A method is a way to achieve a goal, and defines how an activity is organized; as a means of knowledge, it is the most widely used means of thinking about the object of study; in the methodology, the classification of the scientific method is divided into two: empirical and theoretical, both based on mathematical and statistical methods.
In turn, empirical methods are used to discover and accumulate a set of facts and data as a basis for verifying a hypothesis, answering scientific research questions, obtaining arguments to defend an idea, or following a thematic guide.
However, they are not enough to deepen the essential relationships that occur in educational processes.
These are the rational methods that allow the systematization and analysis of the results obtained with empirical methods, so these methods allow conclusions to be drawn on the solution of the scientific problem, while empirical methods provide clues for the development of theories by rational methods.
Rational methods are categorized according to the purpose to which they are directed in research, some of them are:
The analytical-synthetic method, as the name suggests, refers to the analysis and synthesis processes. Analysis is a logical procedure that mentally breaks down a whole in its parts and qualities, into multiple relationships, properties and components.
On the contrary, the synthesis is established by the union or combination of the previously analyzed parts, so that it allows to discover relationships and general characteristics between elements of reality.
Analysis and synthesis function as a kind of dialectical unit in this method, in research one or the other procedure can predominate, depending on the stage in which it is located, so it is most appropriate that this method serves to search and process information. .
This method mainly has two reverse procedures: induction and deduction. Induction is a form of reasoning ranging from knowledge of particular cases to a more general knowledge. This knowledge reflects what individual phenomena have in common.
The basis of induction is the repetition of facts and phenomena of reality. Francis Bacon first proposed induction as a method of acquiring knowledge. The philosopher said that if we want to acquire knowledge, we must observe nature.
With that we have to collect data and make generalizations of it, this procedure is now known as inductive reasoning, its steps are:
Therefore, induction and deduction complement each other. By induction, generalizations are established from the common in several cases.
Subsequently, several logical conclusions are drawn from this generalization which, by induction, translate into enriched generalizations, forming a didactic unit.
In the hypothetical-deductive method we start from hypotheses, which are inferred from principles or laws, or are based on empirical data.
Thus, by applying the deduction rules you reach forecasts subject to empirical verification. This method is generally used, for example, in clinical diagnosis.
To discover the essence of things, logic needs history, so it is a method that allows to discover the facts from the logic of its development, a method that is often used when researching the history of a scientific problem.
This method aims to study the object in its evolution and the factors that condition it, when performing the research a longitudinal or transversal study can be carried out.
It consists of inducing similar relationships or consequences in similar phenomena. It is generally used in science to build new knowledge. With this method it is possible to deduce similar consequences in similar historical times, for example.
In the modeling method models are created to study reality, the first step is to formulate the goal. From there, the non-essential is separated from the essentials of the object of study, so a clear idea of the essence of the object can be established and this abstraction of reality constitutes the model.
For Aristotle, everything was more than the sum of its parts, in fact the interactions that occur between the parties produced qualities that were not the result of the mechanical sum of the qualities of each piece, this method was based on this, which aims to build new knowledge.
This method was related to the development of the scientific method, the most common is to see this model being used in the systematization of data or information, or in the systematization of experience.
Thus, this classification of the scientific method according to its research purpose can be summarized in two aspects. The first concerns information-seeking methods, which would combine empirical, analytical-synthetic, historical-logical, genetic and systematization methods.
On the other hand, we would have the methods of knowledge building, including the hypothetical-deductive method, the analog method, the systematization method, the inductive-deductive method, modeling and the systemic-structural-functional method.
In conclusion, we highlight two ideas: