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Scientific Method and the Fundamentals of Research

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Scientific Method and the Fundamentals of Research
Stephan A. Bell
BSHS 381 Research and Statistics for the Social Sciences
10 December 2012
Dr. Christine Cutis

This paper will offer explanation of how scientific method and scientific research can be used in the Human Service field. This paper will also cover the steps involved in scientific inquiry and why the steps are of importance, then provide an example a scientific method related to the Human Services field. Also discussed will be a brief description of qualitative research and quantitative research, explaining the differences in both models and how the methods relate to the Human Service field and the scientific method. Discussion will concern quantitative and qualitative research methodology, define mixed method research, and describe its strengths. The scientific method can be explained as a method for research and study that is applied to investigate observations and to bring answers to questions. Within the scientific method researches can exploit the cause and effect relationships. Stated plainly, they can plan a study so that changes to an entity of the study influence something else in the study to vary in an unpredictable or expected manner. In the Human Service field, these method may relates if there is an upsurge in child abuse, or joblessness, or homelessness, replies offering results are required to answer the questions related to the upsurge. The only path to those replies can be done through research. In the “Scientific Method”, according to Merriam-Webster (2010), “principles and procedures for the systematic pursuit of knowledge involving the recognition and formulation to a problem”, such as an upsurge in child abuse or another of the before mentioned issues, “the collection of data through observation and experiment, and the formulation and testing of hypotheses’ may

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