Scientific Techniques of Knowledge Acquisition
Scientific techniques of knowledge acquisition are superior because they are objective and precise, having been obtained through a rigorous study procedure. The emphasis in this response will be on the three aspects of scientific thought, namely inquiring, conceptualizing, and finally operationalizing.
Curiosity and Literature Review
Curiosity refers to a desire to understand why things happen the way they do. When the researcher's curiosity is fully developed, he or she will feel motivated to learn about the work of previous researchers. The researcher can acquire information about what areas of studies have been done and any gaps that may exist through the procedure known as literature review. Should the available literature be inadequate to explain an existing phenomenon, then the research deems it necessary to go to the next stage.
Conceptualization and Hypothesis Formulation
Conceptualization means seeking provisional explanations which will be subjected to a study. In fact, some unscientific sources of knowledge like intuition and experiences may be incorporated, but validity remains questionable at this point. For instance, a problem at hand would be why students fail in oral exams, and since no literature was found, we formulate ours. Using experiences, one can explain lack of preparation as a reason. In this, one can formulate a hypothesis that states ‘Good preparation enhances confidence to answer oral exams.'
Test and Analysis
Once the hypothesis is in place, then the researcher can subject it to a test to see the correlation between the variables. Apparently, this stage separates the scientific thinking further as this numerical values are attached to these concepts. Here the fear levels among students are estimated and given numerical values as well as the preparation is given a value like an hour, a week, a month, etc. Thus, a list of questions may be formulated that are in line with the hypothesis.
Works Cited
Stacks, Don W., and Michael B. Salwen, eds. An integrated approach to communication theory and research. Routledge, 2014.
