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3.1. Research Methodology

Methodology in the broad sense of the word is a system of principles and methods for organizing and constructing theoretical and practical activities, as well as the doctrine of this system. There is another definition of methodology as «the doctrine of the method of scientific knowledge and

transformation of the world.» The methodology of science characterizes the components of scientific research, its object, subject, tasks, the totality of means necessary to solve research problems, and also forms an idea of the sequence of actions of the researcher in the process of solving the problem.

In modern literature, methodology is primarily an object, subject, a set of tools necessary to solve research problems; methodology also forms an idea of the sequence of actions of the researcher in

problem solving process. Methodological knowledge can act either in a descriptive form or in a normative one, i.e. in the form of direct instructions and instructions for activity.

In this form, the methodology is directly aimed at the implementation of activities.

There are 4 levels of methodology:

1. Philosophical methodology – general principles of knowledge.

2. General scientific methodology (substantial general scientific concepts that affect a fairly large number of scientific disciplines – a systematic approach, a cybernetic approach, etc.).

3. Specific scientific methodology (a set of methods, principles of research and procedures used in a particular scientific discipline).

4. The methodology of this particular study – the methodology and technique of the study, a set of procedures that ensure the receipt of empirical material, its primary processing.

Method, or otherwise, the path of research is a way to achieve a specific goal, a set of techniques and operations of practical or theoretical exploration of reality. In the field of science, the method is the path of knowledge that the researcher paves to his subject. Thus, the method of scientific research is a way of knowing objective reality.

The methods of the empirical level include observation, description, comparison, counting, measurement, questionnaire, interview, testing, experiment, modeling, etc.

The methods of the theoretical level include axiomatic, hypothetical (hypothetical-deductive), formalization, abstraction, general logical methods (analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, analogy) and others.

A method is an action or a system of actions used in the performance of some work, in the implementation of something.

Methodology can be defined as a set of methods and techniques of cognition. Any scientific research is carried out by certain methods and methods, according to certain rules.

3.2. General scientific and philosophical methodology. Essence, general principles

Among philosophical methods, the most famous are dialectical and metaphysical. These methods can be associated with various philosophical systems. For Hegel, dialectics is «the use in science of the regularity contained in the nature of thinking, and at the same time this regularity itself.» Dialectic is the movement that underlies everything. For Marxist dialectical materialism, dialectics is, first of all, the internal law of economic development and, since everything else depends on it, the law of everything that happens in general. When studying objects and phenomena, dialectics recommends proceeding from the following principles:

1. Consider the objects under study in the light of dialectical laws:

a) unity and struggle of opposites;

b) the transition of quantitative changes into qualitative ones;

c) negation of negation;

2. Describe, explain and predict the phenomena and processes under study, based on philosophical categories: general, particular and singular; content and form; entities and phenomena; possibilities and reality; necessary and accidental; cause and effect.

3. Treat the object of study as an objective reality.

4. Consider the objects and phenomena under study:

a) comprehensively;

b) in universal connection and interdependence;

c) in continuous change, development;

d) concretely-historically.

5. Check the acquired knowledge in practice.

Metaphysics considers things and phenomena in isolation, separately, independently of each other. Metaphysical thought strives for the simple, the unified, and the whole.

All general scientific methods for analysis should be divided into three groups: general logical, theoretical and empirical. general logical methods are: analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, analogy.

Analysis is a research method by which the studied phenomenon or process is mentally divided into its constituent elements in order to study each separately.

Varieties of analysis are classification and periodization.

Synthesis is a research method that involves the mental connection of the constituent parts or elements of the object under study, its study as a whole.

Methods of analysis and synthesis are interconnected, they are equally used in scientific research.

Induction is the movement of thought (cognition) from facts, individual cases to a general position. Induction leads to universal concepts and laws that can be taken as the basis of deduction.

Deduction is the derivation of a single, particular from any general position; the movement of thought (cognition) from general statements to statements about individual objects or phenomena. Through deductive reasoning, a certain thought is «deduced» from other thoughts.

Analogy is a way of obtaining knowledge about objects and phenomena based on the fact that they are similar to others; reasoning in which, from the similarity of the studied objects in some features, a conclusion is made about their similarity in other features.

The methods of the theoretical level include axiomatic, hypothetical, formalization, abstraction, ranking, generalization, ascent from the abstract to the concrete, historical, method of system analysis.

In scientific research, the method of abstraction is widely used, that is, abstraction from secondary facts in order to focus on the most important features of the phenomenon under study. For example, when studying the operation of a mechanism, a calculation scheme is analyzed that displays the main, essential properties of the mechanism. Sometimes, when analyzing phenomena and processes, there is a need to consider a large number of facts (signs). Here it is important to be able to highlight the main thing. In this case, a ranking method can be applied, with the help of which everything secondary, which does not significantly affect the phenomenon under consideration, is excluded.

The axiomatic method consists in the fact that some statements (axioms, postulates) are accepted without proof and then, according to certain logical rules, the rest of the knowledge is derived from them.

In some cases, a formalization method is used. Its essence lies in the fact that the main provisions of processes and phenomena are presented in the form of formulas and special symbols. Through operations with formulas of artificial languages, one can obtain new formulas, prove the truth of any proposition. Formalization is the basis for algorithmization and programming, without which the computerization of knowledge and the research process cannot do. The use of symbols and other familiar systems allows you to establish patterns between the studied facts.

The hypothetical method is based on the development of a hypothesis, a scientific assumption containing elements of novelty and originality. A hypothesis must more fully and better explain phenomena and processes, be confirmed experimentally, and comply with the general laws of dialectics and natural science. This research method is the main and most common in applied sciences.