Scientific research basics in the transportation process

– the hypothesis from which the largest number of facts is derived will have greater explanatory power;

– simplicity, i.e. it should not contain any arbitrary assumptions, subjectivist accretions.

The facts of experience in some limited scientific field, together with realized, rigorously proven hypotheses, form a theory. Theory is an integral system of reliable knowledge. It is the highest form of generalization and systematization of knowledge.

Theory is a doctrine of generalized experience (practice), formulating scientific principles and methods that allow you to generalize and understand existing processes and phenomena, analyze the effect of various factors on them and offer recommendations for using them in people’s practical activities. The theory not only describes the totality of facts, but also explains them, i.e. reveals the origin and development of phenomena and processes, their internal and external connections, causal and other dependencies. All the provisions and conclusions contained in the theory are substantiated and proven.

The structure of the theory is formed by concepts, judgments, laws, scientific positions, teachings, ideas and other elements.

Concept is a thought that reflects the essential and necessary features of a certain set of objects or phenomena.

Category is a general, fundamental concept that reflects the most essential properties and relationships of objects and phenomena. Categories are philosophical, general scientific and related to a particular branch of science. Examples of categories in economic sciences: price, finance, credit.

A scientific term is a word or combination of words denoting a concept used in science. The set of concepts (terms) that are used in a particular science forms its conceptual apparatus.

A judgment is a thought that affirms or denies something.

A principle is a similar position of any branch of science. They are the initial form of systematization of knowledge (the axioms of Euclidean geometry, Bohr’s postulate in quantum mechanics, etc.).

An axiom is a position that is initial, unprovable, and from which, according to established rules, other provisions are derived. Logical axioms are, for example, the law of identity, the law of contradiction, the law of exclusion of the third.

Law – a provision expressing the general course of things in any area; a statement about how something is necessary or happens to be necessary. Laws are objective and express the most significant, stable, causal connections and relationships between phenomena and processes. Laws can be classified on various grounds. So, according to the main spheres of reality, one can single out the laws of nature, society, thinking and cognition; according to the scope of action – universal, general and private.

A scientific law is knowledge formulated by people in concepts, which, however, has its basis in nature, the objective world.

A position is a scientific statement, a formulated thought.

Doctrine – a set of theoretical provisions about any area of phenomena of reality. For example,

Idea is:

1) a new intuitive explanation of an event or phenomenon;

2) the defining pivotal position in the theory.

A concept is a system of theoretical views united by a scientific idea (scientific ideas); the basic idea.

The empirical level of research is characterized by the predominance of sensory cognition (the study of the external world through the senses). At this level, forms of theoretical knowledge are present, but have a subordinate significance.

The interaction of the empirical and theoretical levels of research is that:

1) the totality of facts constitutes the practical basis of the theory or hypothesis;

2) facts can confirm the theory or refute it;

3) a scientific fact is always permeated with theory, since it cannot be formulated without a system of concepts, interpreted without theoretical ideas;

4) empirical research in modern science is predetermined, guided by theory.

The formation of the theoretical level of science leads to a qualitative change in the empirical level. If before the theory was formed, the empirical material that served as its prerequisite was obtained on the basis of everyday experience and natural language, then when it reaches the theoretical level, it is «seen» through the prism of the meaning of theoretical concepts that begin to guide the setting up of experiments and observations – the main methods of empirical research.

The structure of the empirical level of research is made up of facts, empirical generalizations and laws (dependencies).

The concept of «fact» is used in several meanings:

– an objective event, a result related to objective reality (the fact of reality) or to the sphere of consciousness and cognition (the fact of consciousness);

– knowledge about any event, phenomenon, the reliability of which is proven (truth);

– a sentence that captures knowledge obtained in the course of observations and experiments.

An empirical generalization is a system of certain scientific facts, on the basis of which certain conclusions can be drawn or shortcomings and errors can be identified. Empirical laws reflect regularity in phenomena, stability in relationships between observed phenomena. These laws are not theoretical knowledge. Unlike theoretical laws, which reveal the essential connections of reality, empirical laws reflect a more superficial level of dependencies. For the success of scientific research, it must be properly organized, planned and carried out in a certain sequence (research procedure).

These plans and the sequence of actions depend on the type, object and goals of scientific research. So, if it is carried out on technical topics, then the main pre-planning document is first developed – a feasibility study, and then theoretical and experimental studies are carried out, a scientific and technical report is drawn up and the results of the work are introduced into production.

With regard to the work of students, the following successive stages of implementation can be outlined:

1. Preparatory;

2. Conducting theoretical and empirical research;

3. Work on the manuscript and its design;

4. Implementation of the results of scientific research.

It seems necessary to first give a general description of each stage of the research work, and then consider in more detail those of them that are important for the implementation of scientific research by students. Figure 2 shows a diagram of the stages of scientific research.

The preparatory stage includes: choice of topic; substantiation of the need to conduct research on it; definition of hypotheses, goals and objectives of the study; development of a plan or program of scientific research; preparation of research tools (tools). First, the topic of scientific research is formulated and the reasons for its development are substantiated. By preliminary acquaintance with the literature and materials of previous studies, it becomes clear to what extent the issues of the topic have been studied and what are the results obtained. Particular attention should be paid to questions to which there are no answers at all or they are insufficient.

A list of normative acts, domestic and foreign literature, a card index of published judicial practice is compiled. A research methodology is being developed. Research tools are being prepared in the form of questionnaires, questionnaires, interview forms, observation programs, etc. Pilot studies can be carried out to check their suitability.

The research stage consists of a systematic study of literature on the topic, statistical information and archival materials; conducting theoretical and empirical research, including the collection, processing, generalization and analysis of the data obtained; explanations of new scientific facts, argumentation and formulation of provisions, conclusions and practical recommendations and proposals.

The third stage includes: determination of the composition (construction, internal structure) of the work; clarification of the title, titles of chapters and paragraphs; preparation of a draft manuscript and its editing; text design, including a list of references and applications.

The fourth stage consists of the implementation of the research results into practice and the author’s support of the implemented developments. Scientific research does not always end at this stage, but sometimes students’ scientific works (for example, theses) are recommended for implementation in the practical activities of law enforcement agencies and in the educational process.

3. Methodological bases of scientific knowledge

3.1. Research Methodology

Methodology in the broad sense of the word is a system of principles and methods for organizing and constructing theoretical and practical activities, as well as the doctrine of this system. There is another definition of methodology as «the doctrine of the method of scientific knowledge and

transformation of the world.» The methodology of science characterizes the components of scientific research, its object, subject, tasks, the totality of means necessary to solve research problems, and also forms an idea of the sequence of actions of the researcher in the process of solving the problem.

In modern literature, methodology is primarily an object, subject, a set of tools necessary to solve research problems; methodology also forms an idea of the sequence of actions of the researcher in

problem solving process. Methodological knowledge can act either in a descriptive form or in a normative one, i.e. in the form of direct instructions and instructions for activity.

In this form, the methodology is directly aimed at the implementation of activities.

There are 4 levels of methodology:

1. Philosophical methodology – general principles of knowledge.

2. General scientific methodology (substantial general scientific concepts that affect a fairly large number of scientific disciplines – a systematic approach, a cybernetic approach, etc.).

3. Specific scientific methodology (a set of methods, principles of research and procedures used in a particular scientific discipline).

4. The methodology of this particular study – the methodology and technique of the study, a set of procedures that ensure the receipt of empirical material, its primary processing.

Method, or otherwise, the path of research is a way to achieve a specific goal, a set of techniques and operations of practical or theoretical exploration of reality. In the field of science, the method is the path of knowledge that the researcher paves to his subject. Thus, the method of scientific research is a way of knowing objective reality.

The methods of the empirical level include observation, description, comparison, counting, measurement, questionnaire, interview, testing, experiment, modeling, etc.

The methods of the theoretical level include axiomatic, hypothetical (hypothetical-deductive), formalization, abstraction, general logical methods (analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, analogy) and others.

A method is an action or a system of actions used in the performance of some work, in the implementation of something.

Methodology can be defined as a set of methods and techniques of cognition. Any scientific research is carried out by certain methods and methods, according to certain rules.

3.2. General scientific and philosophical methodology. Essence, general principles

Among philosophical methods, the most famous are dialectical and metaphysical. These methods can be associated with various philosophical systems. For Hegel, dialectics is «the use in science of the regularity contained in the nature of thinking, and at the same time this regularity itself.» Dialectic is the movement that underlies everything. For Marxist dialectical materialism, dialectics is, first of all, the internal law of economic development and, since everything else depends on it, the law of everything that happens in general. When studying objects and phenomena, dialectics recommends proceeding from the following principles:

1. Consider the objects under study in the light of dialectical laws:

a) unity and struggle of opposites;

b) the transition of quantitative changes into qualitative ones;

c) negation of negation;

2. Describe, explain and predict the phenomena and processes under study, based on philosophical categories: general, particular and singular; content and form; entities and phenomena; possibilities and reality; necessary and accidental; cause and effect.

3. Treat the object of study as an objective reality.

4. Consider the objects and phenomena under study:

a) comprehensively;

b) in universal connection and interdependence;

c) in continuous change, development;

d) concretely-historically.

5. Check the acquired knowledge in practice.

Metaphysics considers things and phenomena in isolation, separately, independently of each other. Metaphysical thought strives for the simple, the unified, and the whole.

All general scientific methods for analysis should be divided into three groups: general logical, theoretical and empirical. general logical methods are: analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, analogy.

Analysis is a research method by which the studied phenomenon or process is mentally divided into its constituent elements in order to study each separately.

Varieties of analysis are classification and periodization.

Synthesis is a research method that involves the mental connection of the constituent parts or elements of the object under study, its study as a whole.

Methods of analysis and synthesis are interconnected, they are equally used in scientific research.

Induction is the movement of thought (cognition) from facts, individual cases to a general position. Induction leads to universal concepts and laws that can be taken as the basis of deduction.

Deduction is the derivation of a single, particular from any general position; the movement of thought (cognition) from general statements to statements about individual objects or phenomena. Through deductive reasoning, a certain thought is «deduced» from other thoughts.

Analogy is a way of obtaining knowledge about objects and phenomena based on the fact that they are similar to others; reasoning in which, from the similarity of the studied objects in some features, a conclusion is made about their similarity in other features.

The methods of the theoretical level include axiomatic, hypothetical, formalization, abstraction, ranking, generalization, ascent from the abstract to the concrete, historical, method of system analysis.

In scientific research, the method of abstraction is widely used, that is, abstraction from secondary facts in order to focus on the most important features of the phenomenon under study. For example, when studying the operation of a mechanism, a calculation scheme is analyzed that displays the main, essential properties of the mechanism. Sometimes, when analyzing phenomena and processes, there is a need to consider a large number of facts (signs). Here it is important to be able to highlight the main thing. In this case, a ranking method can be applied, with the help of which everything secondary, which does not significantly affect the phenomenon under consideration, is excluded.

The axiomatic method consists in the fact that some statements (axioms, postulates) are accepted without proof and then, according to certain logical rules, the rest of the knowledge is derived from them.

In some cases, a formalization method is used. Its essence lies in the fact that the main provisions of processes and phenomena are presented in the form of formulas and special symbols. Through operations with formulas of artificial languages, one can obtain new formulas, prove the truth of any proposition. Formalization is the basis for algorithmization and programming, without which the computerization of knowledge and the research process cannot do. The use of symbols and other familiar systems allows you to establish patterns between the studied facts.

The hypothetical method is based on the development of a hypothesis, a scientific assumption containing elements of novelty and originality. A hypothesis must more fully and better explain phenomena and processes, be confirmed experimentally, and comply with the general laws of dialectics and natural science. This research method is the main and most common in applied sciences.

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