The Definition Of Science And Research Methods - 1189 Words

What is science? A brief elaboration of the definition of science and research methods INTRODUCTION Science is a complex activity, which may be defined in a number of ways. To unite both the process and the product of science, one way to define science is as a process of constructing predictive conceptual models (Gilbert, 1991). Gilbert (1991) states, when referring to Kuhn (1970, Lunetta Hofstein (1981), Miller (1978) and Stevens Collins (1980) that in essence, ‘’the definition of science includes virtually all of the products of science, is consistent with the expanded definition of models evident in the literature and unifies scientific fields which operate with diverse methodologies.’’ (p.73). With this statement, Gilbert†¦show more content†¦QUANTITATIVE VS. QUALITIVE RESEARCH The Oxford Dictionary defines research ‘’as a careful study of a subject, especially in order to discover new facts or information about it [..]’’. Research can be divided into qualitative and quantitative research. Many authors have elaborated about the qualitative-quantitative debate. Some different than the other, but not a lot of authors seem to prefer one method above the other. Many new articles come up promoting mix-method research where both methods are used simultaneously. Like many other authors, Hennink, Hutter Bailey (2011) elaborate in their book about the key differences between qualitative and quantitative research. This paper is based on, but not limited to, their findings. A characteristic of quantitative research is that it is based on positivism (Sale et al., 2002) in contrast to qualitative research that is based on interpretivism (Altheide Johnson, 1994; Kuzel Like, 1991; Secker et al., 1995) and constructivism (Guba Lincoln, 1994), which is a very clarifying explanation for the two terms. Quantitative research methods are based on one truth and leave no room for own interpretation, while qualitative research leave room for multiple realities and are open for interpretation (Sale et al., 2002). When doing a qualitative analysis you interpreted your data, oppose to doing a quantitative analysis, which is statistical. Regarding the