Lecture
The rapidly growing role of science in the modern world requires a future specialist in the field of economics to have a significant level
of theoretical knowledge and practical skills in conducting scientific research and organizing it effectively.
Research:
Scientific research, based on the application of the scientific method, provides scientific information and theories to explain the nature and properties of the surrounding world. Such research may have practical applications. Scientific research can be funded by the state , non-profit organizations , commercial companies and private individuals. Scientific research can be classified according to its academic and applied character. The main goal of applied research (as opposed to fundamental research) is — the discovery, interpretation and development of methods and systems for improving human knowledge in various branches of human knowledge.
Types of scientific research:
In the 16th century, F. Bacon put forward the idea that science can and should be organized for studying nature and for the development of nations. By thus asserting the economic and political interest of scientific achievements and the need for rulers to understand the value of scholars, Bacon laid the foundations of scientific research, institutionalized and surrounded by a scientific policy that takes part in organizing the work of scholars, in order to make better use of the economic and military achievements of the nation.
But although Bacon may symbolize a significant moment in the institutionalization of inquiry, he — is nevertheless not its sole founder.
During the 17th century, and especially the 18th century, Academies developed, which are the first genuine demonstration of the institutionalization of inquiry, organized at the will of patrons.
The first professional researchers appeared in the 19th century.
In the natural sciences the following research algorithm predominates:
In the social sciences, applied research usually looks as follows:
Analysis of the research procedure and of the data on its course and outcome, according to reliability criteria, is used either to confirm or to reject the hypothesis being tested. The scientific method ranks empirical research (a planned experiment, or a series or group of experiments) above theoretical judgments that are not confirmed by experience (factographically). Some claims and historical accounts cannot be verified by experience and are classified as myths (in history) or mythologems (hypotheses that cannot be verified experimentally).
Scientific research (observation of the natural course of processes and phenomena, empirical, experimental verification) provides grounds for confirming a hypothesis and for forming, on the basis of knowledge obtained empirically, a theory in the given direction and concerning the specific mechanisms of natural phenomena.
Research constitutes the path of scientific cognition of nature through experience and forms the basis of scientific methodology.
Making adequate
management decisions becomes possible only through the use of large volumes of accumulated knowledge, which can
be brought to bear in the process of carrying out and implementing scientific research. For a future specialist, the ability to organize research activity and to effectively use already-known scientific developments becomes important. The competitive struggle
is won by those managers who are able to turn their companies into
companies that produce and use knowledge.
The textbook consists of 16 chapters, grouped into three sections. The structure of each chapter follows a single style of construction and contains:
the purpose of presenting the material, the questions examined, the key terms
of the topic, the theoretical material, the practical component, review
questions and conclusions. This form of presenting the educational material
makes it possible, from the very first pages of a chapter, to form a coherent picture of its content. On the other hand, such a structure allows the student to independently determine the degree to which the material should be studied:
either becoming familiar with the main conclusions of the topic, or acquiring knowledge
on the basis of studying the theoretical material and checking it by means of review questions, or forming skills and abilities in the course of doing practical work.
The first section of the textbook, «Science, scientific thinking, scientific research», is devoted to the study of the main categories of science and of research activity in science. This section examines the technology of research work, the technology of working with scientific literature, the rules for presenting research results, the principles of the systems approach and the methods of systems analysis, as the basis of scientific
thinking. A separate chapter is devoted to scientific creativity and heuristic methods in science. The practical part of the section contains examples of solving various problems connected with carrying out scientific
research. The material of this section contributes to forming
a general model of scientific research and to a considerable extent facilitates
a meaningful and deep understanding of the material that follows.
The second section, «Methods of scientific research», presents
material revealing the essence of the diverse toolkit
of scientific research. Here the procedures for working with concepts, general logical methods of research, the method of modeling, and the methods of theoretical and empirical research are examined.
The third, concluding section, «Organization of scientific activity and scientific research», is focused on examining questions connected with the economics and technology of organizing scientific and
research activity. This section presents
materials concerning the organization of research work,
the creation and use of the information support of scientific research, the technology of working on a dissertation, the defense of the results
of dissertation research, the implementation of the results of research work, and the assessment of its economic effectiveness.
Each chapter of the textbook is accompanied by practical
tasks and questions for testing the students' knowledge. In the practical
components, examples are given of using the theoretical knowledge acquired and of solving problems of scientific research with the help of modern scientific tools. This gives students
the opportunity to feel the pressing need to acquire skills and abilities in the field of scientific research and the organization of research activity.
Working with the textbook presupposes the following sequence
of student actions: studying the text of the relevant topic; checking
the knowledge acquired by answering the review questions located at the end of each chapter; applying the knowledge acquired by solving practical problems on the topic; applying the knowledge acquired in the process of preparing a report on academic research work.
Studying the theoretical material of the textbook will enable the student
to know: the principles of constructing science as a branch of human activity; the main categories of science; the regularities of the development of science; the foundations
of the methodology of research activity in science; the concepts of the systems approach in scientific creativity; models of the systems approach in
carrying out scientific research; the main characteristics of the instrumental tools for carrying out scientific research; the principles of organizing scientific research; the content and purpose of general scientific and specific scientific methodological techniques; the concepts of rational work with scientific literature; the main characteristics of the instrumental tools for carrying out scientific research; models and methods of activating the researcher's creative potential; the basic
principles and characteristics of the system for the certification of scientific personnel.
The practical component of the textbook is aimed at acquiring a broad range of skills for conducting and organizing scientific research,
enabling students, in particular, to formulate the topic and goal of a scientific study; to identify the object and subject of research; to carry out an analysis
of a scientific problem and present it as a set of scientific tasks; to conduct scientific research using the concepts of the systems approach; to activate creative thinking using the principles of organizing scientific work; to develop a working
plan and procedure for research work; to apply the toolkit
of empirical and theoretical methods; to classify and actively
use existing information resources to solve
scientific problems in the field of economics; to use methods of studying and
processing literary sources; to compile bibliographic descriptions of literary sources; to formulate definitions and develop classifications; to draw up a schedule for carrying out scientific research and to monitor its implementation.
The layout of the textbook allows readers to easily find and remember the main points of the material presented. This effect is achieved by placing visual emphasis on the most important
points of the topics examined, as well as through a large number of illustrations (apart from the original illustrations
The need for scientific knowledge arises in society when the insufficiency of ideas that have arisen within the framework of everyday thinking and ordinary knowledge, as well as the data of unaided senses, notions, common sense and experience, is revealed.
The history of science shows that if this insufficiency is recognized by society, then, in the end, a need arises in society for scientific cognition of the relevant subject or phenomenon.
Over the last century, science has developed and continues to develop at a very rapid pace. It is science that has been the main cause of such a rapid development of human society, of the transition to a post-industrial society, of the widespread introduction of information technologies, of the emergence of the "new economy", of the beginning of the transfer of humanity's knowledge into an electronic form convenient for storage, systematization, search and processing, and so on. All this convincingly proves that science today is becoming an ever more significant and essential part of reality. Louis Pasteur said: "Science should be the most sublime embodiment of the Fatherland, for of all peoples the first will always be the one that gets ahead of the others in the sphere of thought and intellectual activity". One of Ukraine's main tasks today is - to build up, at an accelerated pace, a new, powerful scientific and technological potential in Ukraine, and for this it is necessary to know precisely the true state of affairs in science and higher education.
The aim of studying this discipline is to teach how to work with scientific publications and the methodology of searching for relevant information, and to acquaint students with the basic concepts in the field of scientific research, the stages of scientific research, and the formatting of text documents.
The textbook formulates terms and definitions, the kinds and directions of scientific research, the main objects and processes, and the modern tools and methods used in the course of research; it presents the structure of scientific research and the order of its execution.
The part of the course devoted to the organization of scientific research acquaints students with the organization of education and science in Ukraine, the methodology of scientific research, and theoretical and empirical methods. Special attention is given to the system of scientific and technical information, the informational elaboration of research work (R&D), and the main sources of information.
To acquire practical skills, students are acquainted with the rules for formatting text and tabular documents and compiling bibliographies of printed works and electronic publications, and with preparing an oral presentation with a scientific report.
As a result of studying the discipline, students will become acquainted with a methodological approach to scientific research; will acquire skills in working with library catalogues and scientific literature. Students will acquire knowledge of the main areas of research, the choice of a research topic, and the compilation of the structure of a future scientific work; the definition of the object and subject of research; the correct formulation of a goal and the setting of objectives; the competent justification of the choice of research methods by which they will be addressed; the selection of information sources; and the organization of an experiment, the analysis and presentation of the results obtained.
A researcher — is a specialist who creates new knowledge.
In the broad sense of the word, a researcher is a person who creates or discovers new knowledge in the corresponding branch of activity. For example, Przhevalsky and D. Cook — in geography, D. Mendeleev — in chemistry, and so on. Researchers create new knowledge, the accumulation of which allows outstanding researchers to make scientific discoveries that influence the course of development of human civilization. Outstanding researchers — are researchers whose contribution to science has received recognition in society. For example, A. Einstein, I. Newton, Darwin, Magellan….
Scientific researchers publish their work in:
Funding plays an important role in scientific research. Scientific research is mainly funded by the state, but private individuals and organizations also engage in this. The state funds scientific research (SR) from the budget and specialized funds (subsidies, grants). Private individuals and organizations fund SR from specialized funds (through subsidies and grants) and credit institutions (banks, investment funds).
Research institutes — are institutions engaged in research in the field of science and technology and in the development of R&D and RDT&E.
Scientific ethics — is a set of moral principles that scientists adhere to in scientific activity and which ensure the functioning of science.
Robert Merton, in his works on the sociology of science, formulated four moral principles:
There are also two further principles: the intrinsic value of truth and the value of originality.
A scientist must follow the principles of scientific ethics in order to successfully engage in scientific research. In science, the ideal proclaimed is the principle that, before the truth, all researchers are equal, and that no past merits are taken into account when it comes to scientific evidence.
An equally important principle of scientific ethos is the requirement of scientific honesty in presenting the results of research. A scientist may be mistaken, but has no right to falsify results; he may repeat a discovery already made, but has no right to engage in plagiarism. References, as a mandatory condition for the formatting of a scientific monograph or article, are intended to record the authorship of particular ideas and scientific texts, and also to ensure a clear distinction between what is already known in science and new results.
In reality, this moral principle is violated. In different scientific communities, the severity of sanctions for violating the ethical principles of science may vary.
A decline in the «quality of knowledge» caused by a violation of the ethics of science leads to junk science, to the ideologization of science, and to the emergence of «scientists» in the mass media.
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