Final answer:
In research, students should clearly define and articulate their goals using the 5 W's, plan personal and technical preparations, break the project into manageable steps, and understand the difference between basic and applied science goals. Inductive and deductive reasoning play roles in the scientific method.
Step-by-step explanation:
Research Goals in Scientific Inquiry
When it comes to research goals, students should be able to explain how they are going to achieve their objectives. This involves a series of steps that begin with defining their goals and objectives in a specific way, using the 5 W's: Who, What, Where, When, and Why. For instance, a student might say “I will try to understand the effects of sleep on academic performance by conducting surveys and experiments with college students. The intended audience for my project is education professionals, and I will reach them by publishing my findings in scholarly journals.”
Next involves planning how to approach the study, which includes personal preparations such as time management, and technical preparations like acquiring research materials and tools for data collection. One method to manage such a project is to break it into smaller steps, creating an organizational system like a graphic organizer to establish what is known and what needs to be learned, setting up strategies for information collection like interviews and library research.
A critical part of scientific research is using both inductive reasoning and deductive reasoning within the framework of the scientific method. Basic science and applied science are distinct but intertwined goals; basic science aims to expand knowledge regardless of the immediate application, while applied science seeks to solve practical problems. Both types of research contribute to public policy, guide personal decisions, and have the potential to answer questions about behavior.