Innovations” M.: PRIOR, 2001

Masyukova N.A. Design in education. – Minsk: Technoprint, 1999.

Methodological problems of modern science. – M.: Nauka, 1978.

Methodology: yesterday, today, tomorrow. In 3 vols. ed.-comp. Krylov G.G., Khromchenko M.S. – M.: Publishing House of the School of Cultural Policy, 2005.

Nikitin V.A. Organizational types modern culture: Abstract of dissertation. Doctor of Cultural Studies. – Tolyatti, 1998.

New philosophical encyclopedia: In 4 volumes - M.: Mysl, 2000.

Novikov A.M., Novikov D.A. Methodology. M.: Sinteg, 2007.

Novikov A.M., Novikov D.A. Educational project / Methodology of practical educational activities. – M.: Egves, 2004.

Novikov A.M. Russian education in a new era: Paradoxes of heritage; development vectors. – M.: Egves, 2000.

Fundamentals of the philosophy of science: Textbook for graduate students / V.P. Kokhanovsky and others - Ed. 2nd. – Rostov n/d: Phoenix, 2005.

Ruzavin G.I. Methodology of scientific research: Textbook. A manual for universities. – M.: UNITY-DANA, 1999.

Soviet encyclopedic dictionary. – M.: Great Russian Encyclopedia, 2002.

Philosophy//pod. ed. Kokhanovsky V.P. Rostov - n/a: Phoenix, 2000

Philosophical Dictionary. Ed. MM. Rosenthal. Ed. third. – M.: Publishing House of Political Literature, 1972.

Philosophical encyclopedic dictionary. – M.: Sov. Encyclopedia, 1983. Shchedrovitsky P.G. On the analysis of the topic of organizational-activity games. – Pushchino, 1987.

scientific

research

CONCEPTS

METHOD

METHODOLOGIES

SCIENTIFIC

RESEARCH

Method

scientific

research

Methods scientific research (3)
Tutorial>> Philosophy
Methods scientific research Basic concepts scientifically-research work Aspect - angle of view... Business, 2000. 2. Mogilevsky V.D. Methodology systems – M.: Economics, 1999. 3. Ruzavin G.I. Methodology scientific research. – M.: UNITY, 1999. 4. Tatarova...
Methods scientific research (4)
Lecture >> Physical education and sports
... methodology scientific research ... Concept method scientific research and its classifications 5.2. Methodological functions of philosophy in scientifically- research activities 5.3. General scientific (general logical) methods 5.1. Concept method scientific research ...
Methods scientific research (4)
Abstract >> Pedagogy
Chapter Sh. METHODOLOGY SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH§ 1. CONCEPTS METHOD AND METHODOLOGIES OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH Method scientific research- is a way of understanding objective reality. ...

Topic 3. Methods of scientific research.

The concept of method, methodology and methodology of scientific research. Classification of research methods. General, general scientific and special methods research. Theoretical and empirical research methods.

Scientific research method - this is a way of knowing objective reality, which represents a certainsequence of actions, techniques, operations.

Methodology - this is a set of research methods and techniques, the order of their application and the interpretation of the results obtained with their help. It depends on the nature of the object of study, methodology, purpose of the study, methods developed, and the general level of qualifications of the researcher.

Any scientific research is carried out using appropriate techniques and methods, and according to certain rules.

Methodology called the doctrine of methods (method) of cognition, i.e., a system of principles, rules, methods and techniques intended for the successful solution of cognitive problems. Each science has its own methodology.

There are different levels of methodology:

1) universal methodology, which is universal in relation to all sciences and its content includes philosophical and general scientific methods of cognition;

2) private methodology of scientific research for a group of related economic sciences, which is formed by general, general scientific and private methods of cognition;

3) methodology of scientific research of a specific science, the content of which includes general, general scientific, private and special methods of cognition.

Depending on the content of the objects being studied, methods are distinguished.natural sciences and methods of social and humanitarian research.

Research methods are classified according to branches of science: mathematical, biological, medical, socio-economic, legal, etc.

Dependingfrom the level of knowledge allocatemethods of empirical and theoretical levels.

To methodsempirical level include observation, description, comparison, counting, measurement, questionnaire, interview, testing, experiment, modeling.

To methodstheoretical level include axiomatic, hypothetical (hypothetico-deductive), formalization, abstraction, general logical methods (analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, analogy).

Depending on the scope and degree of generality, methods are distinguished:

1) universal (philosophical), operating in all sciences and at all stages of knowledge;

2) general scientific, which can be used in the humanities, natural and technical sciences;

3) special - for a specific science, field of scientific knowledge.

General and general scientific methods

scientific research

Among the universal methods of scientific research, the most famous are dialectical and metaphysical.

Dialectics (Greek - “conversing, reasoning”).The concept of “dialectics” arose in Ancient Greece and originally meant the ability to conduct an argument in the form of questions and answers.

Dialectics – the doctrine of the most general laws development of being and knowledge, as well as a method of creative cognitive thinking based on this teaching.

Dialectics appears in the unity of two sides - subjective and objective.

Subjective dialectics – unfolds in the consciousness of the subject as a reflection of the connections and development of objective existence existing independently of man and humanity –objective dialectics . Subjective dialectics is a theory of the development of thinking, knowledge, the struggle of ideas in science, philosophy, unfolding in the human mind.

Objective dialectics – a theory of the development of objective being that exists independently of man.

Dialectics allows us to reflect extremely complex, contradictory processes of the material and spiritual world.

In the doctrine of contradictions, it reveals the driving force and source of all development.

Dialectics is not a simple statement of what is happening in reality, but an instrument of scientific knowledge and transformation of the world. (This is where the unity of dialectics manifests itself as a theory (dialectical materialism) and a method (materialist dialectics).

Dialectical the concept sees the source of development in the unity and struggle of opposites, considers development as the unity of quantitative and qualitative changes, as the unity of gradualism and leaps, as development in a spiral.

Principles of dialectics:

1. The principle of universal mutual connection.

2. The principle of development through contradictions.

Basic laws of dialectics:

1. The law of transition of quantitative changes into qualitative ones.

2. The law of unity and struggle of opposites.

3. The law of negation of negation.

Metaphysics – a method of cognition opposite to dialectics,

considering phenomena usually outside of their mutual connections, contradictions and

development.

Characteristics – one-sidedness, abstractness, absolutization of one or another moment as part of the whole. Objects are considered outside of them complex connection with other processes, phenomena and bodies. This is natural for human thinking, because... a person is incapable of knowing without dividing the whole into its component parts. Metaphysics is characterized by static thinking.

Metaphysical concept development :

– Considers development as only a decrease or increase (i.e. as only quantitative changes) or as only qualitative changes without any quantitative changes, i.e.separates opposites from each other .

– Source of development seesonly in external influence on the thing.

– Development is being considered or howmoving in a circle , or just howmovement on ascending or descendingstraight and so on.

General scientific methods

It is advisable to divide all general scientific methods for analysis into three groups:general logical, theoretical and empirical.

General logical methods are analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, analogy.

Analysis - this is the dismemberment, decomposition of the object of study into its component parts. It underlies analytical method research. Types of analysis are classification and periodization. The analysis method is used in both real and mental activities.

Synthesis - this is the connection of individual sides, parts of the object of study into a single whole. However, this is not just their connection, but also the knowledge of something new - the interaction of parts as a whole. The result of the synthesis is a completely new formation, the properties of which are not only an external combination of the properties of the components, but also the result of their internal relationship and interdependence.

Induction - this is the movement of thought (cognition) from facts, individual cases to the general situation. Inductive inferences “suggest” an idea, a general idea. With the inductive research method, in order to obtain general knowledge about any class of objects, it is necessary to examine individual objects, find in them common essential features that will serve as the basis for knowledge about general feature, inherent in this class of objects.

Deduction - this is the derivation of an individual, particular from some general position; the movement of thought (cognition) from general statements to statements about individual objects or phenomena. Through deductive reasoning, a certain thought is “derived” from other thoughts.

Analogy - this is a way of obtaining knowledge about objects and phenomena on the basis of the fact that they have similarities with others, reasoning in which, from the similarity of the objects being studied in some characteristics, a conclusion is made about their similarity in other characteristics. The degree of probability (reliability) of inferences by analogy depends on the number of similar features in the compared phenomena. The analogy is most often used in

similarity theory.

To methodstheoretical level are consideredaxiomatic, hypothetical, formalization, abstraction, generalization, ascent from the abstract to the concrete, historical, method of system analysis.

Axiomatic method - a method of research that

consists in the fact that some statements (axioms, postulates) are accepted without proof and then, according to certain logical rules, the rest of the knowledge is derived from them.

Hypothetical method - a method of research using a scientific hypothesis, i.e. an assumption about the cause that causes a given effect, or about the existence of a certain phenomenon or object.

A variation of this method ishypothetico-deductive a method of research, the essence of which is to create a system of deductively interconnected hypotheses, from from which statements about empirical facts are derived.

The structure of the hypothetico-deductive method includes:

1) making conjectures (assumptions) about the causes and patterns of the phenomena and objects being studied;

2) selection from a set of guesses the most probable, plausible;

3) deducing a consequence (conclusion) from a selected assumption (premise) using deduction;

4) experimental verification of the consequences derived from the hypothesis.

The hypothetical method is used in constructing rules of law. For example, if a tax rate of 13 percent is established on income individuals Instead of a progressive taxation scale, it was assumed that this measure would make it possible to bring taxable objects out of the shadows and increase budget revenues. According to tax authorities, this hypothesis was fully confirmed.

Formalization - displaying a phenomenon or object in the symbolic form of any artificial language (for example, logic, mathematics, chemistry) and studying this phenomenon or object through operations with the corresponding signs. The use of artificial formalized language in scientific research allows us to eliminate such shortcomings of natural language as ambiguity, inaccuracy, and uncertainty.

When formalizing, instead of reasoning about the objects of research, they operate with signs (formulas). By operations with formulas of artificial languages, one can obtain new formulas and prove the truth of any proposition.

Formalization is the basis for algorithmization and programming, without which computerization of knowledge and the research process cannot do.

Abstraction - mental distraction from some properties and relationships of the subject being studied and highlighting the properties and relationships that interest the researcher. Usually, when abstracting, the secondary properties and connections of the object under study are separated from the essential properties and connections.

Types of abstraction: identification, i.e., highlighting the common properties and relationships of the objects being studied, establishing what is identical in them, abstracting from the differences between them, combining objects into a special class, isolation, i.e., highlighting some properties and relationships that are considered independent subjects of research.

The theory also distinguishes other types of abstraction: potential feasibility, actual infinity.

Generalization - establishment of general properties and relationships of objects and phenomena, definition of a general concept in which

the essential, basic characteristics of objects or phenomena of this class are reflected. At the same time, generalization can be expressed in highlighting non-essential, but any signs of an object or phenomenon. This method of scientific research is based on the philosophical categories of the general, the particular and the individual.

Historical method consists in identifying historical facts and, on this basis, in such a mental reconstruction of the historical process in which the logic of its movement is revealed. It involves studying the emergence and development of research objects in chronological order.

Examples of using this method are: studying the development of consumer cooperation over a long period of time in order to detect its trends; consideration of the history of the development of consumer cooperation in the pre-revolutionary period and during the NEP (1921–1927).

Ascent from the abstract to the concrete as a method of scientific knowledge lies in the fact that the researcher first finds the main connection of the subject (phenomenon) being studied, then traces how it changes in different conditions, opens up new connections and thus displays the fullness of his essence. The use of this method, for example, to study economic phenomena presupposes that the researcher has theoretical knowledge about their general properties and reveals the characteristic features and patterns of development inherent in them.

System method consists in the study of a system (i.e., a certain set of material or ideal objects), connections, its components and their connections with the external environment.

At the same time, it turns out that these relationships and interactions lead to the emergence of new properties of the system that are absent in its constituent objects.

When analyzing phenomena and processes in complex systems, they consider a large number of factors (signs), among which it is important to be able to highlight the main ones and exclude the secondary ones.

Empirical level methods include observation, description, calculation, measurement, comparison, experiment and modeling.

Observation - this is a way of cognition based on the direct perception of the properties of objects and phenomena using the senses.

Depending on the position of the researcher in relation to the object of study, simple and participant observation are distinguished. The first is observation from the outside, when the researcher is an outsider in relation to the object who is not a participant in the activities of the observed. The second is characterized by the fact that the researcher openly or incognito is included in the group and its activities as a participant.

If the observation was carried out in a natural setting, then it is called field, and if the environmental conditions and the situation were specially created by the researcher, then it will be considered laboratory. The results of observation can be recorded in protocols, diaries, cards, on film and in other ways.

Description - this is the recording of signs of the object under study, which are established, for example, by observation or measurement. Description happens:

1) direct, when the researcher directly perceives and indicates the characteristics of the object;

2) indirect, when the researcher notes the characteristics of the object that were perceived by other persons (for example, the characteristics of a UFO).

Check - this is the determination of quantitative relationships between objects of study or parameters characterizing their properties. The method is widely used in statistics to determine the degree and type of variability of a phenomenon, process, the reliability of the obtained average values and theoretical conclusions.

Measurement is the determination of the numerical value of a certain quantity by comparing it with a standard. The value of this procedure is that it provides accurate, quantitative information about the surrounding reality.

Comparison - this is a comparison of features inherent in two or more objects, establishing differences between them or finding something common in them, carried out both by the senses and with the help of special devices.

Experiment - this is an artificial reproduction of a phenomenon, a process under given conditions, during which the put forward hypothesis is tested.

Experiments are classified on various grounds:

- by branches of scientific research - physical, biological, chemical, social, etc.;

- by the nature of the interaction of the research tool with the object -ordinary (experimental means directly interact with the object under study) andmodel (the model replaces the object of study). The latter are divided into mental (mental, imaginary) and material (real).

Modeling - a method of scientific knowledge, the essence of which is to replace the subject or phenomenon being studied with a special similar model (object) containing the essential features of the original. Thus, instead of the original (the object of interest to us), the experiment is carried out on a model (another object), and the results of the study are extended to the original.

Models can be physical or mathematical. In accordance with this, a distinction is made between physical and mathematical modeling. If the model and the original are of the same physical nature, then physical modeling is used.

Mathematical model is a mathematical abstraction that characterizes a physical, biological, economic or some other process. Mathematical models for different physical nature are based on the identity of the mathematical description of the processes occurring in them and in the original.

Math modeling - a method for studying complex processes based on a broad physical analogy, when the model and its original are described by identical equations. Thus, due to the similarity of the mathematical equations of electric and magnetic fields, one can study electrical phenomena using magnetic ones, and vice versa. Feature and dignity this method- the ability to apply it to individual sections of a complex system, as well as to quantitatively study phenomena that are difficult to study using physical models.

Special and private research methods

Private methods are special methods that operate either only within a particular industry or outside the industry where they originated. Thus, the methods of physics led to the creation of astrophysics, crystal physics, geophysics, chemical physics and physical chemistry, biophysics. The spread of chemical methods led to the creation of crystal chemistry, geochemistry, biochemistry and biogeochemistry. Often a set of interrelated partial methods is used to study one subject, for example, molecular biology simultaneously uses the methods of physics, mathematics, chemistry, cybernetics in their interrelation.

Special research methods are used only in one branch of scientific knowledge, or their use is limited to several narrow fields of knowledge.

In the social sciences and humanities, special methods are used:

document analysis - qualitative and quantitative (content analysis);

surveys, interviews, testing;

biographical and autobiographical methods;

sociometry method - application of mathematical means to the study of social phenomena. Most often used in the study of “small groups” and interpersonal relationships in them;

gaming methods - used in production management decisions- simulation (business) games and open-ended games (especially when analyzing non-standard situations);

expert assessment method consists of studying the opinions of specialists with deep knowledge and practical experience in a certain field.

Test questions and assignments

1. Define the terms “method” and “methodology”.

2. What is the methodology of scientific research.

3. Expand the dialectical and metaphysical concepts of development.

4. List the general scientific methods of scientific research.

5. What methods are considered methods theoretical level?

6. What methods are considered empirical methods?

7. What methods are called private?

8. What methods are called special?

TPL_TPL_FIELD_SCROLL

On the topic: “The concept of method and methodology of scientific research. Methodology and methodology of scientific research

Methods scientific research (3)

Methods scientific research (4)

Methods scientific research (4)

Latest

You need to know this