He Analytical-synthetic method Or is a combination of two forms of research that are used to develop formal jobs that require a scheme to achieve the objectives set.
The man as a thinking being, when considering the resolution of a problem, has evolved and organized his procedures to achieve that goal in the best possible way, developing the various methods of analysis.
The methods of resolution are varied, but all aim oriented. Concentrate and optimize the efforts in order to solve the problem in a way that is efficient in terms of effort and time spent.
Among the various methods available are: The intuitive method, which can be improved by analyzing the problem, or better yet, by choosing an appropriate procedure to perform such analysis. This leads us to the so-called scientific method, in which hypotheses are formulated that must be verified.
The analytical method combines the formal process of resolution with the scientific method to achieve resolution of the problem. The analytical method starts from the division of a whole in many parts to study them separately, whereas the synthetic method brings together a set of concepts to formulate a global solution.
Students who develop research projects use a set of rules called research methodology.
These rules tell you that your project must have a structure, with a theoretical basis, an explanation of how the project was done and a data analysis. All of this is part of the methods described above.
Research Methodology: scientific, analytical and synthetic methods
The methodology is the set of procedures that leads to the selection of methods to achieve the goal. Unlike the method, a methodology encompasses much more field.
It is common to use one or more methodologies in a research process. Depending on the type of research, there are scientific methodologies, social sciences, human sciences, etc.
Scientific method
He scientific method Is the set of rules and procedures that are followed to, given a problem raised, to discover its form of existence, processes and internal and external connections, and to be able to explain, demonstrate and experiment with the techniques given.
Given its experimental nature, the scientific method necessarily arises from a prior knowledge of the fact, which will be fed with the result of experimentation.
Through the scientific method seeks to give answers to questions about the order of nature The scientific method itself is an objective, which in order to be achieved requires an observation of the phenomenon.
Faced with this phenomenon, the observer poses a hypothesis, based on his prior knowledge and data collection.
The test phase contrasts the hypothesis with the results obtained. Before this the observer concludes if its hypothesis is true or false, and in any case, is submitted to improvements so that in the future the experiment or investigation can be repeated.
Analytical Method
To analyze is to decompose or disintegrate a whole into its constituent parts, so that each part can be studied. Each part and the relations between the parts and the whole are also studied.
The analytical method is that method that consists in the disintegration, separation or dismemberment of a whole in each of the parts that compose it, with the objective of analyzing each one, the relation that each one has with the whole, and to achieve an understanding Of the operation of the whole.
The analysis goes from the concrete to the abstract: From a known, concrete whole, it disintegrates in its parts and there are conjectures or hypotheses about how each one works.
To achieve the analytical method, it is necessary to possess a knowledge of the nature of the object or phenomenon studied, to understand its essence.
Once the study is completed, our level of compression of the phenomenon or object must have increased. It must already be possible to compare it with other phenomena, or objects, and establish theories about how and why it works or is as it is.
Rules of the analytical method
It is important to know the nature of the problem or matter to be investigated. The essence, properties, characteristics and relationship with the environment is vital, so as not to divert research towards the objective that has been proposed.
The decomposition of a whole into its parts can be either real or physical as well as rational. This process must be careful and preserve an order that allows the general idea to be reassembled once the analysis is concluded.
When a whole is broken down into its parts, it is very important to keep in mind and preserve the relationship that this part has with the others and with the environment.
Synthetic Method
The synthesis is the reconstruction of the parts of a whole until it forms. As a fundamental part, it implies a knowledge of the operation to achieve the reconstruction. Therefore, it is affirmed that to achieve the synthesis, a previous analysis of the phenomenon is required.
When the research process focuses on the reconstruction of a whole from the analysis of its components, that is to say, a phenomenon or object is already known, but now an exhaustive understanding of it is made from the analysis of its parts. That is the synthetic method.
The synthesis goes from the abstract to the concrete, that is, the isolated studied elements come together and a concrete understanding of the whole is obtained.
Rules of the synthetic method
The rules and definitions needed to clarify the objective of the proposed project should be established and clarified.
The notions, statements and general proposals must be well established before undertaking the search for the particular notions of each component of the whole.
Although the synthesis and the analysis are opposed, at the same time they complement each other, and there can not be one without the other. In the process of knowledge, both are articulated.
The analysis has as a rule dividing each of the obstacles or difficulties to be examined in as many parts as possible, arriving at the basic principles under examination, and making it as comprehensible as possible.
For its part, the synthesis reconstructs an idea from many pieces, very basic, and whose principle is already known, to form a more complex whole, in a gradual way, and thus to fully understand it.
References
- Analytical Method. Retrieved from: twink.org.
- The Analytic / Synthetic Distinction. Recovered from: plato.stanford.edu
- Ruiz, R. (2006). History and Evolution of Scientific Thought. Mexico
- The Scientific Method and its Stages. Retrieved from: index-f.com
- Shuttleworth, M. Explorable: Different Research Methods. Retrieved from: explorable.com.