Scientific research
Scientific research is a process that generates knowledge from observation, establishing hypotheses, experiments carried out and results obtained. In other words, it is a pre-planned study method that follows a series of well-structured steps.
The first step of a scientific investigation is the question or question that arises from observation, a phenomenon or event. For example: What substances prevent the growth of bacteria on surfaces?
The main objective of scientific research is to produce new knowledge; For this reason, the person (or researcher) who carries out this type of research is creative, has critical thinking and basic knowledge in the area they want to explore or know.
Features of scientific research
Among the characteristics of scientific research, its systematic character, the possibility of verifying its results and the objectivity of its procedures stand out.
– Is original
Originality is understood as the research is new, that is, as it is new in one or all of its elements.
For example, a scientific investigation may be original in the orientation of the problem, in the materials or equipment used, in the procedure or in the subjects on which the investigation is carried out.
The greater the degree of originality of the project, the greater the scientific significance it can achieve.
In conclusion, originality refers to the new or innovative elements that the research seeks to find with its results.
– is objective
Scientific research must be objective and unbiased in order to provide valid results. This implies that the results should not be biased , that is, they should not be influenced by the researcher’s previous judgments or subjective opinions.
– It is verifiable
The final conclusions obtained through scientific research can be verified at any time.
In other words, verifiability implies that all research, together with its conclusions, can be verified by another researcher or a group of experts, which gives credibility to the findings obtained.
An example of research can be taken, whose results conclude that a type of substance, under certain conditions – such as concentration and exposure time – manages to eliminate bacteria from a metallic surface.
This investigation can only be considered verifiable if another scientist, under the same conditions, repeats the investigation and obtains the same results and conclusions.
– It is cumulative
Scientific research uses the results of previous studies to support itself. In other words, researchers always use previous studies as a basis for their own work. In this way, scientific research constitutes a series of findings that support each other.
– It is predictive
One characteristic is that the knowledge acquired through scientific research can predict what will happen at any time.
For example, when the behavior over time of a population of insects is studied and it is observed that they are more abundant during the rainy season, it is possible to predict in which season the insect will increase its population in a given region.
– Use a systematic method
One of the main features of scientific research is the use of a systematic procedure called the scientific method. Through the rigor of this method, it is possible to minimize personal and subjective influences in the research.
– Subsidiary
A scientific investigation must avoid chance, and the process must be supported by control mechanisms that allow obtaining true results.
Chance has no place in scientific research: all actions and observations are controlled, according to the researcher’s criteria and the object investigated, through well-defined methods and rules.
Process and stages of scientific research
Scientific research may contain some or all of the following steps, which are carried out in succession:
– the observation
The first step of scientific research is the observation of a phenomenon, event or problem. For these reasons, the researcher is usually a curious and observant person. Likewise, the discovery of the phenomenon usually arises due to unexpected changes in the natural process of the event.
– The problem
Observation leads to the formulation of several questions: Why? How? When? This constitutes the formulation of the problem. The problem must be perfectly defined in terms of certain basic characteristics of the phenomenon to be studied.
For example: Why is the growth of the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus stopped by the fungus Penicilliun notatum ?
In addition to formulating the problem, the researcher must indicate the scope and likely contributions of the research.
– Formulation of the hypothesis
To answer the question elaborated in the problem, the hypothesis is formulated. This term refers to an approach that is presumed to be true even if it has not been experimentally proven. Therefore, a hypothesis is an unproven truth.
An example of a hypothesis would be: if the growth of the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus is contained in the fungus Penicilliun notatum, this fungus will produce a substance that prevents the growth of the bacterium.
As seen in the example, the hypothesis is a likely response to the observed phenomenon.
– Experimentation
The hypotheses are submitted to methodological processes to determine their veracity or, on the contrary, to establish their nullity and reject it. These experiments and processes are rigorously structured and controlled.
– Evaluation of results and conclusions
All results and evidence obtained are analyzed to answer the proposed problem. The results and conclusions are then disseminated through presentations at conferences, scientific meetings or published in journals.
Types of scientific research
Scientific research can be classified in different ways: according to the way in which the data is obtained, according to the analysis of the data and the time in which they are carried out.
According to the way to get the data
These are classified into observational and experimental. The former just observe the process without intervening in it; while in experimental studies the researcher manipulates some conditions or characteristics of the object of study and observes how they behave.
An example of an experimental study would be determining the appropriate concentration of an antibiotic to stop the growth of bacteria. In this case, the researcher manipulates the antibiotic measurements.
Based on data analysis
Therefore, they are classified into descriptive and analytical. Descriptive studies use numbers and frequencies (percentages) to detail the population. For example: the number of bird species in a region or the percentage of girls and boys in a school.
On the other hand, analytical studies establish relationships between the characteristics studied, for which they use statistical methods. For example: comparing the number of boys and girls in a school to determine whether the difference is significant.
According to the time the investigation is carried out
In this case, they are classified as retrospective or prospective. Retrospective studies analyze the behavior of phenomena in the past. For example: if you want to study the characteristics of a population, you take data from archives, censuses, demographic offices, among others.
In prospective studies, phenomena are studied for the future, that is, the characteristics of the object studied are captured or recorded daily. This type of study is widely used in clinical research, as it minimizes the risk of using obsolete data in patients.
Importance of scientific research
Scientific research makes it possible to analyze and learn about different phenomena. Furthermore, due to the rigorous nature of its methodology, conclusions, theories and laws are obtained that allow humanity a closer contact with reality.
Likewise, thanks to scientific research, among other great discoveries, it was possible to know, analyze and overcome important diseases that have harmed humanity.
Examples of scientific research
– The works of Louis Pasteur
Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) is the best example of how scientific research begins with a meticulously observed event and thrives on formulating theories and laws; This researcher was able to verify, through scientific research, that microorganisms multiply.
To demonstrate, Pasteur used gooseneck bottles . These glass containers have a very long, S-shaped top, which allows air to enter, but prevents dust and other particles from the environment.
Then he filled two vessels with broth, one with a goose neck and the other with a short neck; Later, the two bottles were boiled to eliminate the microorganisms present in the broths.
At the time, Pasteur observed that the broth placed in the “S”-shaped container remained intact, while the contents in the short-necked container easily decomposed.
In this way, Pasteur was able to demonstrate that microorganisms did not form spontaneously within the broth and that the decomposition of the broth in the short-necked container was caused by microorganisms present in the environment.
– Discovering the structure of DNA
One of the most impressive examples of the application of scientific research is the discovery of the structure of DNA. This discovery was made by James Watson and Francis Crick.
DNA is a molecule found in the nucleus of cells and carries the information necessary for the development and functioning of living beings. However, at the time of Watson and Crick, the structure of this molecule was unknown.
The researchers asked themselves: What is the structure of DNA? They knew all the theoretical and experimental bases of the subject and used them to carry out a series of exhaustive and detailed experiments.
In this way, his experiments allowed him to conclude that the structure of DNA is similar to a spiral staircase that turns to the right. After 18 months of work, on April 2, 1953, Watson and Crick published their work in which the structure of the molecule is described in detail.
– Identification of the virus causing gastroenteritis, rotavirus
Rotaviruses are viruses that cause intestinal infections (gastroenteritis) in children. They were discovered in 1973 in Australia by Ruth Bishop, when he was trying to decipher the causative agent of the disease in cases of gastroenteritis.
Bishop, through careful observation and using the electron microscopy technique, was able to demonstrate the presence of the virus in biopsies of children hospitalized for gastroenteritis. Bishop released his discovery in 1973.
