Analysis of the Actual Scientific Inquiries of Physicists I -- Focused on research motivation

Abstract

This study was investigated to understand the in-depth features and processes of physicists' scientific inquiries. At first, research motives were investigated by interviewing six physicists who were prominent worldwide. As a result, three main types - incompleteness, discovery, and conflict - and nine subtypes of research motivation, were identified. Six additional background factors were found which might affect the design and start of research. Based on these findings, implications for teaching scientific inquiries to students were discussed.