[0:20]Second lecture, Lecture 2, which is characteristics of the scientific research. In this, we are going to discuss what are the characters or what are the characteristics of a scientific research.
[0:46]The scientific research follows some criterion. It follows some systematic requirements. It's not like the general sense knowledge that anything would go. Not that, but rather the, the, it follows some criterion, some systematic requirement. It is not free for all, but it follows certain rules and regulations, and these are called the characteristics of the scientific research. What are those that we are going to discuss one by one?
[1:49]Number one is the verifiable evidence. The scientific knowledge has to be verified empirically.
[2:13]It's not that somebody claims anything and that is going to be accepted. It has to be verified. The scientific knowledge is based on large body of evidence, which has been collected by repeated experiments and observations.
[2:47]So the scientific research is based on explanatory principles whose truth can be tested by independent observers. That is the truth can be, the claim can be tested, checked by independent observers, by anybody who is, who, who has means to test it, who has to check it. It is open for everybody. So the scientific research requires large body of evidence collected by repeated observations and repeated experiments. And this should be open to be verified by any other researcher. See, suppose we give an example of invention of a medicine for diabetes. We have, somebody claims that he has invented a diabetic medicine.
[4:19]Many people invent and claim. But this has to be checked by body of investigators. A scientific investigation has to be done and documented on this, so that the evidence for the experiment is available.
[4:47]And this can be repeated on another set of diabetic people.
[5:01]If it is not so, then we would say that the verifiable evidence are not available.
[5:19]We must remember that when COVID took place, then there were experiments for the vaccination. And for the COVID vaccination it was not available. So I remember that those days, even in Aligarh Muslim University, the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College professors, they were also part of this vaccination search program. So, they collected sample from thousands of people to study this vaccination. And not only here, in many places in India, this experiment was repeated. And then after the the collection of facts, and then testing, and then the, the evidences, this this COVID vaccination was created. So the verifiable evidence is must for a scientific research.
[7:07]Then the second thing is a requirement for the criteria of the scientific research is accuracy. What is accuracy? To report phenomenon, what is it? Neither to exaggerate, exaggerate, and not to belittle it.
[7:40]We have to report things or phenomenon as they exist. The, we do not have to fantasize, the researcher do not has to, does not has to fantasize it, the researcher does not have to to, in fact, exaggerate it or belittle it.
[8:09]The accuracy requires the phenomenon is reported as it is.
[8:19]So, for example, if suppose the invention of medicine for diabetes, or study for the rate of unemployment in the country, or finding the causes of the crime, or finding the increasing rate of divorce in the society, or studying the declining market share of a brand of particular company. If we are studying all this, we must be very accurate for any phenomenon, not only these. I have given these only examples. So, we have to report what is the unemployment level, neither increase nor decrease. We have to report the exact crime level, neither to increase nor to decrease. We have to increase the rate of divorce, neither to exaggerate, nor to belittle it. We have to exactly, accurately report the declining share of say a brand of milk, say a brand of butter in the market, neither to increase it, nor to decrease it. But to simply report what is the correct thing, that is the accuracy.
[10:11]That was the second criterion. The next characteristic is the precision. What is precision? That we have to know. Precision implies providing the information as necessary and giving the exact number of measurement. Exact number of happenings in research. We cannot say large number of people were interviewed. No, we have to say 500 people were sent questionnaires and 400 responded to it. And this study is based on the 400 responses that came up, came out, that were received after the the dispatch of or the sending of the 500 questionnaires to the respondents. So this study is based on 400 respondents. Not that large number were, large number of people were interviewed or were questioned or their responses were taken. So we cannot say that most of the people are supporting the economic reforms. We have to say 75% people were found to be supporting the economic reforms. That is what we have to, that is what is precision. A substantial number of students leave school before completion of their degree, of their certificates. 25% of the students left their school before completion of their degree or their certificate from the school, that we have to, that is the precision.
[12:28]Thousands of patient were served by AMU last year. That is not a scientific statement. The scientific statement would clearly say that 3,65,000 patients attended AMU Medical Colleges Hospital in 2023. That is the scientific way, that is the precision. Not that a large number of politicians to be Prime Minister. No, we would say 55% voters are inclined to see Mr Such and Such as Prime Minister of India. That is the precision. Then comes the systematization. What is systematization? Systematization is mean to find all the relevant data, and not only relevant data, but through the relevant scientific process.
[13:39]We have to collect the data through the scientific process.
[13:47]We have to document it through the scientific process. We cannot that, do it in haphazard way. Or the way we simply want to do. No, it would be done through the scientific way in the due course. We would be discussing this also. How to collect data scientifically, they have to take a few classes. If the data has been systematically collected scientifically collected which is called systematization, then only the conclusion that we draw from analyzing the data can be reliable. Otherwise, the, it cannot be reliable. So, the data cannot be collected casually. It has to be systemized, its collection has to be systemized. Again, if we want reliable judgment, we have to do this. Systemize the collection of the data. Then the fifth criteria is the objectivity. What is objectivity?
[15:33]Objectivity is that all the researchers, and all those who are in the process of research, they have to be unbiased, unprejudiced, and no vested interest. They have to be free, completely free of biasness. They have to be completely free of prejudices. They have to be completely free of vested interest. That is objectivity. This is why the scientific research has to be completely uninfluenced by researcher's value beliefs, preferences, values, culture or anything.
[16:34]It has to be made as far as possible. Because if the researcher does not detach himself from his emotions, from his prejudices, from his needs and requirements, and becomes totally, completely neutral observer, then only he can study the phenomena in a scientific way. Otherwise, his or her prejudice, his or her thinking, emotions, they would influence the study of the phenomenon. So this is the, this is utmost requirement. We have to be very much careful about such things. We have to, do not have to be biased. What is a bias? It is a reliable or an deliberate or undeliberate way to look at the facts through own wishes, through own perceptions, through own interests.
[18:07]We have to shed all this. The researcher has to shed all this. We have to simply shed all this. Suppose, I am a teacher or a teacher is appointed to be to for an inquiry into some non teaching. He do not have to carry any prejudice or any of his experiences past or any his conceptions to this inquiry.
[18:49]He has to be without any prejudice, without any his emotions, without his his own ideas. No, he has to be neutral on all these aspects. He has to be completely unbiased, rather objective in this. This is a very sensitive thing, the researcher must follow. The, if we does not follow, then it would impact our finding, our prejudiced our emotions when influence are going to influence the, the, the research, the findings of the research. We have to be conscious, very much conscious of this. We do not, we should not allow, permit to enter bias into our studies. Then yet another important thing that criteria is the recording. That every scientific step has to be recorded in black and white.
[20:20]It means that recording is also very must. It we, the researcher, scientific researchers are not based on memories. Are not based on recalled facts. The documentation is very necessary. And that documentation has to be also scientific documentation. When we discuss the collection of the data, especially in observation method we discuss this. So, the recording of the data is to be, is is also an important criterion of the scientific research.
[21:32]Then the controlling conditions, the seventh criteria, a very important, all criteria are very important, are the controlling conditions. Rather, the conditions have to be created in which the variables, one variable, one independent has, one variable is to be is to vary, whereas others independent variable are to be controlled to study the phenomenon.
[22:15]We, the control, controlling conditions are must for all the scientific study. Not only in the, in the physical sciences like life sciences, medical sciences, it is very easy. They have laboratories where they can control the, the, the other factors, make controlling conditions available. In agricultural sciences also, although the experiment is conducted in field, there also control is fully possible.
[23:07]However, in social sciences, also, controlling conditions are increasingly being used in scientific studies.
[23:53]In poverty studies, it is very easy. In development studies, it is very easy. In policy studies, it is very easy. We are in social sciences also, now we are, the researchers are introducing the controlling conditions. So for example, suppose we have to study the impact of introduction of the vehicles on the women voters. We have to study that.
[24:32]We choose both, say two booths. One booth is in controlling condition. In which the condition is normal. We do not introduce the vehicles. In another booth, we introduce the the vehicles along with other normal, other normal conditions.
[25:41]The normal conditions which are, which were available in booth B are available in booth A also. Where the vehicles have been introduced for bringing the ladies from their homes to the booth for polling and then drop them back to the homes. Now we can study the difference between these two booths.
[26:30]We have studied by creating the control, controlling conditions. So for the medical science, for the physical science, for the the pure science, they have the labs. They have the agricultural fields. For them it is very easy, but even for social science also, the social scientists are now inventing ways to create controlling conditions to study their phenomenon. So controlling condition is also a very important criterion of the scientific research. Then we come to the final criterion and the training of investigators. The scientific research, even surveyors, not researchers, even even surveyors who collect the data, they are also to be trained. They are all trained. Because if they are not trained, then they will lose the data. They will mix the data. They will do something wrong with the data, not if not deliberately, then undeliberately. So the training is very important exercise in scientific research. This is why we find that from the very core from the very schools. We have the training to the students for doing experiments, for recording the data and for all doing all these things, all these following all these criteria. They are given proper training in social science also. The observers or surveyors and researchers, all level of people involved in the research, they are, in fact, trained for this. If they do not have training, then certainly the results that they gather is not going to be correct or is not going to be so, to have the study perfect and the scientific research to be accurate, to be truth, to be true, we have to there the training is must for those involved in the research. Thank you very much. Then we would meet in the next lecture. Thank you very much.
