The concept of method, methodology and technique. Theory, concept, method, technique, methodology, approach Method or technique difference
Consider the general definitions of the method and methodology.
Method - a set of techniques and operations of practical and theoretical development of reality. The method is the fundamental theoretical basis of science.
Methodology - a description of specific methods and methods of research.
Based on these general definitions, we can conclude that a methodology is a formalized description of the implementation of a method.
Methodological foundations of psychology
The concept of the subject in the methodology of psychology
The idea of the object, subject and method of science is its theoretical and methodological foundation. The method of science cannot be “born” before its object, and vice versa, since they are “nurtured” together. Unless the subject of science first "appears into the world", and after it - as its other "I" - its method. So, for example, according to A. Bergson, since the substance of mental life is pure "duration", it cannot be known conceptually, through rational construction, but is comprehended intuitively. “Any law of science, reflecting what is in reality, at the same time indicates how to think about the corresponding sphere of being; being known, it in a certain sense acts both as a principle, as a method of cognition. It is no coincidence, therefore, that when considering the subject of psychology, the problem of its method is actualized. At the same time, as has already happened in history, the definition of the subject of science may depend on the prevailing idea of what method is considered truly scientific. From the point of view of the founders of introspectionism, the psyche is nothing but "subjective experience". The basis for such a conclusion was, as is well known, the idea that the psychic can be explored exclusively through self-observation, reflection, introspection, retrospection, and so on. For orthodox behaviorists, on the contrary, the psyche does not seem to exist, since it cannot be studied using objective methods, by analogy with observable and measurable physical phenomena. N.N. Lange tried to reconcile both extremes. In his opinion, “... in a psychological experiment, the person being investigated must always give (to herself or us) an account of her experiences, and only the relationship between these subjective experiences and their objective causes and consequences is the subject of research. And yet, of particular interest in the context of considering the paradigm "subject-object - object - method" is the position of K. A. Abulkhanova, which connects the idea of the object of psychology with the understanding of the "qualitative originality of the individual level of being" of a person. The subject is defined by it as a specific way of abstraction due to the nature of the object, with the help of which psychology explores this qualitative originality of the individual being of a person. Clarifying his idea of the subject of psychology, K.A. Abulkhanova specifically emphasizes that the subject should be understood as "... not specific psychological mechanisms revealed by psychological research, but only general principles for determining these mechanisms." In other words, in the system of these definitions, the “object” of psychology answers the question “What qualitative specificity does the reality that psychology should explore?” The subject is determined, in fact, methodologically and answers the question “How should this reality be investigated in principle?”. That is, there is a kind of categorical shift of the traditionally understood subject of psychology to its object, and the method of this science to its subject. However, at the same time, as it seems to us, new possibilities of meaningful dilution / information of categorical oppositional pairs “subject-object”, “subject-method” of psychological science are revealed:
Psychology as a subject of knowledge
Subject of psychology
Method of psychology
Object of psychology
What is the meaning of such a construction? Probably, first of all, in the fact that as a result of correlating ideas about psychology as a subject of cognition with ideas about its object, subject and method, it will be possible to get a more complete picture of the main definitions of this science.
Let's try to dottedly outline vectors that allow us to see these categories in their meaningful subordination and complementarity, "in their unity, but not identity."
1. "Psychology and its object." Psychology (if it is recognized as an independent science) is the subject of knowledge. Its specific object is the psychic reality that exists independently of it. The qualitative feature of psychology is that it, as the subject of cognition, in principle coincides with its object: the subject cognizes himself through contemplation and creation, through "self-revelation of possible self-transformations." At the same time, psychology can lose its subjective status if, for example, it slides into subjectivism, if some other science makes psychology its appendage, or if, for some strange reason, the object (psyche) begins to mimic, regenerate, turn into a different reality.
2. "Subject and subject of psychology". This is the semantic and target vector of psychology. If psychology, by definition, finds its object in a ready-made form, then it constructs and defines its subject for itself independently, depending on the prevailing theoretical and methodological guidelines (ontological and epistemological, axeological and praxeological, etc.), as well as external conditions (for example, , the dominant philosophical doctrine, political regime, level of culture). In this sense, we can say that the subject of psychological science can undergo changes depending on the nature of sociocultural transformations.
3. "Object and subject of psychology". If the object of psychology represents psychic reality in all its fullness and alleged integrity as a separate entity, the subject of this science carries the idea of what constitutes the quintessence of the psychic, determines its qualitative originality. Assuming that the quality of subjectivity most adequately represents the essential potential of the mental and reveals its optical irreducibility to other realities, it is logical to assert that it is the concept of subjectivity that meaningfully constitutes the subject of psychology, affirming it in the status of an independent science.
4. "Object and method of psychology". The method of science must be relevant to the reality that is supposed to be studied with its help. That is, if the object of science is the psyche, then its method must be strictly psychological, not reduced to the methods of physiology, sociology, philosophy and other sciences. That is why A. Pfender considered the “subjective method” as the main method of psychology, which is internally protected from subjectivist labels and which is no less “objective” than the most objective methods used in the natural sciences.
5. "Subject and Method of Psychology". The task of psychology as a subject of cognition is not only to state the need for a method to correspond to its object, but also to constitute, discover, produce and apply it in scientific practice. Therefore, the method, like the object, is a function of the subject and the changing and developing product of his creative efforts. At the same time, it is important to maintain categorical subordination and not allow the method to determine and, moreover, replace the subject of psychology. The development of methodology can stimulate the development of theory, success in the development of the method of science can lead to a new vision of her subject. But only to determine and nothing more.
6. "The subject and method of psychology." This pair in its existence and development ontologically, as it were, depends on the object, and epistemologically determined by the subject of the cognitive process. The subject is not static, it is the movement of the penetration of the subject of knowledge into the essence of mental life. The method is the path along which the subject (psychology) directs this movement within the object (psyche). If, in defining its subject matter, psychology goes back to the quality of subjectivity, then it should also base the construction of its method on the principle of subjectivity, “expressed in terms of the subject, taken in relation to his life activity”
So, looking at what constitutes its foundation and makes it a self-sufficient subject of cognition, psychology today can hardly afford fuzziness, ambiguity in the definition of its object, subject and method. As evidenced by the analysis, this problem has always attracted the attention of psychologists to one degree or another. However, on the one hand, there are significant differences that have recently arisen in theoretical views and methodological approaches, and, on the other, a general decline in interest in all kinds of " philosophizing" and "theorizing" in connection with the growth of pragmatist orientations, lead to the fact that the ideas about the subject and method of psychology in their totality constitute today something to which, say, it is difficult to apply the word "gestalt". At the same time, the method of considering these crucial questions for our science is now built mainly on the principle of trial and error or on the principle of “shaking”, which is successfully used in a children's kaleidoscope. It is enough to shake up a mixture of “fragments” from Marxist, existential, phenomenological, deep, apex and other psychology and, as a result, you can get sometimes simple, sometimes quite complex, but, importantly, always unpredictable, which means a new combination. How many shakes - so many new ideas about the subject and method of psychology. If we multiply the number of shakes by the number of shakers, then we get a completely “postmodern” portrait of the subject and method of the science of psychology, with its “simulacra” and “rhizomes”, as well as unambiguous hints, in the spirit of M. Foucault, about the “death of the subject”.
In our study, we adhere to the traditional orientation, giving preference to the “essential” approach in defining the subject of psychology, which in this work finds its meaningful concretization in the idea of a person as a subject of mental life. This conceptual-categorical construct plays a special role as an essential-subject lens-matrix through which psychology, as a subject, peers and penetrates into its object. In this sense, even the simplest, genetically original mental phenomena can be adequately “de-objectified” if they are considered in the context of the subject-psychological subject paradigm - as fragments or moments of movement towards subjectivity - the highest essential criterion for determining the qualitative originality of the mental. The principle of subjectivity constitutes that "internal condition" in scientific psychology, through which it "refracts" the psychic reality that opposes it as an objectively and independently existing entity.
The substantive meaning of the category of subjectness lies in the fact that the entire psychic universe can turn into it, as if into a point, and from it the entire psychic universe can unfold. It absorbs, "removes in itself" all the essential definitions of the mental in all its fullness and diversity of manifestations.
“Ascend - descend,” taught the famous Indian philosopher and psychologist Sri Aurobindo Ghose. This formula helps to visualize the relationship that exists between the object and the subject of psychological science. “Descent” into its object, psychology plunges into the bottomless depths of mental life, discovering there for itself all new phenomena, establishing new patterns, simultaneously clarifying and clarifying what was previously discovered. However, all these results of penetration into the depths and expanses of the psychic (which is the subject of specific scientific research) she not only keeps for herself, not only shares them with other sciences or bestows them on public practice, but sends, figuratively speaking, “upstairs”, to "Laboratory for the study of the essence of the mental and the limiting possibilities of its development." Why is this lab called that? Why, when determining the essence of the mental, the question arises about the highest (maximum possible) level of development of the psyche? The highest essence of the mental is revealed to psychology not at once and not in everything. It is possible that this essence will never be fully comprehended and never will be, because the secrets of the psyche tend not only to be hidden, but also to multiply as it develops. However, depending on the understanding of the ultimate essential characteristic of the psychic as a being, all known psychic phenomena receive a certain interpretation. Thus, having told ourselves that the essence of the mental is in its ability to reflect objective reality, we can limit our mental life to the framework of cognitive activity. If we add regulation to reflection, then the mental will appear before us as a mechanism that allows a person to orient himself and adapt to the natural, social environment, to achieve balance with himself. If, at a new level of psychological knowledge, the essential feature of the psychic is the conscious transformative, constructive, creative mental and spiritual activity of a person, then this feature is the main criterion for assessing existing knowledge and the main guideline in subsequent psychological research.
Where can the last causality be attributed with the greatest right, I. Kant asked, if not to where the highest causality is also located, i.e. to that being, which initially contains in itself a sufficient reason for any possible action. With regard to the topic of our study, the last and highest causality in the space of mental life is subjectivity. And it is precisely this that is the highest essential criterion by which the psychic world differs from any other world.
Recently, a tendency has been developed in psychology to disidentify the concepts of activity and its subject, the desire to present them as a unity, but not an identity. This means the requirement to see the actor behind the manifestations of any activity, the creator behind the acts of creativity. And, if indeed "at first there was a deed", then psychology cannot but be interested in who did this deed, if an act or a feat, then who performed them, and if a word, then who said it, when, to whom and why. Not the psyche in general, but something in it that eventually reaches the level of a self-conscious subject, is the carrier, centralizer and driving force of mental life. He decides what, how, with whom, why and when to do. He appreciates
results of his activity and integrates them into his own experience. He selectively and proactively interacts with the world. The ontological imperative "to be a subject" is a universal expression of the sovereignty of a real person, responsible for the results of his actions, initially "guilty" of everything that depends on him and not having an "alibi in being" (M.M. Bakhtin).
Therefore, if we talk about the originality of psychic reality, comparing it with other forms of existence of things, then it is the subjective definition of a person’s mental life that crowns the pyramid of its essential characteristics, and therefore has every right to represent the subject core of psychological science in a meaningful way. At the same time, other previously or otherwise formulated definitions of the subject of psychology are not discarded, but are rethought and stored in its subjective version in a “removed” form. "Ascent" to the subjective level of defining the subject of psychology, on the one hand, allows, and on the other hand, requires rethinking everything hitherto discovered by psychology in its object - the psyche. The emergence of new layers of being in the process of development leads to the fact that the previous ones also act in a new capacity (S.L. Rubinshtein). This means that the entire psyche in its formation, functioning and development, starting with the simplest mental reactions and ending with the most complex movements of the soul and spirit, is in fact a special kind of subjectivity unfolding and asserting itself, embodied in the form of free I-creativity.
The subjective specificity of the method of psychological science lies in the fact that it not only contemplates, not only explores the existing psychic reality by all means and methods available to it, but, ultimately, at the highest levels, seeks to comprehend this reality by creating its new
forms and thus goes back to the study of their own possibilities of scientific and psychological creativity (V.V. Rubtsov).
At this peak level, there is, as it were, a natural articulation of initially conditionally disparate ideas about psychology as a subject of cognition, about its object, subject and method. This is the self-cognizing and creative psyche - the highest subjective synthesis of psychological science and the practice of mental life.
Through this kind of analysis and synthesis, the development of ideas about the object, subject and method of psychology as a subject of cognition takes place. The beginning that creates internal energy, sets the dynamics and determines the vector of this self-movement, is the scientific idea of the subjective nature of the mental.
A truly humanistic and certainly optimistic view of human nature, faith in the positive perspective of his personal and historical growth, in our opinion, opens up the possibility and makes necessary a subjective interpretation of the subject and method of psychology as an independent science. It should be thought that it is with this approach that psychology will be able to discover its inherent significance both for other sciences and for itself.
Methodological principles of psychology
Psychology is a science where psychological methods are distributed as all the requirements for scientific method. The result of scientific activity can be a description of reality, an explanation of the prediction of processes and phenomena, which are expressed in the form of a text, a block diagram, a graphical dependence, a formula, etc. The ideal of scientific research is the discovery of laws - a theoretical explanation of reality.
However, scientific knowledge is not limited to theories. All types of scientific results can be conditionally ordered on the scale of "empirical-theoretical knowledge" single fact, empirical generalization, model, regularity, law, theory. Science as a human activity is characterized by method. A person who claims to be a member of the scientific community must share the values in this area, where human activity accepts the scientific method as an acceptable unity, the “norm”.
The system of techniques and operations must be recognized by the scientific community as a mandatory norm governing the conduct of research. Many scientists tend to classify not "sciences" (because few people know what they are), but problems that need to be solved.
The purpose of science is a way of comprehending the truth, which is scientific research.
There are studies: By type: - empirical - research to test theoretical
Theoretical - thought process, in the form of formulas. By nature: - applied
Interdisciplinary
Monodisciplinary
Analytical
Complex, etc.
For verification, a plan of scientific research is built - hypotheses. It includes groups of people with whom the experiment will be conducted. Suggestions for solving the problem by the method of experimental research.
The well-known methodologist M. Bunge distinguishes between the sciences, where the result of the study does not depend on the method, and those sciences, where the result and the operation with the object form an invariant: the fact is a function of the properties of the object and the operation with it. Psychology belongs to the last type of science, where the description of the method by which the data is obtained
Modeling is used when it is impossible to conduct experimental studies of the object.
Instead of studying the characteristics of elementary forms of learning and cognitive activity in humans, psychology successfully uses "biological models" of rats, monkeys, rabbits, and pigs for this. Distinguish "physical" - the study of the experiment
"sign-symbolic" - computer programs Empirical methods include - observation
Experiment
Measurement
Modeling
Non-experimental methods
Observation is a purposeful, organized perception and registration of the behavior of an object.
Self-observation observation is the oldest psychological method:
a) non-systematic - application of field research (ethnopsychology, psychological development and social psychology.
b) systematic - according to a certain plan “continuous selective observation.
Behavior observation subject:
Verbal
non-verbal
The concept of "methodology" has two main meanings:
a system of certain methods and techniques used in a particular field of activity (in science, politics, art, etc.); the doctrine of this system, the general theory in action.
The history and the current state of knowledge and practice convincingly show that not every method, not every system of principles and other means of activity provides a successful solution of theoretical and practical problems. Not only the result of the research, but also the path leading to it must be true.
The main function of the method is the internal organization and regulation of the process of cognition or practical transformation of that or another object. Therefore, the method (in one form or another) is reduced to a set of certain rules, techniques, methods, norms of cognition and action.
It is a system of prescriptions, principles, requirements that should guide in solving a specific problem, achieving a certain result in a particular area of activity.
It disciplines the search for truth, allows (if correct) to save time and effort, to move towards the goal in the shortest way. The true method serves as a kind of compass, according to which the subject of knowledge and action paves its way, allows you to avoid mistakes.
F, Bacon compared the method with a lamp that illuminates the way for a traveler in the dark, and believed that one cannot count on success in studying any issue by going the wrong way. The philosopher sought to create such a method that could be an "organon" (tool) of knowledge, to provide man with domination over nature.
He considered induction as such a method, which requires science to proceed from empirical analysis, observation and experiment in order to learn the causes and laws on this basis.
R. Descartes called the method "exact and simple rules", the observance of which contributes to the increment of knowledge, allows you to distinguish the false from the true. He said that it is better not to think about finding any kind of truth than to do it without any method, especially without a deductive-rationalistic one.
Each method is certainly an important and necessary thing. However, it is unacceptable to go to extremes:
a) underestimate the method and methodological problems, considering all this to be an insignificant matter, "distracting" from the real work, genuine science, etc. ("methodological negativism");
b) exaggerate the value of the method, considering it more important. than the object to which they want to apply it,
turn the method into a kind of "universal master key" to everything and everything, into a simple and accessible "tool"
scientific discovery ("methodological euphoria"). The fact is that "... not a single methodological principle
can eliminate, for example, the risk of reaching a dead end in the course of scientific research.
Each method will be ineffective and even useless if it is used not as a "guiding thread" in scientific or other form of activity, but as a template for reshaping the facts.
The main purpose of any method is, on the basis of appropriate principles (requirements, prescriptions, etc.), to ensure the successful solution of practical problems, the increment of knowledge, the optimal functioning and development of certain objects.
It should be borne in mind that the issues of method and methodology cannot be limited only by philosophical or intra-scientific frameworks, but must be posed in a broad socio-cultural context.
This means that it is necessary to take into account the relationship of science with production at this stage of social development, the interaction of science with other forms of social consciousness, the correlation of methodological and value aspects, the "personal characteristics" of the subject of activity, and many other social factors.
The application of methods can be spontaneous and conscious. It is clear that only the conscious application of methods, based on an understanding of their capabilities and limits, makes people's activities, other things being equal, more rational and efficient.
Methodology- the doctrine of the principles of research, forms and methods of scientific knowledge. The methodology determines the general orientation of research, the specifics of the approach to the object of study, and the method of organizing scientific knowledge.
There are three interrelated hierarchical levels of methodology: philosophical, general scientific and particular methodology. Philosophical methodology- the highest level. The principles formulated in the history of ff are of decisive importance for it: the law of the unity and struggle of opposites, the law of the transition of quantity into quality, the law of negation of negation, the categories of general, particular and separate, quality and quantity; the principle of universal connection of phenomena, the principles of contradiction, causality. This also includes the logic of scientific knowledge, which requires compliance with the laws of logic in relation to the phenomenon under study. General methodological methods of research- analysis and synthesis of the studied phenomena. Methodological principles of cognition develop together with science.
Philosophical methodology establishes the forms of scientific knowledge, based on the disclosure of the interrelationships of sciences. Depending on the principles underlying the division, various classifications of sciences are distinguished, of which the most common is their division into physical and mathematical, technical, natural and humanitarian.
General scientific methodology is a generalization of the methods and principles of studying phenomena by various sciences. General scientific methods of research - observation, experiment, modeling, which are of a different nature depending on the specifics of science.
Observation includes the selection of facts, the establishment of their features, the description of the observed phenomenon in verbal or symbolic form (graphs, tables, etc.) its properties and features: selection of vocabulary groups, grammatical properties of a word, etc. It requires a good knowledge of the language by the researcher, the presence of the so-called etymological instinct.
Experiment This is an experiment set in exactly the right conditions. In linguistics, experiments are carried out both with the use of instruments and apparatus (experimental phonetics, neurolinguistics) and without them (psycholinguistic tests, questionnaires, etc.).
Modeling - a way of knowing reality, in which objects or processes are studied by building and studying their models. A model is understood as any image (image, drawing, diagram, graph, etc.) or device used as a “substitute” for an object or phenomenon. The model is built on the basis of a hypothesis about the structure of the original and is its functional analogue. The concept of a model entered linguistics in the 1960s. in connection with the penetration into it of the ideas and methods of cybernetics.
Interpretation - a general scientific method of cognition, which consists in revealing the meaning of the results obtained and including them in the system of existing knowledge. Without this, their meaning and value remain undiscovered. In the 60-70s. a direction developed - interpretive linguistics, which considered the meaning and meaning of language units depending on the interpretive activity of a person.
Private methodology - methods of specific sciences: linguistic, mathematical, etc., related to philosophical and general scientific methodology and can be borrowed by other sciences. Linguistic research methods are characterized by weak formalization of evidence and the rare use of instrumental experiments. The linguist conducts the analysis by superimposing the available knowledge about the object on the specific material (text), from which this or that selection is made, and the theory is built on the basis of sample models. Free interpretation of a variety of factual material according to the rules of formal logic and scientific intuition are characteristic features of linguistic methods.
Term method does not have a clear interpretation. V.I. Kodukhov proposes to distinguish 4 concepts expressed by this term:
· Method-aspect as a way of knowing reality;
· Method-reception as a set of research rules;
· Method-technique as a procedure for applying the method-reception;
· Method-method of description as an external form of reception and methods of description.
Most often, a method is understood as a generalized set of theoretical attitudes, research methods associated with a particular theory. The method always singles out that side of the object of study, which is recognized as the main one in this theory: the historical aspect of the language - in comparative historical linguistics, the psychological - in psycholinguistics, etc. Any major stage in the development of linguistics was accompanied by a change in the method of research, the desire to create a new general method. Thus, each method has its own scope, explores its own aspects, properties and qualities of the object.
Research methodology - the procedure for applying a particular method, which depends on the aspect of the study, the technique and methods of description, the personality of the researcher and other factors. So, in the quantitative study of language units, depending on the objectives of the study, different methods can be used: approximate calculations, calculations using a mathematical apparatus, continuous or partial sampling of language units, etc. The methodology covers all stages of the study: observation and collection of material, the choice of units of analysis and the establishment of their properties, the method of description, the method of analysis, the nature of the interpretation of the phenomenon under study. The difference in schools within the same linguistic trend most often lies not in research methods, but in various methods of analyzing and describing the material, the degree of their severity, formalization and significance in the theory and practice of research. Thus, for example, different schools of structuralism are characterized: Prague structuralism, Danish glossematics, American descriptivism.
Thus, the method, methodology and methodology are closely related and mutually complement each other. The choice in each case of the methodological principle, the scope of the method and methodology depends on the researcher, the goals and objectives of the study.
Fragment of work:
What is a method? What is the difference between a research method and a teaching method?
What is a method? How does the method of research differ from the method of teaching, from the method of solving a school problem?
In accordance with the logic of scientific research, the development of a research methodology is carried out. It is a complex of theoretical and empirical methods, the combination of which makes it possible to explore such a complex and multifunctional object as the educational process with the greatest reliability. The use of a number of methods makes it possible to comprehensively study the problem under study, all its aspects and parameters.
unlike methodology, these are the very methods of studying pedagogical phenomena, obtaining scientific information about them in order to establish regular connections, relationships and build scientific theories. All their diversity can be divided into: methods for studying pedagogical experience, methods of theoretical research and mathematical and statistical methods.
These are ways to study the really emerging experience of organizing the educational process. Studied as best practice, i.e. the experience of the best teachers, as well as the experience of ordinary teachers. Their difficulties often reflect the real contradictions of the pedagogical process, urgent or emerging problems.
In addition to the above mandatory characteristics and requirements, scientific knowledge is guided by a number of methodological principles.
The main ones are:
1. The principle of objectivity. This is the requirement to consider the object as it is, regardless of the opinion and desire of the subject.
2. The principle of universal communication. This is a requirement to consider an object and take into account in working with it, as far as possible, the maximum number of its internal and external links.
3. The principle of development. This is a requirement to carry out cognition and take into account in activity that the object itself, the science that studies it, as well as the thinking of the cognizing subject develops.
When asserting something about an object, one should consider:
a) what his state or stage of development is in question in a particular case;
b) using a scientific statement, take into account that it belongs to the development of knowledge at any of its stages, in a certain historical period, and could already change.
4. The principle of integrity. This is a requirement to consider the object in terms of the dominance of the whole over the part.
5. The principle of consistency. This requirement is to consider an object systematically, taking into account its own system characteristics, where both the properties of the elements themselves and the connections between them are important and essential for the characteristics of the system. It is also important that the general, systemic characteristics as a whole can decisively influence the elements and relationships.
6. The principle of determinism. This requirement is to consider and include in the activity the object as a product of a complex of causes. It also takes into account the fact that all scientific provisions are formulated according to such a logical scheme: if this happens, then this will happen.
Of great importance for understanding scientific knowledge is the analysis of the means of obtaining and storing knowledge. The means of obtaining knowledge are the methods of scientific knowledge. What is a method?
There are equal definitions of the method in the literature. We will use the one that, in our opinion, is suitable for the analysis of natural science. Method - it is a mode of action of the subject, aimed at the theoretical and practical mastery of the object.
Under subject in the broad sense of the word, all mankind in its development is understood. In the narrow sense of the word, the subject is a separate person, armed with the knowledge and means of cognition of his era. The subject can also be a certain scientific team, an informal group of scientists. Under object everything that is included in the sphere of cognitive activity of the subject is understood. In the empirical, i.e. In experimental natural science, an object is some kind of fragment of reality. In theoretical natural science, an object is a logical construction of fragments of reality. We already know that these will be ideal models of fragments of reality or idealizations of certain real objects.
Any method is determined by the rules of the subject's action, which are based on certain known objective laws. Methods without subject action rules do not exist. Consider, for example, the method of spectral analysis. It is based on such an objective regularity: any chemical element, which has a certain temperature, gives a radiative emission or absorption spectrum, which has a number of characteristic lines.
Suppose we have a mixture whose chemical composition is unknown. Taking the spectrum of this mixture and comparing it with known standards, we can easily determine the composition of the mixture. Even this elementary example shows that people strive to turn any knowledge into a method of obtaining new knowledge.
A method is a set of rules based on a certain pattern.
There may be an incorrect application of the method. This happens when the method is used where the pattern on which it is based does not work.
The methods used in natural science can be divided into:
| general scientific - these are methods that are used in all natural sciences (for example, hypothesis, experiment, etc.); | private methods are methods used only in narrow areas of specific natural sciences. For example, the method of integration by parts, the method of conditional reflexes, etc. |
| empirical | theoretical |
| Observation, experiment, measurement - comparison of objects, according to some similar properties or sides. Description - fixation by means of natural and artificial language of information about the object. Comparison - simultaneous correlative study and evaluation of properties or features common to two or more objects. | Formalization is the construction of abstract mathematical models that reveal the essence of the studied processes of reality. Axiomatization is the construction of theories based on axioms. Hypothetical-deductive - the creation of a system of deductively interconnected hypotheses, from which statements about empirical facts are derived. |
The specification of the application of any method is technique in the narrow sense of the word. For example, one of the integration methods, as we have already said, is integration by parts. Suppose we need to calculate the integral. It is taken in parts. Recall the formula for integration by parts 
. In our example and = x, a dv = sinx dx. This is an example of a methodology in the narrow sense of the word as a specification of a certain method.
The choice and application of methods and techniques in research work depends on the nature of the phenomenon under study and on the tasks that the researcher sets himself. In scientific research, not only a good method is important, but also the skill of its application.
There is no rigid connection between the method and the object under study. If it were, then progress in methods for solving the same problems would be impossible.
Under methodology in the broad sense of the word, they understand the doctrine of the method, i.e. the theory of the method itself.
In the theory of the method, at least the following problems must be solved:
What is the pattern on which the method is based?
What are the rules of the subject's action (their meaning and sequence) that make up the essence of the method?
What is the class of problems that can be solved using this method?
What are the limits of applicability of the method?
How is this method related to other methods? For science in general, including natural science, it is important to know not only the theory of individual methods, but also the theory of the entire system of methods used in natural science or in its separate branch. Therefore, the most complete definition of methodology is as follows: methodology is a system of principles and methods for organizing and constructing theoretical and practical activities, as well as the doctrine of this system.
In general, many different definitions of the methodology of science have been proposed. In our opinion, we can proceed from the following definition of methodology: science methodology- this is a scientific discipline that provides a fairly complete and usable knowledge about the properties, structures, patterns of emergence, functioning and development of scientific knowledge systems, as well as their relationships and applications.
There are various methodology levels. Philosophical level methodology is common system principles and regulations of human activity. They are set by the theory of knowledge, which is developed within the framework of philosophy.
Distinguish content and formal methodology natural science knowledge.
The structure of scientific knowledge and scientific theory;
Laws of generation, functioning and change of scientific theories;
The conceptual framework of science and its individual disciplines;
Characteristics of explanation schemes adopted in science;
Theories of methods of science;
Conditions and criteria of scientific character;
The formal aspects of the methodology are related to the analysis:
The language of science formalized methods of cognition;
Structures of scientific explanation and description.
Methodological analysis can be carried out at the specific scientific and philosophical levels, the latter being the highest and defining level of methodologies. Why?
At the philosophical level, the analysis is carried out in the context of solving the fundamental worldview problems of a person's relationship to reality, the place and significance of a person in the world.
Problems to be solved here:
The relationship of knowledge to reality;
The relationship of the subject to the object in cognition;
Places and roles of these forms of knowledge or methods of research in the system of man's cognitive attitude to the world.
The problems of the scientific method were widely discussed already in the period of the formation of experimental natural science. So, in the Renaissance, it was realized that the scientific method includes experimental (experimental) and theoretical principles, the latter being embodied primarily in mathematics.
The development of the theoretical basis of the scientific method was accompanied by the development of powerful research tools. “A theory,” writes L. de Broglie, “must also have its own tools in order to be able to formulate its concepts in a rigorous form and strictly derive proposals from them that could be accurately compared with the results of an experiment; but these tools are mainly tools of an intellectual order, mathematical tools, if I may say so, which the theory gradually received thanks to the development of arithmetic, geometry and analysis and which do not cease to multiply and improve ”(De Broglie L. On the paths of science. - M., 1962, p. 163).
What is the value of mathematics for natural science?
In the process of the development of knowledge, there is a change in those mathematical disciplines that interact most strongly with natural science. At the same time, it is very important that mathematics can prepare new forms "for future use". The example of the mathematization of physics says not only that certain physical theories have their own mathematics. Most notably, the relevant branches of mathematics in their main outlines often arose independently and before the advent of these theories themselves. Moreover, the use of these branches of mathematics was a necessary condition for the development of new areas of research. Mathematics anticipated the development of physics. In the history of physics, surprising coincidences between the results of mathematics and experimental reality have occurred more than once. It is in this anticipation that the whole force of the instrumental character of mathematics is manifested.
The gradual mastery of the principles of the scientific method in the Renaissance led natural science to develop the first scientific theories as relatively integral conceptual systems. These were, first of all, Newton's classical mechanics, and then classical thermodynamics, classical electrodynamics, and, finally, the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics. Scientific theories are the main form of expression of knowledge. In physical and mathematical natural science, the development of theories is the result of the persistent application of mathematics and the painstaking development of experiment. The development of theory had a significant rebound effect on the very method of science.
scientific method became inseparable from scientific theory, its application and development. The true scientific method is theory in action. Quantum mechanics is not only a reflection of the properties and patterns of physical processes on an atomic scale, but also the most important method for further knowledge of microprocesses. A geneticist is not only a reflection of the properties and patterns of the phenomena of heredity and variability in the development of living systems, but also the most important method of understanding the deep foundations of life.
To fulfill the function of a method, a theory must satisfy the following requirements:
1) be fundamentally verifiable;
2) have maximum generality;
3) have predictive power;
4) be fundamentally simple;
5) be systematic.
In concluding this question, we note that especially in our time it is important not just to pose, for example, environmental problems, but to develop ways, methods and means of their real solution. And it is extremely important that it is physics that is the testing ground on which new means of cognition are born and tested, the foundations of the scientific method are improved.
Each of us has heard such concepts as a method or technique many times. But not many people may know that they are closely related, and sometimes they may think that these words are synonyms. You should know that the method is complemented by a methodology for approaching the problem. It should be borne in mind that when choosing one or another method for solving a problem, it is necessary to follow a certain methodology for resolving a particular situation.
The concept of method and methodology
The method is way of moving a goal or solving a specific problem. It can be described by all the views, techniques, methods and operations that are closely related and create a kind of network. They are purposefully used in activities or in the learning process. The main reasons for choosing a method are the worldview of a person, as well as his goals and objectives.
Methods, in turn, can have their own groups. They are:
- Organizational.
- Empirical.
- Data processing.
- Interpretive.
Organizational methods is a group that includes complex, comparative and longitudinal methods. Thanks to comparative methods, it is possible to study objects according to their characteristics and indicators. Longitudinal methods allow you to examine the same situation or the same object over a certain amount of time. The complex method includes the consideration of the object and its study.
Empirical methods, first of all, observation and experiments. They also include conversations, tests and the like, a method of analysis, evaluation and products of activity.
The method of data processing includes statistical and qualitative analysis of a situation or an object. The interpretation method includes a group of genetic and structural methods.
Each of the above methods is selected from the applied methodology. Each human activity can contain one or another decision method. Each of us decides how to act in a particular situation, based on external factors and signs. We evaluate what is happening and try to choose the right next steps with the maximum benefit and minimum negative. Nobody wants to lose and therefore does everything to prevent this from happening.
The methodology, in turn, is determined the totality of all techniques and methods in teaching or carrying out some work, process, as well as doing something. This is a science that can help implement any methods. It contains various ways and organizations in which the studied objects and subjects interact using specific material or procedures. The technique allows us to choose the most suitable method for the situation, which will allow us to move on, as well as develop. It also allows you to navigate in a particular situation, which makes it possible to move in the right direction and choose the right method to solve the problem.
The difference between a method and a technique
The methodology includes more specifics and subject characteristics than a method. In other words, this science can provide a well-thought-out, adapted and prepared algorithm of actions that will solve a specific problem. But at the same time, such a clear sequence of actions is determined by the chosen method, which is characterized by its own principles.
The main distinguishing feature of the technique from the method is more detailed techniques and their applicability to the problem. The solution methods are more detailed, which allows the researcher to choose the right method and turn his plan into reality. In other words, the method is embodied due to the method. If a person chooses the appropriate method for solving a particular problem, based on a set of specific methods, then he will have several methods for solving, and he will also become more flexible in his approach to this situation.
Such a person will be hard to drive into a dead end, as he will be ready for anything. So, the method is nothing more than choosing the direction on the right path to successfully solving a problem, getting out of an unpleasant situation, or success in general. In addition, you still need to skillfully apply it. This will allow you to squeeze the maximum out of any situation, while allowing a minimum of errors. Therefore, it is necessary to choose the right solution technique, based on the chosen method, which will allow you to find the right path and open your eyes to what is happening.
