¶ … high level of anecdotal data and loose interpretation involved. For any serious study, what we want is quantitative or scientific research. While the term scientific research is frequently used in discussions and studies, many few may actually understand the real meaning of scientific research. For a research to be truly scientific, it must the following criteria:
"There must be a felt difficulty or problem to be addressed
There must be a location and definition of the felt difficulty
One must suggest solutions (hypotheses) to the problem
Using deductive reasoning one must predict the consequences of the various suggested solutions
One must test the hypothesis in action" (Blumenfeld, p. 119)
In most cases, we assume that scientific research is one that involves science. This may be true to some extent but there are other requirements for a research to be scientific and they have...
The research should also be "reproducible." This means that whatever results have been derived from the research should be reproducible in another experiment at some other laboratory by someone else at another time. It is only then the research can be considered scientific in nature.
One of the most controversial subjects of scientific study is its participants. For example when a pharmaceutical company decides to conduct a research on a new treatment, it will invite human beings instead of animals to participate in the research. But since the drug is new or alternative treatments being sought are untested, there is a likelihood that something might go wrong and participants may end up getting hurt. This is where participants rights come into play and scientific research has to be guided by some important principles which include "beneficence, respect for human dignity and justice." It is important to understand what they…
