Читать книгу Scientific research basics in the transportation process - A. Yu. Timkova - Страница 6

The form of existence and development of science is scientific research. The Federal Law of the Russian Federation of August 23, 1996 «On Science and State Scientific and Technical Policy» defines research activities as activities aimed at obtaining and applying new knowledge.

The purpose of scientific research is the definition of a specific object and a comprehensive, reliable study of its structure, characteristics, relationships based on the principles and methods of cognition developed in science, as well as obtaining results useful for human activity, introduction into production with a further effect. The object of scientific research is a material or ideal system, and the subject is the structure of the system, the interaction of its elements, various properties, patterns of development.

The results of scientific research are evaluated the higher, the higher the scientific nature of the conclusions and generalizations made, the more reliable and effective they are. They should form the basis for new scientific developments.

One of the most important requirements for scientific research is a scientific generalization, which will allow establishing the dependence and connection between the phenomena and processes under study and drawing scientific conclusions. The deeper the findings, the higher the scientific level of the study.

Scientific research is classified on various grounds. For example, the Federal Law «On Science and State Science and Technology Policy» distinguishes between fundamental and applied research. Fundamental scientific research is understood as experimental or theoretical activity aimed at obtaining new knowledge about the basic laws of the structure, functioning and development of a person, society, and the natural environment. Applied scientific research is defined as research aimed primarily at applying new knowledge to achieve practical goals and solve specific problems. According to the source of funding, scientific research is budgetary, contractual and unfunded. Budget research is financed from the budget of the Russian Federation or the budgets of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Contractual research is financed by organizations – customers under economic contracts. Unfunded research can be carried out at the initiative of a scientist, an individual plan of a teacher.

By duration, scientific research can be divided into long-term, short-term and express research.

In science, one can single out empirical and theoretical levels of research and organization of knowledge. The theoretical level of scientific knowledge presupposes the presence of special abstract objects (constructs) and the theoretical laws connecting them, created for the purpose of an idealized description and explanation of empirical situations, i.e. for the purpose of understanding the essence of phenomena.

Their goal is to expand the knowledge of society and help to better understand the laws of nature. Such developments are used mainly for the further development of new theoretical studies, which can be long-term, budgetary, etc.

The elements of empirical knowledge are facts obtained through observations and experiments and stating the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of objects and phenomena. Stable repeatability and relationships between empirical characteristics are expressed using empirical laws, often of a probabilistic nature.

So, the theoretical level of research is characterized by the predominance of logical methods of cognition. At this level, the facts obtained are investigated, processed with the help of logical concepts, inferences, laws and other forms of thinking. Here, the objects under study are mentally analyzed, generalized, their essence, internal connections, laws of development are comprehended. At this level, sensory cognition (empiricism) may be present, but it is subordinate. The structural components of theoretical knowledge are the problem, hypothesis and theory. A problem is understood as a complex theoretical or practical task, the methods of solving which are unknown or not fully known.

A hypothesis is an assumption that requires verification and proof about the cause that causes a certain effect, about the structure of the objects under study and the nature of internal and external relations of structural elements. A hypothesis is scientific only if it is supported by the facts and it can exist only as long as it does not contradict the reliable facts of experience, otherwise it becomes just a fiction. The hypothesis is verified by the corresponding facts of experience, especially by experiment, obtaining the character of truth.

So the scientific hypothesis must meet the following requirements:

– relevance, i.e. relevance to the facts on which it relies;

– verifiability empirically (with the exception of unverifiable hypotheses);

– compatibility with existing scientific knowledge;

– possessing explanatory power, i.e. a certain number of facts, consequences, confirming it, should be derived from the hypothesis.

– the hypothesis from which the largest number of facts is derived will have greater explanatory power;

– simplicity, i.e. it should not contain any arbitrary assumptions, subjectivist accretions.

The facts of experience in some limited scientific field, together with realized, rigorously proven hypotheses, form a theory. Theory is an integral system of reliable knowledge. It is the highest form of generalization and systematization of knowledge.

Theory is a doctrine of generalized experience (practice), formulating scientific principles and methods that allow you to generalize and understand existing processes and phenomena, analyze the effect of various factors on them and offer recommendations for using them in people’s practical activities. The theory not only describes the totality of facts, but also explains them, i.e. reveals the origin and development of phenomena and processes, their internal and external connections, causal and other dependencies. All the provisions and conclusions contained in the theory are substantiated and proven.

The structure of the theory is formed by concepts, judgments, laws, scientific positions, teachings, ideas and other elements.

Concept is a thought that reflects the essential and necessary features of a certain set of objects or phenomena.

Category is a general, fundamental concept that reflects the most essential properties and relationships of objects and phenomena. Categories are philosophical, general scientific and related to a particular branch of science. Examples of categories in economic sciences: price, finance, credit.

A scientific term is a word or combination of words denoting a concept used in science. The set of concepts (terms) that are used in a particular science forms its conceptual apparatus.

A judgment is a thought that affirms or denies something.

A principle is a similar position of any branch of science. They are the initial form of systematization of knowledge (the axioms of Euclidean geometry, Bohr’s postulate in quantum mechanics, etc.).

An axiom is a position that is initial, unprovable, and from which, according to established rules, other provisions are derived. Logical axioms are, for example, the law of identity, the law of contradiction, the law of exclusion of the third.

Law – a provision expressing the general course of things in any area; a statement about how something is necessary or happens to be necessary. Laws are objective and express the most significant, stable, causal connections and relationships between phenomena and processes. Laws can be classified on various grounds. So, according to the main spheres of reality, one can single out the laws of nature, society, thinking and cognition; according to the scope of action – universal, general and private.

A scientific law is knowledge formulated by people in concepts, which, however, has its basis in nature, the objective world.

A position is a scientific statement, a formulated thought.

Doctrine – a set of theoretical provisions about any area of phenomena of reality. For example,

Idea is:

1) a new intuitive explanation of an event or phenomenon;

2) the defining pivotal position in the theory.

A concept is a system of theoretical views united by a scientific idea (scientific ideas); the basic idea.

The empirical level of research is characterized by the predominance of sensory cognition (the study of the external world through the senses). At this level, forms of theoretical knowledge are present, but have a subordinate significance.

The interaction of the empirical and theoretical levels of research is that:

1) the totality of facts constitutes the practical basis of the theory or hypothesis;

2) facts can confirm the theory or refute it;

3) a scientific fact is always permeated with theory, since it cannot be formulated without a system of concepts, interpreted without theoretical ideas;

4) empirical research in modern science is predetermined, guided by theory.

The formation of the theoretical level of science leads to a qualitative change in the empirical level. If before the theory was formed, the empirical material that served as its prerequisite was obtained on the basis of everyday experience and natural language, then when it reaches the theoretical level, it is «seen» through the prism of the meaning of theoretical concepts that begin to guide the setting up of experiments and observations – the main methods of empirical research.

The structure of the empirical level of research is made up of facts, empirical generalizations and laws (dependencies).

The concept of «fact» is used in several meanings:

– an objective event, a result related to objective reality (the fact of reality) or to the sphere of consciousness and cognition (the fact of consciousness);

– knowledge about any event, phenomenon, the reliability of which is proven (truth);

– a sentence that captures knowledge obtained in the course of observations and experiments.

An empirical generalization is a system of certain scientific facts, on the basis of which certain conclusions can be drawn or shortcomings and errors can be identified. Empirical laws reflect regularity in phenomena, stability in relationships between observed phenomena. These laws are not theoretical knowledge. Unlike theoretical laws, which reveal the essential connections of reality, empirical laws reflect a more superficial level of dependencies. For the success of scientific research, it must be properly organized, planned and carried out in a certain sequence (research procedure).

These plans and the sequence of actions depend on the type, object and goals of scientific research. So, if it is carried out on technical topics, then the main pre-planning document is first developed – a feasibility study, and then theoretical and experimental studies are carried out, a scientific and technical report is drawn up and the results of the work are introduced into production.

With regard to the work of students, the following successive stages of implementation can be outlined:

1. Preparatory;

2. Conducting theoretical and empirical research;

3. Work on the manuscript and its design;

4. Implementation of the results of scientific research.

It seems necessary to first give a general description of each stage of the research work, and then consider in more detail those of them that are important for the implementation of scientific research by students. Figure 2 shows a diagram of the stages of scientific research.

The preparatory stage includes: choice of topic; substantiation of the need to conduct research on it; definition of hypotheses, goals and objectives of the study; development of a plan or program of scientific research; preparation of research tools (tools). First, the topic of scientific research is formulated and the reasons for its development are substantiated. By preliminary acquaintance with the literature and materials of previous studies, it becomes clear to what extent the issues of the topic have been studied and what are the results obtained. Particular attention should be paid to questions to which there are no answers at all or they are insufficient.

A list of normative acts, domestic and foreign literature, a card index of published judicial practice is compiled. A research methodology is being developed. Research tools are being prepared in the form of questionnaires, questionnaires, interview forms, observation programs, etc. Pilot studies can be carried out to check their suitability.

The research stage consists of a systematic study of literature on the topic, statistical information and archival materials; conducting theoretical and empirical research, including the collection, processing, generalization and analysis of the data obtained; explanations of new scientific facts, argumentation and formulation of provisions, conclusions and practical recommendations and proposals.

The third stage includes: determination of the composition (construction, internal structure) of the work; clarification of the title, titles of chapters and paragraphs; preparation of a draft manuscript and its editing; text design, including a list of references and applications.

The fourth stage consists of the implementation of the research results into practice and the author’s support of the implemented developments. Scientific research does not always end at this stage, but sometimes students’ scientific works (for example, theses) are recommended for implementation in the practical activities of law enforcement agencies and in the educational process.