I really like the following passage from Yoga Vasishtha as a model for starting the study.

One day the king came to the main hall of the palace and sat on the throne. After everyone reported to him, a street juggler entered the hall and greeted the king. He told the king: “I will show you something absolutely wonderful!” He waved a bunch of peacock feathers, and the groom entered the hall with an absolutely wonderful horse in the reins. He bowed to the king and asked to accept the horse as a gift. The street juggler began to beg the king to saddle his horse and ride around the world.
The king saw the horse, closed his eyes and became motionless. Everyone in the hall fell silent. Complete silence reigned in the hall; no one dared to disturb the king’s peace.
After some time, the king opened his eyes and trembled as if from fear. He almost fell off his throne, but his ministers prevented him from falling. Surprised by their appearance, the king asked: “Who are you and what are you doing to me?” The frightened ministers told him: “O Great One, you are a mighty and wise king, but something has happened to you. What's wrong with your head? Only those who are attached to petty objects of this world and false relationships with wife, children, etc., easily lose their minds, but not those who are committed to higher ideals like you. Moreover, only madmen are subject to slander, spells and poisons, and not those who have developed a powerful mind.”
Hearing this, the king straightened his shoulders somewhat and raised his head, but at the sight of the juggler he trembled again and asked him: “O wizard, what have you done to me? You have spread a web of illusions over me. Even the wisest are overcome by the magic of Maya, deception. I, in the same body, experienced remarkable hallucinations in a short moment.” Turning to the hall, the king described his feelings over the last hour:
“As soon as I saw this juggler wave a bunch of peacock feathers, I jumped onto the horse standing in front of me and my consciousness became somewhat clouded. Then I went on a hunting expedition. The horse brought me to a dry desert where nothing grew, nothing lived, where there was no water and in general it was very cold. I felt terribly sad. I spent the whole day there. Then, on horseback, I crossed this desert again and found myself in another, less terrible one. I fell asleep under a tree, and my horse ran away, and then the sun set. I hid in the bushes. The night lasted longer than a century.
The day came, the sun rose. A little later I saw a very dark-skinned girl in black clothes carrying a dish of food. I approached her and asked her to eat - I was very hungry. She walked past without answering, and I followed her. Finally she said, “I’ll give you something to eat if you marry me.” I agreed - survival was then paramount. She gave me something to eat and then introduced me to her father, who looked even more horrified. Soon the three of us arrived at their village, full of blood and meat. I was introduced to everyone as the husband of this girl, and everyone respected me. They entertained me with monstrous stories that turned my stomach. In a devilish ceremony, the girl and I were married.”
The king continued:
“I was soon accepted as a member of this primitive tribe. My wife gave birth to a daughter, which made me even more unhappy. Three more babies followed. I became a family man in the tribe. I spent many years among them, suffering the agony of being a family man with a wife and children to feed and protect. I cut wood and often slept on the ground under a tree at night. When the weather turned cold, I hid in the bushes to avoid the wind. I ate mostly pork.
Time passed and I grew old. I started selling meat. I brought the meat to the villages in the Vindhya mountains and sold the best parts there, and what did not sell, I cut into pieces and dried in a dirty place. When I was hungry, I often had to fight with other tribe members for meat. My body became pitch black.
Living in sin, my mind also began to lean towards sin. The good thoughts and feelings are gone. My heart ceased to sympathize, empathy slid off it like old skin from a snake. With nets, snares and traps, I caused the suffering of animals and birds.
I felt all the weather changes firsthand, wearing only a loincloth. I spent seven years like that. Bound by the chains of bad inclinations, I became a berserker with anger, swore dirty, cried when I was unlucky, and ate rotten meat. I lived in this place for a very long time. I was carried like a dry leaf in the wind, as if the only purpose of my life was to eat.
Then there was a drought. The air became so hot that sparks seemed to be flying from it. The forest burned down, leaving only coals and ashes. People began to die of hunger. They followed the mirages in the hope of finding water. They mistook the stones for meat and gnawed on them.
Some began to eat the corpses. Some even chewed on their own fingers, smeared with the blood of dead bodies. Such was the terrible famine.
What had once been a flowering forest began to resemble a huge crematorium. What had once been pleasant groves was filled with dying cries.
The king continued:
Because of hunger, many people left their homes wherever their eyes could see. Others, too attached to wives and children who could not go, died. Many others were devoured by wild beasts.
I also decided to leave there, taking my wife and children with me. Having gone far, I stopped in the shade of a large tree, let the children off my shoulders and forgot for a while.
The youngest of my children was small and innocent, and therefore I loved him more than the rest. With tears in his eyes, he demanded food. Although I told him that there was no meat, he insisted like a child, unable to bear the pangs of hunger. I told him exhausted: “Okay, eat me!”, and he answered without hesitation: “Give it to me.”
I was touched by affection and pity. I saw that the child could no longer endure. I decided to commit suicide to end the suffering. I lit a funeral fire and as soon as I entered this fire, I shuddered - and saw myself in this hall and you around me.”
(As soon as the king finished speaking, the street juggler disappeared). The ministers said:
O great one, this man cannot be just a street magician, because he did not want money or reward. Most likely, some divine creature wanted to show you and all of us the power of cosmic illusion. From all this it is clear that the appearance of this world is nothing but a game of the mind, and the mind itself is nothing more than a game of the greatest infinite consciousness. This consciousness can deceive even a sage. Where is the all-knowing king and where is this crazy deception? Of course, this is not a juggler's trick - the juggler performs for money. This is actually the power of illusion. That's why the juggler disappeared without demanding a reward.

Is there a king in the world in which he found himself due to the hypnosis of the juggler?
- Yes and no. The king is simultaneously present both in his palace and in the desert. Moreover, in the desert the king is present in the form of his own copy.
What does the king's body look like in the palace?
- Unknown.
What is the body of a king who finds himself in the desert?
- A copy of the body that remained sitting in the palace.
So WHO is doing the research?
- Tsar.
Which king? Like the real one, sitting in a palace, or like a copy in the desert?
- Like a king sitting in a palace. The copy cannot conduct research. She is only an APPEARANCE.
How can a king sitting in a palace conduct research while in the desert?
- He can't do this while in the desert. But maybe, if he realizes himself sitting in a palace.
Why then does he not immediately end up in the palace, but continues to be in the desert?
- The copy must disappear before the king wakes up in the palace.

Concept of the research process

RESEARCH PROCESS

Under the research process is understood as one of the types of activities that differs from other types in that:

Contains a creative part that can be called a thought experiment with imaginary objects;

It is aimed at clarifying the essential characteristics of the phenomena of processes, which ultimately act as important generalizations in the form of principles, patterns and laws, the knowledge of which ensures human dominance in the relevant field;

The researcher does not have any algorithmic prescriptions for success, nor can he find a solution to the problem in the literature or find out this solution from his scientific colleagues;

The researcher is placed in a position where he is faced with the complexity of a scientific problem, experiences an objective lack of information, and obvious uncertainty in the direction of the search.

Of course, all kinds of deviations are possible in the creative process. They arise under the influence of the characteristics of previous work experience, associative connections determined by the scientific environment, and the state of development of the problem.

The main task of the researcher is identify the causes of phenomena, the laws governing them. Therefore, the main type of hypothesis is an assumption about the cause, about the conditions, about the law of occurrence, existence, and development of the phenomena being studied.

The structural components of the research process (including the experimental part) are optimally structured as follows.

1st stage. Studying the state of the problem, developing a research program, choosing research methods. At this stage, the level of its development and prospects are established. To do this, the results of previously conducted research on the chosen topic, which were carried out by others and by the researcher himself, are analyzed. Contradictions and unresolved problems are identified, the relevance of the research topic is substantiated, the object and subject of the research are determined, a strategic research plan is drawn up (stages and tasks for each of them are identified), a system of research methods is selected, an outline of the basic procedures for collecting and analyzing primary data is drawn up.. The main question of the first stage of scientific work - a problematic aspect of the topic, without which it is impossible to move on to the next stage of scientific work. The quality of the formulated problematic aspect of the chosen topic will largely determine the final results of the study.

2nd stage. Formulation of research objectives. A goal is one of the elements of human behavior and conscious activity, which characterizes the anticipation in thinking of the results of an activity and the ways of its implementation using certain means. Analysis of activity as goal-oriented involves identifying the discrepancy between the current life situation and the goal; achieving a goal is a process of overcoming this discrepancy.

The goals of the research act as the achievement of certain new states at some level of the research process or as a qualitatively new state - the result of overcoming the contradiction between what should and what is.

In addition to the formulation of the general goal, particular, intermediate ones are formulated. Intermediate goals can act both as obstacles that must be eliminated and as a desired hierarchy of work (general or individual).

The goals of the research must be specifically formulated and expressed in the description of the predictive state in which it is desirable to see the object of research in accordance with the social order.

The purpose of the study is always to describe the projected normative result, inscribed in the context of the connections of a more general system.

The development of a hierarchy of goals ends with the construction network graphics(or chain of goals), which identifies a critical path that optimizes the sequence of research work and all kinds of work to achieve the final goal.

The goal is born from the specific needs of a given scientific institution (for example, school, laboratory, etc.). Determining the purpose and objectives of the research immediately clarifies the essence of the dissertation (scientific research). According to experts, we need to strive for more clear and specific wording goals like:

To determine the pedagogical conditions for nurturing the teacher’s intellectual motives to identify methods of evolutionary-intellectual stimulation of students’ cognitive activity;

To study the means of forming students’ creative attitude towards mastering professional knowledge;

To develop conditions that ensure students’ informed choice of specialty in a multi-level system of higher pedagogical education;

To study the pedagogical conditions for the formation of an empathic culture among pedagogical university students as an integral part of their pedagogical skills.

The researcher must work hard to formulate the purpose of the research, ensuring that it sounds clear and beautiful, and most importantly, truly reflects the goal that he has set for himself.

3rd stage. Formulation of the research hypothesis(assumptions that must be confirmed in the research). When developing a hypothesis, the researcher must keep in mind the basic functions of a scientific theory. As a draft hypothesis, it must perform appropriate functions within the boundaries of the subject of research - descriptive, explanatory, prognostic. Satisfying these requirements, the hypothesis describes the composition of the subject of research as a manifestation of the quality of the unity of the whole. The hypothesis predicts the final results of the transformation and the longevity of their existence.

Research practice shows that in the creative process of hypothesis formation, a separate fact, the psychological state of the researcher, plays a certain role. The role of analogies and the level of development of associative thinking of a scientist are especially clearly demonstrated here.

In practice, there are other constructive ways to construct hypotheses. For example, the creation of many probable “trajectories” of the movement of the object of study, as a result of which the latter acquires the qualities planned by the experimenter, if the best of all possible “trajectories” is identified and implemented.

4th stage. Statement of tasks arising from the research hypothesis. The hypothetically presented internal mechanisms of functioning of the phenomenon or process under study, its presumably described essential characteristics, correspond to the goals of the study, i.e. final projected results. This correlation allows us to move on to the formulation tasks research. Such theoretical work is aimed at developing the form and content of specific searches for tasks aimed at optimizing the variation of conditions (external and internal, existing and experimentally introduced), as a result of which a hypothetical cause-and-effect relationship acquires all the features of an objective law.

In the process of formulating research problems, as a rule, the need arises to conduct an experiment. In pedagogical research, the following types of experiments are used: ascertaining, formative and controlling.

Ascertaining The experiment is carried out to establish the actual initial state before the main formative one. Conducting an ascertaining experiment allows you to bring the development of research problems to a high degree of certainty and specificity. Ascertaining experiment does not form any new, specified qualities in the object. His task consists: in an objective study and establishment of existing significant quantitative and qualitative characteristics, in establishing the laws of functioning of the process in the initial state, in a causal explanation of this state. It is this kind of knowledge that is the starting rationale for formulating goals and objectives research.

You can list in detail all the tasks facing the researcher at the beginning of each chapter of the dissertation, where this is required.

After setting the goals and objectives, the dissertation candidate must clearly understand the boundaries of his research, both in breadth and depth, and know what is included and what is not included in the research that he has to perform.

5th stage. Preparation and organization of the experiment. A new stage in the movement of scientific research begins after the formulation of research tasks. To do this, a complete list of essential conditions must be presented, both amenable to regulation and those allowing at least stabilization.

The experimental research program (i.e., a list of works for the entire experimental period itself), the experimental methodology and the technique of recording current events of the experimental process through direct and indirect observations, conducting interviews, questioning, studying all kinds of documentation and material evidence.

The main qualities of the studied methods, which should be achieved when planning an experiment, are to ensure with their help the representativeness, validity of the experiment, its sufficient resolution to divide the factual material into typical groups or distinguish between levels of intensity of the quality being studied, the functioning of the process.

6th stage. Conducting an experiment and collecting factual data. The organization and conduct of an experiment begins with a test check of experimental documentation: research methods, questionnaires, questionnaires, conversation programs, tables or matrices for recording and accumulating data. The purpose of such a check is to make possible clarifications, changes to the documentation, and to cut off excesses in collecting factual data, which will later turn out to be burdensome, time-consuming and distracting attention from the central issues of the problem.

Experimental process- the most labor-intensive, intense, dynamic part of scientific research, which cannot be stopped; the experiment does not allow any unplanned pauses. During the experiment, the researcher is obliged:

Continuously maintain conditions that ensure the constant tempo and rhythm of the experiment, the similarities and differences between the experimental and control groups;

Vary and dose controlled conditions and the intensity of factors that have a directed influence on the final results to be compared;

Systematically evaluate, measure, classify and record the frequency and intensity of current events in the experimental process, including such moments when the object of study acquires stable planned characteristics;

In parallel with the experiment, carry out systematic primary processing of factual material in order to preserve its freshness and reliability of details, and to prevent subsequent impressions and interpretations from being layered on it.

The experimental process is accompanied by qualitative and quantitative data processing. High quality involves: a) obtaining indicators by which one can judge the specific characteristics of a process or an individual student or group; obtaining preliminary indicators that will be further subjected to quantitative processing. Quantitative processing includes methods of mathematical statistics: alternative, correlation, variance, factor, taxonomic analysis, etc.

7th stage. Systematization of results, their interpretation and presentation. Based on the data obtained, the reconstruction of a holistic idea of ​​the object under study begins, but from the point of view of essential relationships. The actual material is subject to qualification on various grounds, statistical sequences and distribution polygons are formed, trends in the development of stability, leaps in the formation of the quality of the object of experimental influence and research are discovered. Inductive and deductive generalizations of factual material are built in accordance with the requirements of representativeness, validity and relevance. Based on objectively known patterns, the following is carried out:

Retrospective revision of the put forward hypothesis with the aim of transferring it to the rank of theory, in the part in which it turned out to be consistent;

Formulation of general and particular consequences in this theory, allowing for its control testing and reproduction of the experimental effect at another time and in another place by other researchers, but subject to their strict compliance with the experimental conditions;

Assessing the adequacy of research methods and initial theoretical concepts in order to increase and improve methodological knowledge and include it in the general system of scientific methodology;

Development of applied theory addressed to any categories of consumers or levels of practice. Recommendations should be developed exclusively in a form in which practice can consume them.

By adhering to these recommendations, the researcher receives a kind of normative methodological guidelines for organizing research activities. The sequential execution of the list of works, when each of the previous procedures logically ensures the execution of the subsequent one, forms the final result, which in this case will have a greater chance of being distinguished by the completeness of evidence and applied qualities.

The results of scientific research are embodied in scientific works (articles, monographs, textbooks, dissertations, etc.) and only then, after a comprehensive assessment, are used in practice, taken into account in the process of practical knowledge and, in a distilled, generalized form, included in governing documents.

Self-test questions

1. Describe the research process.

2. Name the main stages of the study and give a brief description of them.

3. How are the results of the research process translated?

1) from analysis of the results;

2) from the statement of the problem and the choice of topic;

3) from conducting the experiment;

4) all answers are correct.

What is the main function of science?

1) in confirming phenomena and processes;

2) in search of patterns;

3) in developing objective knowledge about reality;

4) all answers are correct.

27. The subject of the study is...

1) part of matter that is included in cognitive activity;

2) knowledge of any properties of matter or processes;

3) method of cognition;

4) research tool.

28. Science is based on...

1) logic;

2) intuition;

3) education;

4) facts.

29. A hypothesis is...

1) a statement about the existence of a phenomenon, the truth of which is proven deductively;

2) a statement about the existence of a phenomenon, the falsity of which is proven deductively;

3) a statement about the existence of a phenomenon, the truth or falsity of which is verified experimentally;

4) an assumption about the cause or consequence of a phenomenon.

What determines the duration of the experiment?

1) on the objectives of the research;

2) the complexity of the research methodology;

3) the complexity of processing the research results;

4) on the novelty of the research.

Which of the following experiments is characterized by strict standardization of methods and environmental conditions?

1) natural;

2) laboratory;

3) model;

4) free;

Which of the following experiments is characterized by such minor changes in normal conditions that they may not be noticed by those being studied?

1) natural;

2) laboratory;

3) model;

4) staged.

What is the difference between pedagogical observation and everyday observation?

1) systematic and specific;

2) the presence of specific methods for recording facts;

3) subsequent verification of observation results;

4) all of the above.

What type of survey corresponds to obtaining information through written responses to a system of standardized questions?

1) survey;

2) interview;

3) conversation;

4) consultation.

36. When preparing a scientific paper, you need to focus on...

1) own intuition;

2) teacher requirements;

4) advice from classmates.

37. Principles of construction, forms and methods of research activities:

1) methodology of science;

2) methodological reflection;

3) methodological culture;

4) all options are correct.

38. The logic of the study includes:

1) staging stage;

2) research stage;

3) about the development and implementation stage;

4) all options are correct.

39. A research method that involves organizing a research situation and allows you to control it:

1) observation;

2) experiment;

3) survey;

4) all options are correct.

40. A type of question in a questionnaire or interview that contains answer options:

1) projective;

2) open;

3) alternative;

4) closed.

41. Type of observation, which assumes that the researcher is a participant in the observed process:

1) indirect;

2) hidden;

3) included;

4) all options are correct.

42. Method of written survey of respondents:

1) testing;

2) survey;

3) modeling;

4) all options are incorrect.

43. Exact excerpt from some text:

1) review;

2) quote;

3) abstract;

4) all options are correct.

44. Criteria for evaluating an educational essay:

1) correspondence of the content to the topic of the abstract;

2) depth of material processing;

3) correctness and completeness of the use of sources;

4) all options are correct.

45. Course work solves the following problems:

1) a summary of the findings;

2) independent analysis of concepts on the problem being studied;

3) determining the relevance, object and subject of research;

4) all options are correct.

46. ​​Determine which scale the given measurement belongs to: groups (teams of athletes) 1 – football players; 2 – gymnasts; 3 – basketball players; 4 – swimmers.

1) scale of names;

2) order scale;

3) interval scale;

4) relationship scale.

47. Determine which scale the given measurement belongs to: the number of questions in the questionnaire as a measure of the complexity of the survey.

1) scale of names;

2) order scale;

3) interval scale;

4) relationship scale.

48. Determine which scale the given measurement belongs to: time to solve a learning problem.

1) scale of names;

2) order scale;

3) interval scale;

Preparing for scientific research traditionally involves several stages. Experts offer various options for methodological recommendations. However, we note that the existing recommendations relate mainly not to the presence or absence of one or another stage, but to their sequence. In this regard, the stages of research proposed in our methodological recommendations include all the elements recognized by science as necessary components of research activity, and offer only a special, perhaps different, sequence of recommendations, which seems most convenient for practical application. The preliminary diagram suggests a sequence of actions and then discusses each of its stages in detail.

Object area, object and subject

Scientific research, in contrast to everyday experimental knowledge, is systematic and purposeful. Therefore, an important task is to clearly define the scope of research activity - its object and subject, a kind of “coordinate system” of research. Work on any research begins with the definition of the named “system”. It consists of three elements: “object area”, “object” and “subject” of research. This stage precedes the selection of a research topic. Let us give brief definitions of each of the elements of the “system”.

Definition of the object area, object and subject of research

Object area of ​​study - this is the sphere of science and practice in which the object of research is located. In school practice, it may correspond to one or another academic discipline, for example mathematics, biology, literature, physics, etc.
Object of study - this is a certain process or phenomenon that gives rise to a problem situation. An object is a kind of carrier of a problem - something that research activity is aimed at. The concept of the subject of research is closely related to the concept of object.
Subject of study - this is a specific part of the object within which the search is carried out. The subject of research can be phenomena as a whole, their individual sides, aspects and relationships between individual sides and the whole (a set of elements, connections, relationships in a specific area of ​​the object). It is the subject of the research that determines the topic of the work.
The boundaries between the object area, object, subject are conditional and mobile. What in one case is the object of research, in another can become an object area; what was in this case an object, in another case appears as a subject of research.
For example, if the object of one study was the creative connections between Russian and French literature of the 19th century, then the features of intercultural borrowings can be highlighted as the subject of study. In work of a different nature, on the contrary, the object may be intercultural connections, and the subject may be the peculiarities of interactions between Russian and French literature.

Topic, problem and relevance of the study

Subject- an even narrower scope of research within the subject. Choosing a topic is a very difficult stage for many. Students often choose topics that are too large or complex. Such topics may be too difficult to cover within the framework of educational research. It is also possible that a student, for one reason or another, chooses a topic that has long become a “common place” or is an “unknown land” only for a not yet fully informed novice researcher.
Topic is the perspective from which a problem is viewed. It represents the object of study in a certain aspect characteristic of this work.

To facilitate the process of choosing a topic, we will try to highlight the main criteria:

* it is desirable that the topic is of interest to the student not only at the current moment, but also fits into the general perspective of the student’s professional development, i.e. was directly related to his pre-selected future specialty;
* it is very good if the choice of topic is mutually motivated by the interest in it of both the student and the teacher. This happens when the supervisor himself is engaged in research work and, within the framework of his chosen field, identifies an area that requires development for the student to study. To some extent, this may resemble the traditional master-apprentice relationship;
* the topic must also be feasible under existing conditions. This means that equipment and literature must be available on the chosen topic. An example of a topic being implemented would be the topic “Features of mosses and lichens in an urban forest park area.” The stated topic does not require hard-to-reach instruments or difficult field conditions.

It is equally important to formulate the topic correctly from the very beginning. After all, a topic is a kind of calling card for research. Let us immediately make a reservation that such a formulation will not be final, but preliminary. Here it is also advisable to recall some traditional requirements: the topic should be formulated as concisely as possible, and the concepts used in its formulation should be logically interrelated.
The formulation of the topic reflects the coexistence in science of what is already known and what has not yet been studied, i.e. the process of development of scientific knowledge. Due to this reason, a very important stage in the preparation of research becomes the stage of substantiating the relevance of the topic.

Justify relevance- means explaining the need to study this topic in the context of the general process of scientific knowledge. Determining the relevance of the research is a mandatory requirement for any work. The relevance may be the need to obtain new data and the need to test new methods, etc.

The research topic is chosen taking into account its relevance in modern science, and here the main assistance to the student is provided by his supervisor, who orients the novice researcher in the degree of elaboration of a particular problem, according to which the topic of work will be chosen. Coverage of relevance, like the formulation of the topic, should not be verbose. There is no need to start describing it from afar. One page is enough to show the main thing.
When justifying the relevance of the chosen topic, it is necessary to indicate why it is relevant at the moment. Here it is desirable to briefly highlight the reasons why the study of this topic became necessary and what prevented its disclosure earlier, in previous studies.

An undoubted indicator of relevance is the presence of a problem in a given area of ​​research.

When and why does the problem occur?

As a rule, its appearance is due to the fact that existing scientific knowledge no longer allows one to solve new problems, understand new phenomena, explain previously unknown facts, or identify the imperfections of previous methods of explanation, recognized facts and empirical patterns.
Thus, we can imagine the problem as a kind of contradictory situation that requires its resolution. The resolution of this contradiction is most directly related to practical necessity. This means that when addressing a particular problem, the researcher needs to clearly imagine what practical questions the results of his work can answer.
Correct formulation and clear formulation of new problems in research are very important. It determines the research strategy and the direction of scientific research.
At this stage of work, it is not always possible to accurately determine the topic of research, the ways and means of its development and implementation. To do this, you need to study the scientific literature on the issue. After which the topic is usually clarified and changed.

Defining a Hypothesis

Having clarified the topic as a result of studying specialized literature, the researcher can begin to develop a hypothesis. This is one of the most crucial moments of working on research. First, let's look at the definition of the concept itself.

The hypothesis must satisfy a number of requirements:
* be verifiable;
* contain an assumption;
* be logically consistent;
* correspond to the facts.
Translated from ancient Greek, hypothesis means “foundation, assumption.” In modern scientific practice, a hypothesis is defined as a scientifically based assumption about a directly observed phenomenon.

When formulating a hypothesis, verbal constructions like:
“if..., then...”;
"because...";
"provided that...",

those. those that direct the researcher’s attention to revealing the essence of the phenomenon and establishing cause-and-effect relationships. The process of formulating a hypothesis is not a one-time act. First, it is better to draw up a working version of it - as a primary, temporary assumption that serves to systematize the material. After accumulating a significant amount of factual material, the working version of the hypothesis is refined, modified and takes on the form of a final scientific hypothesis.
Following the development of a hypothesis, the next stage of preparation for the study begins - determining its goals and objectives. More precisely, it does not begin, but continues, since the development of goals and objectives occurs during the development of the hypothesis. In general, we note that any division into stages is quite arbitrary, especially in practical activities, such as research activities. Nevertheless, this division is necessary for purely educational, explanatory purposes in order to clearly identify all the components of a particular activity. In practice, these stages can proceed in parallel, intersect, and even change places depending on the specific research situation. It is only important to take them all into account as necessary elements of this type of activity. This is precisely what justifies the structuring we have undertaken. But let’s return to defining the concepts of goals and objectives in the context of preparation for research.

Purpose and objectives of the study

In general, the goal and objectives should clarify the directions in which the proof of the hypothesis will go.
Purpose of the study is the final result that the researcher would like to achieve when completing his work. Let's highlight the most typical goals. They may be determining the characteristics of phenomena not previously studied; identifying the relationship between certain phenomena; studying the development of phenomena; description of a new phenomenon; generalization, identification of general patterns; creation of classifications.
Statement of the purpose of the study can also be presented in various ways - cliches traditionally used in scientific speech. Let's give examples of some of them. You can set a goal:
reveal...;
install...;
justify...;
specify...;
develop...
It is necessary to formulate problems very carefully, since the description of their solution will later form the content of the chapters. The chapter headings are born precisely from the formulations of the tasks. Let us offer one of the definitions of the concept “task”.
Research problem - this is the choice of ways and means to achieve a goal in accordance with the hypothesis put forward. Objectives are best formulated as statements of what needs to be done for the goal to be achieved. Setting objectives is based on dividing the research goal into subgoals. The list of tasks is based on the principle from the least complex to the most complex and labor-intensive, and their number is determined by the depth of the research.
Target- an ideal vision of the result that guides human activity. To achieve the goal and test the provisions of the hypothesis formulated by him, the researcher identifies specific research tasks.
After formulating the hypothesis, goals and objectives of the study, the stage of determining methods follows.

Defining Methods

Method is a way to achieve the goal of the study. The decisive role of the choice of method in the success of a particular research work is obvious. Methods of scientific knowledge are divided into general and special. General methods include: theoretical, empirical, mathematical.

Theoretical methods:

Modeling allows you to apply the experimental method to objects with which direct action is difficult or impossible. It involves mental actions or practical actions with a “model”;
abstraction consists of mental abstraction from everything unimportant and recording one or more aspects of the subject that interest the researcher;
analysis and synthesis. Analysis is a research method by decomposing an object into its component parts. Synthesis is the combination of parts obtained during analysis into something whole. Analysis and synthesis exist as a whole. Methods of analysis and synthesis are used, for example, to carry out the initial stage of research - studying the literature on the research topic.
the ascent from the abstract to the concrete occurs in two stages. At the first stage, a single object is divided into parts, described using concepts and judgments; and at the second stage, the original integrity of the object is restored. Empirical methods:
observation;
comparison;
experiment. Experimental study of an object has a number of advantages compared to other methods.
Mathematical methods:
statistical methods;
methods and models of graph theory and network modeling;
methods and models of dynamic programming;
queuing methods and models;
method of data visualization (functions, graphics, etc.) The selection of methods is carried out with the obligatory guidance of the teacher.

Conducting scientific research

Conducting scientific research includes two stages: the actual implementation (the so-called technological stage) and the analytical, reflective stage.
A work plan is being drawn up.

The work plan has three parts:
it is necessary to indicate the purpose of the planned experiments; list the equipment required for the experiment; forms of entries in draft notebooks. The work plan also includes the initial processing and analysis of the results of practical actions, the stage of their verification. The plan should include everything that can be foreseen already at the first stage. Determine the object, subject of research, methods;
description of the experimental part of the work. The content of the experimental part depends on the topic of work, the object area, in accordance with which its specificity is determined. It is necessary to analyze how the chosen methods will help confirm the hypothesis and clarify compliance with the objectives of the study;
registration of research results. The method of examination and presentation of research results is prescribed - from a review to a discussion in a group of students and a presentation at a conference. The more often the results are discussed in audiences of different composition, the better for its author. At the final stage, it is advisable to think over a way to present the results of your research at a city conference, work out presentation forms in the form of an article and abstract, and comprehend possible recommendations for the practical application of the results, i.e. plan the implementation stage of the research.

A prospectus plan is being drawn up

Prospect plan- this is a plan that is an abstract, more detailed presentation of the issues on which all collected factual material will be systematized. The prospectus plan serves as the basis for subsequent assessment by the student’s supervisor of the compliance of his work with the goals and objectives of the research being conducted. Based on this plan, it will be possible to judge the main provisions of the content of the future research work, the principles of disclosing the topic, the structure and ratio of the volumes of its individual parts. In practice, a prospectus is a rough table of contents of a work with an abstract disclosure of the content of its chapters and paragraphs. The presence of a prospectus plan will allow you to analyze its results, check their compliance with the intended goal and, if necessary, make adjustments.

The structure of scientific research is something that no creative work closely related to one or another branch of relevant knowledge can do without. Forming it is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance; the most important thing is to adhere to the logic of presentation, otherwise the work will turn out to be torn into several parts.

When writing any diploma, dissertation, report or other creative work, structure is simply necessary. You should start by identifying the object of research to which the scientist will devote several months of his life, and then the research tools that will be used to investigate the hypothesis being studied. It is always important to understand what exactly you are studying, otherwise there is a risk of getting confused and doing a lot of useful, but completely unnecessary work.

Why is such work needed?

The overwhelming majority of things that currently exist and are familiar to man could not have appeared without preliminary research. This applies to absolutely everything, from the invention of the light bulb to mathematical calculations of the orbits of planets. A clear structure of scientific research is 50% of its success, because when a scientist clearly understands the result he must achieve, all the smaller goals seem to line up into a convenient and understandable route.

Modern scientists are engaged in the creation of such works every day, and it is worth noting that they do not always exist in the form of the usual diplomas and dissertations. For example, with the help of mathematical calculations alone, it was possible to prove the existence of a large number of objects located beyond the orbit of Pluto, which later, when the corresponding justification was formed, received their name - the Oort cloud.

Where does any research begin?

The initial stage in the structure of scientific research should be considered the formulation of the problem. It is here that the creator of the work looks for the most interesting problem, and also clearly formulates the objectives of his work. If the author of this study has a supervisor, he can help with determining the topic of the work, as well as with the correct formulation of a number of tasks related to it.

It should be noted that the formulation of a scientific problem must necessarily include work with initial information. We are talking primarily about the collection and subsequent processing of information about all methods for solving similar problems, as well as the results of research that have been carried out in this or related fields. It should be noted that additional data processing and analysis must be carried out constantly - from the beginning to the end of your work.

Hypothesis

The structure and content of scientific research at its next stage involves putting forward a primary hypothesis that will be studied. This happens only if the task of the work is formulated quite specifically, and all initial data are subjected to the latter. The latter involves a detailed study of information from the point of view of general applied and strictly professional scientific dogmas.

Science is an excellent platform for creativity, which is why a working hypothesis is often presented in several versions. The main task of the author of the work is to choose the most appropriate of them, while all the others cannot be abandoned. In some cases, an additional experiment is required; it is with its help that the object of scientific work can be studied much better.

Theoretical stage

The third stage involves conducting a number of surveys. The structure of the theoretical level of scientific research consists primarily of the synthesis of a large number of laws that are relevant to its object. Based on the material studied, the author must try to find completely new patterns that were not previously known. This can be done with a lot of help (linguistics, mathematics, etc.). For example, the unusual behavior of a planet and its satellites may indicate the presence of another celestial body nearby that has a corresponding influence.

At this stage, the author must find all possible connections between the phenomena that he identified during the analysis of the hypothesis, as well as summarize the information obtained. Ideally, the working hypothesis should be partially confirmed using all the data analyzed. If the assumption turns out to be erroneous, we can say that the theory was formulated incorrectly or insufficiently fully.

If the logic and structure of a scientific study are followed by its author, then it must, using analytical means, at least confirm the hypothesis taken into account. The author can easily use the data obtained to develop a theory that can explain those phenomena that relate to the situation under study, as well as predict the emergence of completely new ones.

What to do if the analyzed material could not help confirm the chosen hypothesis? Each scientist makes a decision here independently; some prefer to refine the initial assumption and adjust it, and then begin collecting additional data about the subject of research. Some scientists, after recognizing their hypothesis as untenable, refuse to carry out scientific work because they consider it unpromising.

The most difficult stage

The logical structure of scientific research suggests that its author will have to conduct a certain experiment or even a series of similar activities, the results of which can confirm or refute the chosen hypothesis. Its purpose will directly depend on the nature of the work, as well as on the sequence of all experiments.

Experiments that are carried out after theoretical research are carried out must refute or confirm the researcher’s assumption. If theory is not enough, then the practical stage of performing experiments is carried out in advance in order to collect the material necessary for analysis. Then theoretical work will have a completely new meaning - it will have to explain the results of the experiments and generalize them for further work.

Analytics

The fifth stage in the structure of scientific research will require an analysis of the results that were obtained as a result of the experiments and theoretical searches. It is here that the hypothesis must find final confirmation, after which it will be possible to form a series of assumptions about what significance it may have in a person’s life. At the same time, it can be refuted on the basis of the analytical work done, and this may well correspond to the purpose of scientific work.

Next, you should summarize the results of the scientific work, namely, formulate them in such a way that it becomes clear whether they correspond to the tasks that were initially set by the author. This is one of the final stages of the structure of scientific and pedagogical research. If it was only theoretical in nature, then here the work of its author ends.

If there is a practical part, and also if the scientific work was related to technology, it includes another stage - mastering the results. The author must explain how the results of his research can be implemented in practice and propose technological developments for this process.

Methodology

When writing any work, it is necessary to follow the structure of scientific research methodology. We are talking about the implementation in it of a number of ways of cognition. First of all, it is important to take into account all the facts that allow you to obtain information about the object of study, their relevance and truthfulness. The history of the subject, theoretical knowledge about it, prospects for its development in the future - all this should be reflected in scientific work.

When writing it, it is important to take into account the fact that the elements being studied can constantly change, both for the better and for the worse. Due to this component of the structure of scientific research methodology, it is possible to identify only those that have the greatest impact on the study of a particular object. The process of working on the research itself must be systematic; the author must understand exactly what result he should arrive at and how exactly he can do it.

Scientific and pedagogical work

The structure and logic of scientific and pedagogical research, as you already know, consists of seven stages. Each of them is a self-sufficient unit in the general mechanism of scientific work, and it is impossible to abandon any of them. If the work is planned to be presented to a commission consisting of professionals in the field to which it relates, the wording should be as clear and transparent as possible.

Pedagogy has a number of features that must be taken into account when compiling a scientific work. In particular, it is impossible to do without indicating teaching methods that can be used to implement the proposed hypothesis. That is why the author of such work must have some experience in this field, which will allow him to talk with professionals on equal terms.

Work organization

The structure is quite simple. First, the topic of the work is determined; it can be formulated independently or with the help of a supervisor. The second option is most often used; the first is more suitable for those scientists who have already made a name for themselves and can create works on their own. As a rule, the academic director tries to give its applicants only topics that they can handle based on their experience.

At the introductory meeting, the director and the author of the work jointly formulate a topic and determine the composition of the parts of the study and the list of references for it. After this, a checkpoint is assigned, for which a certain amount of work will need to be prepared, which the supervisor will have to familiarize himself with in order to provide feedback to the author.

The topic of scientific research, its principles and structure must be reflected in the work, otherwise it will have nothing to do with science. As a rule, students fail to formulate them the first time, which is why the work is sent for rework and the next checkpoint is assigned.

Throughout the year, students must meet with their supervisors in order to ensure that their scientific works turn out to be truly interesting and voluminous. Defense of work at a university takes place in the presence of a commission, which includes the head of the department, scientific advisor, teachers of the department, as well as representatives of another university in which similar theoretical issues are being studied.

Scientific method

When writing any theoretical work, it is necessary to approach the process from a scientific point of view. The structure of the scientific research method consists of three components that must be present in it. The first of them is conceptual; it refers to the existing idea of ​​the possible forms of the object of study.

The second is operational; it includes all the standards, rules and methods of work that stipulate the cognitive activity carried out by the researcher. The third is logical, with its help it is possible to record all the results that were obtained during the active work of the author of a scientific work with the object and means of cognition. In addition, the work usually implements methods of theoretical and empirical knowledge.

The first of them is the process of reflecting all ongoing processes related to the study of the problem. It includes theories, hypotheses, laws, idealization, formalization, reflection, induction, abstraction, classification and deduction. The second presupposes the existence of specialized practice that will be directly related to the problem. It should include experiments, observations, scientific research, and measurements.

What happens next?

Once the research on a topic that interests you is completed and the defense is successful, the question arises of what to do with it next. There are a lot of options, the simplest one is to forget about it and switch to another activity, and, unfortunately, the majority follows it. The minority chooses to continue working on this research, based on the information received, a new hypothesis is created on the same topic, and the process starts anew.

The work can also be used by other scientists who, based on its analysis, can derive a completely new theory related to the object of study, and then expand on it and make an important discovery. For example, based on scientific work with a large amount of mathematical data, astronomers use a telescope to examine a fragment of the starry sky in order to discover a new star or planet, and if the calculations are performed correctly, then the chance of a successful search increases significantly.

Conclusion

The logic and structure of scientific research should be clearly visible throughout its entire duration, this is especially important when working on issues that are related to the exact sciences - mathematics, physics, chemistry, etc. If you feel that you have a fair amount of these two components “limp”, you can ask for help from your supervisor or more experienced colleagues who have repeatedly dealt with the creation of similar works and understand perfectly what components should be included in them.

Remember that it is important to complete your research, even if you think it is not entirely in line with your interests. Firstly, you will gain the experience necessary to write scientific papers in the future, and secondly, even if you doubt your actions, more experienced colleagues will always come to your aid. And then, if you follow through, you will be perceived as a person who keeps his word, and this is expensive, especially in the scientific world.