An educational project or research from the student's point of view is an opportunity to maximize the disclosure of their creative potential. This article will teach you the basics of project and research activities.
Everywhere there is a demand for highly qualified specialists who are able to solve complex problems, predict and model the results of their own professional activities, look for ways and means of self-realization in the conditions of practical, independent work. Effective career growth today is impossible without the use of scientific methods of information processing and making professionally important decisions. therefore, mastering the experience of research activities for a modern specialist means the development of "... abilities that make it easy to adapt to the environment, take advantage of its benefits and advantages and arrange a comfortable and secure life" [2].
It is no accident that the research competencies underlying the knowledge of the surrounding world, the study of its objects, phenomena and processes, are included, in accordance with the GEF, among the general competencies that are especially relevant in the situation of multiple choices, the dynamics of change, numerous problems inherent in modern reality [3].
WHAT IS RESEARCH ACTIVITY FOR A STUDENT
Project activity is a creative, educational work to solve a practical problem, the goals of which are determined by the students themselves and are carried out by them in the process of theoretical study and practical implementation.
This activity will allow you to express yourself individually or in a group, try your hand, apply your knowledge, bring benefits, show the result publicly achieved. This is an activity aimed at solving an interesting problem, often formulated by the students themselves in the form of a task, when the result of this activity - the found way to solve the problem - is of a practical nature, has an important applied value and, very importantly, is interesting and significant for the discoverers themselves.
Entering college, you have set yourself a high goal - to become specialists who possess new knowledge and technologies, strong-willed and thoughtful, creative, learn how to creatively use the knowledge gained in practice, use your potential to solve urgent practical problems. You will not find a better way to achieve these goals than through participation in project and research work.
Research work of students, included in the educational process, implies: [1].
a) performance of tasks, laboratory works, coursework, diploma projects, which contain elements of scientific research;
b) performance of specific non-typical tasks of a research nature for the period of educational or industrial practice;
c) study of the theory, methodology, organization of research work, its implementation; planning and organization of a scientific experiment, processing of scientific data.
Step One: Find and Choose a Theme
Guide to choosing a theme:
This will be useful to me in my professional activities.
This will come in handy for me in life.
I'm interested.
I'm familiar with this topic
I like the subject.
I like the teacher.
Almost any educational question can invert into a research topic.
"And what happens if...?";
Someone did so-and-so, and we will do so-and-so;
Artificial change of any parameters (qualities) of the system and analysis of consequences;
Reproducibility of results;
Side effects in the main study;
"Isn't this a "fake"?;
Value -semantic assessments.
Step Two: Set the Timeline
Determine the dates: collection and analysis of information, drawing up a plan, conducting research, drawing up abstracts, deepening the study, presenting the final document, compiling an article, editing and publishing an article. Work in the opposite direction from the completion date to set realistic time frames for each of these steps.
Step Three: Developing a Research Plan
The plan can contain the following steps:
setting the goal of the study, followed by the formulation of specific tasks, the solution of which is the study;
hypothesizing;
collection of information, analysis of available literature;
selection or creation of experimental equipment;
conducting an experiment (construction and analysis of dependencies, design);
analysis of the results obtained;
formulation of conclusions;
registration of the work (according to the regulations on the competition or on the basis of the generally accepted design of scientific works);
elimination of shortcomings in the work (checking by the teacher, correcting errors, compliance of the results with the topic and the set research goal).
Step Four: Conducting Research
Once you've finished your schedule, you're ready to start with the actual research.
To prove the relevance of the chosen topic: to justify the need for research.
To choose an object of research is an area within which the study of a set of connections, relations and properties as a source of information necessary for the researcher is conducted.
The subject of research is more specific and includes only those connections and relations that are subject to direct study in this work, it establishes the boundaries of scientific research in each object. The subject is always studied within the framework of some object.
In order not to shy away from the chosen topic, it is necessary to clearly and accurately imagine the purpose and objectives of the study.
The purpose of the study is understood as the final, scientific and practical results that should be achieved as a result of its implementation.
The goal is formulated briefly and extremely accurately, semantically expressing the main thing that the researcher intends to do. As a rule, the goal begins with verbs: "to find out", "to identify", "to form", "to justify", "to conduct", etc.
The goal is concretized and developed in the tasks of the study. The problems denote a set of problems that need to be solved during the experiment. Tasks can reflect a certain step-by-step nature of achieving the goal, the sequence of actions. Solving the problem allows you to go through a certain stage of research. The formulation of the tasks is closely related to the structure of the study, and individual tasks can be set both for the theoretical (literature review on the problem) and for the experimental part of the study. The tasks determine the content of the study and the structure of the text of the work.
A research hypothesis is a detailed assumption that sets out in detail the model, methodology, system of measures, that is, the technology of the innovation as a result of which the goal of the study is expected to be achieved.
There may be several hypotheses - some of them will be confirmed, some will not. As a rule, the hypothesis is formulated in the form of a complex subordinate sentence ("If..., then..." or "What..., that..."). When making assumptions, the words are usually used: maybe, suppose, let's say, maybe, if, probably. In the course of the experiment, the hypothesis is refined, supplemented, developed or rejected. The first thing that makes a hypothesis come to light is a problem. Methods of testing hypotheses are usually divided into two large groups: theoretical and empirical. The first involves reliance on logic and analysis of other theories (available knowledge), within which this hypothesis is put forward. Empirical ways of testing hypotheses involve observations and experiments.
When starting to work on a topic, it is very important to have its plan,at least in the most general form. It will help to find, collect, accumulate primary sources on the topic. As you study and initially familiarize yourself with the literature, the adopted plan will certainly be modified. However, the indicative plan will make it possible to link a variety of information into a single whole. Therefore, such a plan should be drawn up as early as possible, and the help of the head of work is indispensable in its compilation.
The choice of specific methods and methods of research and their application to achieve the goal is determined, first of all, by the nature of the object of study, the subject, the purpose and objectives of the study.
The technique is a set of techniques, methods of research, the order of their application and the type of interpretation of the results obtained with their help. In other words, the methods of scientific research are a way of studying the objects of study.
Methods of scientific research:
Methods aimed at the theoretical study of the problem, for example, the study of literary sources, written, archival materials. Any research is based on some already known results, and you are obliged not just to get acquainted with them, but carefully work through them, trying to understand everything in them. Methods that provide practical results of the study of the problem: observation, conversation, questionnaire, experiment. If you have a hypothesis but don't know how to prove it, try to make sure experimentally that it is correct first. The researcher's confidence in the fairness of the result gives strength when searching for rigorous evidence. Think about what intermediate results, and in what form it would be interesting to display on the charts. Looking at them, you often manage to notice something that you did not even think about before. Invent different ways to visualize the same data, "twist" your task from different sides. It happens that it is these seemingly useless exercises that lead to the most important discoveries.
Formulation of preliminary conclusions,their testing and refinement. The stage of comprehension of the results is the most important thing in the work. Ask yourself more questions. Are the original hypotheses correct? If they are not true, then maybe some similar ones are true? What happens if I change this or another setting? What explains this strange accumulation of dots on the chart? Are there any anomalies on the graph that have no obvious explanations? Have all the interesting special cases been verified? What about extreme cases and "borderline" situations (there are always surprises accumulating)?
Summing up.
Step Five: Edit the Work
There must be several stages of editing. First, you're editing your first draft yourself. Then, you'll probably take note of your supervisor's comments about fixing the work. The final edit will be carried out by the head of your project
Step Six: Designing The Results of Work
The results of design and research activities are drawn up in a folder called the project one. The contents of this folder include:
The title page, which should contain basic information about the work itself, its authors and the institution in which this work was performed.
Work passport.
Table of Contents: introduction, main part, conclusion, sources of information, annexes with pages.
The introduction includes: the relevance of the topic, the purpose and objectives, the object and subject of research, the working hypothesis and research methods.
The main part may contain a description of the current state of the issue under study, an overview of the sources of information, a description and results of their own activities, a description of the author's position on the issue under study.
In conclusion, it is necessary to sum up the results of the work done, indicate the possibilities of practical application of the results of the work, the prospects for further development.
The application may contain tables, graphs, diagrams, drawings, photographs, diagrams. (see annex 4)
Step Seven: Protect Your Work
Several models of research work protection:
«Classical»
The oral presentation focuses on the following issues of principle:
The topic of the study and its relevance;
The range of sources used and the main scientific moves to the problem;
Novelty of the work (study of little-known sources, movement of a new version, new approaches to solving problems, etc.);
The main conclusions on the content of the work.
«Individual»
Personal aspects of the work are revealed:
justification of the choice of the topic of the essay;
ways of working on the essay;
original finds, own judgments, interesting moments;
the personal significance of the work done;
prospects for further research.
«Creative»
Protection includes:
design of the stand with documentary and illustrative material on the topic of the study, their commentary;
demonstration of slides, video recordings, listening to audio recordings prepared in the process of abstracting;
bright, original representation of a fragment of the main part of the work, etc.
Possible forms of presentation of the results of project activities:
multimedia presentation,
circuitry
didactic materials,
cabinet design,
registration of OU,
journal
film
memo
conference
control tasks (tests, tasks),
equipment improvements,
rationalization proposals,
collage
poster
model
extracurricular activities,
business games,
Practical advice of experienced researchers:
Literature
An important rule: as soon as you read the article, be sure to write an essay on it. Do it right away, then it will be more difficult to remember and systematize everything. Recorded essays later will serve as the basis for the overview paragraphs of the report, article, term paper. It's a shame to spend a lot of time later remembering in which article you read an important fact that now needs to be referenced. Be careful when choosing sources of information. You need to make sure that every source you rely on is reliable. Many Internet resources are now not as accurate as they may seem. Some of them are outdated, and some are simply wrong. Remember that almost anyone can post something online, so you can't rely on the information you'll find on any old website. Be especially wary of pages like Wikipedia that look like fact-based resources but are actually made from unfiltered user views.
Current reports
A good student periodically (for example, every two weeks) sends a brief report to the supervisor with the following content:
what new things were learned from the literature;
what has been done during this period;
which of these is the result that can be written about in the text of the work;
that it is not clear what problems have arisen;
what are the ideas for their solution, including the possibility of changing the formulation of the entire problem or its parts;
work plan for the next period (for example, two weeks).
This work instills the habit of structuring one's thinking, and saves the eternally busy supervisor time. Even if your supervisor did not ask to send him such reports, still send! You will recommend yourself from the best side. Your first report has the right to look modest. It is enough if it contains only the statement of the problem, the abstracts of the articles you read and / or the results of your first experiments.
Problem statement
Try to write first in informal language, how you understood it, why it is relevant (that is, what benefits and to whom its solution can bring), what open problems there are in it. It is very important to learn how to talk about the task. Take as a sample descriptions that you have read in articles or on the Internet. Then formulate the task formally, enter the necessary designations.
Experiments
If you have done one or more experiments, the report should describe the conditions and results of each experiment. The conditions should be described exhaustively, that is, so that your experiment can be reproduced by another researcher. At the same time, programmer and other technical details do not need to be described. The results are presented in the form of tables or graphs. Axes and a legend must be signed on each chart (a legend is not needed if there is only one curve on the chart). Under the graph should be written under what conditions of the experiment it is obtained. The main text should contain interpretations of the results and conclusions. If you do this carelessly, then even your supervisor, not to mention outsiders, will not understand the results of your experiment.
Work with the manager
Work with a supervisor usually begins with solving a few test puzzles and / or reading several articles on the topic of future work, possibly. Then you will be given the main task, which in the future should develop into a topic of research work.
Having received the next task, do not hesitate to ask for additional clarifications. It is much worse if you, having buried, disappear for a long time, without doing anything.
Another common mistake is to postpone work for later. Usually, the manager expects that your work will be included in the general study and expects certain results by a certain time. If you cope with the first task quickly, you get complication, then the next, and by the end of the study tangible results run in. If the student remembers about the work at the end of the semester and begins to solve the initially simple task, then the work turns out to be too simple and useless. It's almost impossible to do something worthwhile in a couple of weeks. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. You are learning a complex business, so no one will condemn you if it does not work out all at once. Remember that your creativity, diligence and thirst for knowledge are appreciated. To summarize:
Work constantly.
The manager is not obliged to direct your every step.
Initiative is not punishable.
You have the right to make a mistake.
How not to blunt and not to trample on the spot in the conditions of uncertainty of the task
Make a complete list of questions that you do not understand to get to the goal.
Write three versions of your answers to each question. Discuss them with your supervisor. Talking "which of the three options is better" is always more constructive than talking about "come up with for me how to do it all."
Choose the easiest to implement for each question out of three options.
Complete the entire task from start to finish to make something work. If this is the task of data analysis, then it is necessary to reach the assessment of the quality of solutions. Discuss the first results with your supervisor.
Gradually, one at a time, replace the patches with more reasonable options and see what improves.
This is a universal flowchart for those who like complete clarity before starting work, otherwise they will doubt indefinitely (print large and hang on the wall). Maybe you're not like that, and personally you'll need a different success algorithm. There are no universal recipes for everyone.
Algorithm of work on the project
It consists in repeating certain types of work from the following list:
immersion in modern scientific literature;
conclusion of the theory (even if the work is experimental, it helps to understand the method and adapt it to your task);
conducting experiments (even if the work is theoretical, it helps to discover new effects);
analysis of simple special cases and extreme cases, even if they seem degenerate;
changing the very formulation of the problem and solving simpler close problems;
a written statement of the problem statement, a review of articles or partial solutions already found;
discussion with the head and mentors, participation in scientific seminars and conferences.
The order of these works is not important and is chosen according to the situation, but none of them should be systematically skipped - this is the essence of the algorithm, and only in this case it guarantees successful progress.
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