Distinguish three dimensions of scientific merit

Distinguish three dimensions of scientific merit

INTRODUCTION

Throughout this course, you have learned about several research approaches in both qualitative and

quantitative methodology. Even though there are many ways in which researchers can solve research problems

with different research approaches and designs, there is one thing that all good scientific research has in

common: scientific merit.

At the beginning of the course, you were introduced to the concept of scientific merit. You learned that in order

for research to have scientific merit, it must achieve three things:

• It must contribute something new to the scientific knowledge base in the field. In order for research to

do this, a researcher must conduct a thorough literature review to identify a research problem. A

research problem is something that has not been addressed by previous research, and would be

meaningful to know. Often, the research problem is referred to as a gap in the literature.

• It must contribute to theory. Theories are the primary tools by which science organizes its

knowledge—the tools that allow the field to explain previous and current findings and predict future

ones. Research that has scientific merit can advance theories in several ways, including confirming,

extending, refuting, or proposing theories.

• It must meet the hallmarks of good research. This is the component that has been most emphasized in

this course as you have learned about the defining characteristics of the two methodologies and the

various approaches of both. But a researcher who has conducted high-quality research has only met this

criterion of scientific merit to the extent that the research design and procedures allowed the research

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problem to be solved and the research questions to be answered. It is crucial to remember that the

purpose of research is to solve a research problem by investigating something that has not been

previously researched; that is, to fill the gap in the literature. Research methods are simply tools that

researchers use to do this. When researchers effectively use research methods to solve a research

problem, then we can say that the research has met the hallmarks of good research.

As a professional, you will be called upon to use research findings in the psychological literature. In order to do

this, you will be responsible for evaluating the scientific merit of the research that produced those findings.

While most research published in peer-reviewed journals can be trusted to have good scientific merit, it can be

risky not to evaluate research for yourself, especially research findings most pertinent to your work and career.

This course has given you the opportunity to learn how to do this for yourself, should you ever plan to do your

own research in the future. It has provided you with the necessary background regarding how to plan research

that has good scientific merit.

OBJECTIVES

To successfully complete this learning unit, you will be expected to:

1. Discuss hallmarks of good research.

2. Distinguish three dimensions of scientific merit.

3. Apply principles of scientific merit to chosen research study.

Scientific Merit – STUDIES

Readings

Leedy and Ormrod text to complete the following:

• Review the “What Is Research” section of Chapter 1, “The Nature and Tools of Research,” pages 3–7.

This review will put the details of research methods you have learned in the class into a larger

Perspectives

Transcript

• Review the Scientific Merit Presentation transcript piece. This will refresh your knowledge on

scientific merit to help you address this unit’s assignment.

SCIENTIFIC MERIT PAPER

Resources

Scientific Merit Paper Scoring Guide.

• Evaluates the scientific merit of the article by analyzing how the research advances the scientific knowledge base.

• Evaluates the scientific merit of the article by analyzing how the research contributes to research theory and the

field of study.

• Evaluates the scientific merit of the article by analyzing the scientific methods.

• Analyzes the validity and reliability of a selected research study and elaborates on how it contributes to scientific

merit.

• Analyzes the effectiveness of strategies selected for addressing ethical concerns in the design of a research study.

• Communicates in a manner that is completely scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations for

members of the identified field of study, and uses APA style and formatting with few or no errors.

APA Style and Format.

Research Library.

Persistent Links and DOIs.

Using the research study you selected and attached, along with the course assignments for which

you deconstructed your research study, write a scientific merit paper. In your paper, address the following:

• Evaluate how a research study advances the scientific knowledge base of an identified field of study.

• Evaluate how a specific research study contributes to research theory and the field of study.

• Evaluate how the scientific methods of inquiry are applied to a specific research study.

• Evaluate the validity and reliability of a selected research study.

• Assess strategies for addressing ethical concerns in the design of a research study.

• Apply the terminology of research.

• Demonstrate both the depth and the breadth of your understanding of scientific research and

scientific merit by including relevant examples and supporting evidence.

Requirements

scientific merit by including relevant examples and supporting evidence.

Requirements

• The paper should be 10–12 pages long, not counting references, block quotes, or title page. Neither

an abstract nor table of content is required, and would not count in the paper length.

• Minimum of seven scholarly resources. It is expected that one of these resources will be the study you

selected for the Unit 2 assignment, and another will be the required textbook for the course, by

Leedy and Ormrod.

• Use APA style and formatting, including correct in-text citations, proper punctuation, double-spacing

throughout, proper headings and subheadings, no skipped lines before headings and subheadings,

proper paragraph and block indentation, no bolding, and no bullets.

• Include the permalink to your article on the title page of your paper.