Updated July 23, 2021 984 Author: Dmitry Petrov
Hello, dear readers of the KtoNaNovenkogo.ru blog. People who are fond of reading scientific literature often come across this word.
A student who has skipped almost all his philosophy lectures comes to class, hears the professor talking about the empiricists, and becomes despondent.
In vain - this concept, with all its external complexity, in fact, even a child can understand.
Empirical and empiricism are...
The term empiricism comes from the Greek word empeiría, which translates as " experience ".
Empirical is what is revealed to us in the senses, coming from the outside, given directly, obtained experimentally.
Empiricism is a philosophical movement that originated in the 16th century. It was during this period that scientific thinking began to supplant the religious view of the structure of the world.
The founder of empiricism is the English philosopher Francis Bacon. In his opinion, science should have an exclusively practical vector of application, and its main goal is the subjugation of nature by man.
The most radical supporters of empiricism proposed to reject useless theorizing and recognize that observation is the only source of true knowledge.
Empiricism is divided into two directions:
- Materialistic . There is a reality around us that exists on its own, regardless of our consciousness. We comprehend this world with the help of our senses and draw experience from it. This sensory experience is the main source of true knowledge.
- Idealistic . The basis of experience is the totality of our sensations and ideas. Reality exists only within our consciousness, and outside of it there is nothing.
Empirical basis of the study: examples
You can read the characteristics of the empirical base for a long time and still not figure out what it really is. Therefore, we have collected real examples of descriptions that can be found in coursework, diplomas and dissertations. Study the samples and use them as a template for your research.
Examples of describing the empirical basis of research in coursework
Coursework in Sociology
Topic: “Russian women politicians in social media: analysis of network accounts”
Empirical basis of the study: The empirical basis of the study consisted of the results of an analysis of the accounts of Russian women politicians on the social networks Twitter, Facebook, Vkontakte, Livejournal, Instagram, Odnoklassniki and YouTube. The observation was carried out from January 1, 2021 to April 8, 2021. Studying this period is enough to see how politicians commented on holidays, important events in Russia (for example, rallies on May 26 or the terrorist attack in St. Petersburg) and makes it possible to study publications over a fairly long period of time.
Accounts were selected according to the following principle:
Posts on pages must be published at least once a week, otherwise the account will be considered abandoned.
The sample includes accounts of politicians of different ranks:
- the highest echelon of power - ministers;
- deputies, press secretaries;
- local politicians.
For each group, 2-3 most popular representatives were selected. The degree of their fame and popularity is assessed using statistics of their citations in the media. It also took into account how popular their accounts were (how many followers they had).
Coursework in psychology
Topic: “Psychological analysis of the features of the formation of artificial bilingualism in autistic children”
Empirical basis of the study: The study involved two groups of children (experimental and control), numbering 15 subjects, aged 10-11 years, living in Moscow and the Moscow region, with a diagnosed autism spectrum disorder, not burdened by mental retardation.
Examples of describing the empirical basis of research in dissertations
Thesis on financial law
Topic: “Features of legal regulation of the activities of foreign legal entities on the Russian securities market”
Empirical base of the study: The factual basis of the work was statistical information from the State Statistics Committee of Russia, the Ministry of Finance of Russia, the Federal Financial Markets Service of Russia, the Bank of Russia, official materials of the Ministry of Taxes of Russia, as well as other official sources.
Graduate work in medicine
Topic: “Professional ontogenesis: medical-sociological and psychological-ethical problems of medical practice”
Empirical basis of the study: The research was conducted on the basis of the Volgograd State Medical University through a survey. The study involved junior and senior students of the medical and pediatric faculties, as well as doctors from medical institutions and the Sanitary and Epidemiological Surveillance Center of Volgograd and Volzhsky.
Empirical and theoretical levels of scientific knowledge
The empirical level of scientific knowledge is a sensory study of really existing objects and phenomena. The main task of a scientist at the empirical level is to record and group scientific facts.
A scientific fact is a statement that has been tested, confirmed and described according to certain requirements.
The following processes occur at this level :
- Collection and accumulation of empirical data about the object of study.
- Identifying valuable information that can be classified as scientific facts.
- Definition, measurement of physical quantities of the object under study.
- Comparing objects with each other to identify patterns and relationships.
Next comes the theoretical level of cognition , where mental processing of empirically obtained information occurs.
Meanings of the concept
Empirical evidence is information that supports the belief that a statement is true or false. From the point of view of empiricism, one can claim knowledge of something only if one has a true idea based on empirical data. This position differs from the rationalist approach, in which the proof of the truth or falsity of a certain judgment can be an inference[2]. The main source of empirical data is sensory perception. Although other sources of evidence, such as memory and the testimony of others, are ultimately reducible to sensory perception, they are considered secondary, or indirect.[2]
In another sense, the expression "empirical data" means the result of an experiment. In this context, the concept of “semi-empirical methods” is also used - clarifying theoretical methods in which, along with the results of experiments, basic axioms or postulated scientific laws are used.
In science, empirical evidence is required for a hypothesis to gain acceptance in the scientific community. Typically, such recognition is achieved through careful experimental design, peer review, replication of results, presentation of results at conferences, and publication in scientific journals.
Statements based on empirical data are often called a posteriori, that is, arising from experience, in contrast to a priori, which precede it. A priori knowledge or explanation is independent of experience (e.g., “All bachelors are unmarried”), whereas a posteriori knowledge or explanation is dependent on empirical knowledge (e.g., “Some bachelors are happy”). The distinction between a posteriori and a priori as empirical and non-empirical knowledge goes back to the “Critique of Pure Reason” by Immanuel Kant[3].
Observation as the basis of empiricism
A method that consists of targeted perception, recording the behavior and properties of the subject of research. This is not just thoughtful contemplation or a pleasant pastime.
Here is a grandmother sitting on a bench at the entrance, remembering everyone who comes in and out. From a scientific point of view, she is not an observer. There are strict requirements for this process:
- Focus and selectivity . The researcher carries out observations not at all out of boredom, but to achieve a specific goal - testing or refuting a hypothesis, collecting information. If our grandmother selectively counts how many mustachioed men enter the entrance, then the requirement will be met.
- Recording the results of observation . You need to keep an observation log and write down everything you find out.
- Systematicity . Data must be organized and recorded in a specific language - formal or natural. Here the grandmother researcher takes a thick notebook and writes: “January 10, 2019, 09:15 - a man of average build passed by, his mustache is 5 centimeters long.”
Observation includes:
- object – what we are looking at;
- subject – the researcher himself;
- technical means - with what we look (eyes, binoculars, telescope).
Observation can be direct or indirect . With direct observation, we study the object itself, and with indirect observation, we study the effects of its existence.
Some objects cannot be explored because they are too small or too far away. For example, elementary particles cannot be seen even with a powerful microscope. But when they move, they leave traces that can be recorded.
There are also two methods of observation - direct and instrumental . Direct observation is carried out using the senses - eyes, ears, hands, and instrumental observation - using technical means - telescopes, sensors, microscopes.
If you want to learn more about experiential knowledge, watch this video:
Excerpt characterizing empirical data
In June, the Battle of Friedland took place, in which the Pavlograd residents did not participate, and after it a truce was declared. Rostov, who deeply felt the absence of his friend, having had no news about him since his departure and worrying about the progress of his case and his wounds, took advantage of the truce and asked to go to the hospital to visit Denisov. The hospital was located in a small Prussian town, twice devastated by Russian and French troops. Precisely because it was in the summer, when it was so nice in the field, this place, with its broken roofs and fences and its dirty streets, ragged inhabitants and drunken and sick soldiers wandering around it, presented a particularly gloomy sight. In a stone house, in a courtyard with the remains of a dismantled fence, some broken frames and glass, there was a hospital. Several bandaged, pale and swollen soldiers walked and sat in the courtyard in the sun. As soon as Rostov entered the door of the house, he was overwhelmed by the smell of a rotting body and a hospital. On the stairs he met a Russian military doctor with a cigar in his mouth. A Russian paramedic followed the doctor. “I can’t burst,” said the doctor; - Come to Makar Alekseevich in the evening, I’ll be there. – The paramedic asked him something else. - Eh! do as you please! Doesn't it matter? - The doctor saw Rostov climbing the stairs. - Why are you here, your honor? - said the doctor. - Why are you here? Or the bullet didn’t kill you, so you want to get typhus? Here, father, is the house of lepers. - From what? - asked Rostov. - Typhus, father. Whoever rises will die. Only the two of us with Makeyev (he pointed to the paramedic) are chatting here. At this point, about five of our brother doctors died. “As soon as the new one arrives, he’ll be ready in a week,” the doctor said with visible pleasure. “They called Prussian doctors, because our allies don’t like that.” Rostov explained to him that he wanted to see the hussar major Denisov lying here. - I don’t know, I don’t know, father. Just think, I have three hospitals for one person, 400 patients are too many! It’s also good, the Prussian ladies who are benefactors send us coffee and lint at two pounds a month, otherwise they would be lost. - He laughed. – 400, father; and they keep sending me new ones. After all, there are 400? A? – he turned to the paramedic. The paramedic looked exhausted. He was apparently waiting with annoyance to see how soon the chattering doctor would leave. “Major Denisov,” Rostov repeated; – he was wounded near Moliten. - It seems he died. Eh, Makeev? – the doctor asked the paramedic indifferently. The paramedic, however, did not confirm the doctor’s words. - Why is he so long and reddish? - asked the doctor. Rostov described Denisov's appearance. “There was, there was one,” the doctor said as if joyfully, “this one must have died, but I can handle it, I had the lists.” Do you have it, Makeev? “Makar Alekseich has the lists,” said the paramedic. “Come to the officers’ chambers, you’ll see for yourself there,” he added, turning to Rostov. “Eh, it’s better not to go, father,” said the doctor, “otherwise you might end up staying here.” “But Rostov bowed to the doctor and asked the paramedic to accompany him. “Don’t blame me too much,” the doctor shouted from under the stairs. Rostov and the paramedic entered the corridor. The hospital smell was so strong in this dark corridor that Rostov grabbed his nose and had to stop to gather his strength and move on. A door opened to the right, and a thin, yellow man, barefoot and wearing only underwear, leaned out on crutches. He leaned against the lintel and looked at those passing by with shining, envious eyes. Looking through the door, Rostov saw that the sick and wounded were lying there on the floor, on straw and overcoats. -Can I come in and have a look? - asked Rostov. - What should I watch? - said the paramedic. But precisely because the paramedic obviously did not want to let him in, Rostov entered the soldiers’ chambers. The smell he had already smelled in the corridor was even stronger here. This smell has changed somewhat here; he was sharper, and one could feel that this was where he came from. In a long room, brightly lit by the sun through large windows, the sick and wounded lay in two rows, with their heads to the walls and leaving a passage in the middle. Most of them were in oblivion and did not pay attention to those who entered. Those who were in memory all stood up or raised their thin, yellow faces, and all with the same expression of hope for help, reproach and envy of other people's health, without taking their eyes off, looked at Rostov. Rostov went out into the middle of the room, looked into the neighboring rooms with open doors, and saw the same thing on both sides. He stopped, silently looking around him. He never expected to see this. In front of them lay almost across the middle aisle, on the bare floor, a sick man, probably a Cossack, because his hair was cut into a brace. This Cossack was lying on his back, with his huge arms and legs outstretched. His face was crimson red, his eyes were completely rolled back, so that only the whites were visible, and on his bare feet and on his hands, still red, the veins were strained like ropes. He hit the back of his head on the floor and said something hoarsely and began to repeat the word. Rostov listened to what he was saying and made out the word he was repeating. The word was: drink - drink - drink! Rostov looked around, looking for someone who could put this patient in his place and give him water.
Measurement is another empirical level of knowledge
This is an empirical research method that allows you to find out the exact quantitative characteristics of the object being studied.
There is a globe, it is huge. “Huge” is a qualitative characteristic that does not provide any useful information. But “the diameter of the globe is 12.7 thousand kilometers” is a quantitative parameter that is important for science.
To carry out the measurement we will need :
- magnitude - what we will measure;
- the subject is the researcher himself with a ruler in his hands;
- methodology - scale and technical means that we will use.
Measurements can be direct or indirect . With direct measurements, the result is determined directly - apply a compass and find out the radius. With indirect measurements, the result is obtained by calculating the desired value.
To find out the area of a square, measure any side of it with a ruler and multiply this value by itself.
Distinctive features of empirical methods in pedagogy
If we are talking about a specific science, in this case pedagogy, then there are more types of empirical methods here than in others.
Of course, the main ones are repeated, however, they have a number of distinctive features, which will be discussed below.
The object of observation in pedagogy can be both a group and one of its representatives
The first type of empirical method is observation.
Due to the fact that our objects are people, the researcher will be able to observe them in two different ways: being included in the group or not being included.
In addition, he can do this openly or secretly, choose as an object one representative of the group or all its members.
Experiment is empirical knowledge of the highest form
This is a research method in which there is a controlled, targeted influence on the subject being studied . Experimentation arises from an unwillingness to wait.
A scientist wants to know what will happen if one throws one stone onto another from a great height. He would have to spend years waiting for the right event to occur. A true scientist will not waste time. He will rise to a hill and throw the stone down. This will be an experiment.
An experiment is considered reliable if, when repeated many times, it gives the same results.
So we tossed a coin and it came up heads. If you limit yourself to one single experiment, you can draw the wrong conclusion - the coin always lands heads up. But after conducting hundreds of such experiments, we will come to the correct conclusion: the distribution between heads and tails corresponds to probability theory - 50/50.
An experiment is a powerful, fast, effective empirical method of knowledge. It is characterized by a lack of pity for the object of research, which in the process can be changed beyond recognition or even destroyed .
In this regard, observation is a more passive and humane way of research.
Experiments are classified according to the objects being studied: chemical, physical, social, economic. But they can also be divided according to goals and objectives:
- research – to form new hypotheses, make guesses;
- testing – to confirm or refute existing hypotheses and theories;
- decisive - from two contradictory theories, based on the results of the experiment, the only correct one is selected.
Systematic approach
A systems approach is a direction of scientific knowledge and practical activity based on the study of any object as a complex, integral socio-economic system. Basic principles of the systems approach: Integrity, structuring, construction hierarchy, multiplicity. A systems approach based on marketing research first considers the parameters of the “output”, goods or services. Then the “input” parameters are determined, i.e. the need for resources (material, financial, labor and information), organizational and technical level of the system, environmental parameters and process parameters. The advantage of the systems approach is the possibility of a comprehensive assessment of production and economic activities, the effective organization of the decision-making process at all levels of management.
System analysis makes it possible to determine the feasibility of creating or improving an organization, determine which complexity class it belongs to, and identify the most effective methods of scientific organization of work previously used. System analysis of a company or organization is carried out mainly in the early stages of work on creating a specific management system. This is due to the intensity of work on designing the development and implementation of the selected management system model, justifying the economic, technical and organizational feasibility. System analysis may include a number of important studies:
1) identification of general trends in the development of the enterprise and its place in the modern market economy;
2) identifying the peculiarities of the functioning of the enterprise and its individual divisions.
3) determining the conditions that ensure the achievement of the goals
4) collection of data for analysis and development of measures to improve the current management system
5) Application of best practices of other companies;
6) study of the conditions for adapting the selected (synthesized) reference model to the conditions of the enterprise.
During the analysis of the system, the following features were discovered:
1) the role and place of this enterprise in the industry;
2) the state of production and economic activity of the enterprise
3) production structure of the enterprise;
4) management system and its organizational structure
5) features of interaction between the enterprise and suppliers, customers and higher organizations
6) needs for innovation (possible connections of the enterprise with research and design organizations)
7) Forms and methods of stimulating and remunerating workers.
System analysis begins with clarifying or formulating the goals of a specific management system (company or enterprise) and searching for performance criteria that should be expressed in the form of a specific indicator. As a rule, most organizations are universal. Some goals arise from the characteristics of the development of the enterprise (company) and its actual state in the period under review, as well as from the state of the environment (geopolitical, economic, social factors).
The main task of system analysis is to determine the global development goal of the organization and the goals of its functioning. If you have specific, clearly defined goals, you can identify and analyze the factors that contribute to the rapid achievement of these goals or that hinder their achievement.
Description is a recording of the results of an experiment or observation.
The description is carried out using natural language - such as this article is written in - or a formalized artificial language. In this case, graphs, diagrams, images, tables, diagrams are used.
The problem with this method is its subjectivity. The same object can be described in completely different ways.
Let's take an ordinary cat. A cat lover will talk about him in bright colors, admiring his color, character, and habits. But for an allergy sufferer, the description of the same animal will be different - a real fiend of hell.
To avoid ambiguity and inaccuracy, use the following techniques :
- standardization (what is this?) of the structure of presentation of the material;
- definition of the terms used and their meanings;
- setting criteria for applying certain assessments;
- transition from natural language to formalized form;
- comparison of information from different sources.
Description is a method that is closely related to other methods of empirical research. You can’t say that he is somehow better or worse than others. All together is a single cycle.
The results obtained during observation or experiment need to be recorded and correctly presented. Then it's time for description.
Soul and experiment
Empiricism also greatly influenced psychology. Moreover, the title of Wolf’s book “Empirical Psychology” served as an impetus for the widespread use of the term “psychology” in European science. However, this was 1732, Wolf proposed studying the actual manifestations of the soul, and not detached questions about its existence, but there were still very few experiments at that time. He was a follower of Leibniz and established parallels between the psyche and physical events.
Almost 150 years later, in 1879, Wundt created experimental psychology by opening the first laboratory. Psychology for him is the science of direct experience. The experiments of this great man begin a thorny but most interesting path to the study of the psyche. Laboratories, recording observations, experiments, studying sensations, perceptions, attention, feelings, etc. - all this remains important today, although the methods of conducting tests and experiments have changed.
Recommended: What is experience?
A little later, psychoanalysis appears, which Popper criticized for its unfalsifiability. An important condition, which has already been mentioned, for the recognition of a theory - falsifiability - is apparently impossible to fulfill in psychoanalysis.
Many other approaches were born in the Old and New Worlds. Gestalt psychologists conducted experiments on attention, memory and perception, and studied insights. Pavlov discovered the principles of unconditioned and conditioned reflexes, and behaviorists used them to justify the principles of learning.
Psychology successfully implements the principles of the empirical method and is not going to abandon them, although at the time of its inception it often retreated into mysticism and ephemerality. Now this is a serious science, which, armed with neurobiology, the latest equipment for studying the brain and programs for analyzing observations obtained during the experiment, is gaining authority among the exact and natural sciences. Author: Ekaterina Volkova
