The concept of scientific method is a broad one and has been studied from very different theoretical and methodological perspectives. This is the reason by which is assumed a quantitative approach which includes the most important factors of the research process, designed by the concept of Research Cycle, which is a spiral process that begins in the existence of a natural, social or psychological phenomenon which affects human being or society, creating human necessities and generating the research process, which ended in the formulation of another research problem. The research process, in this way conceived, includes the problem of investigation, the hypothesis, the objectives, the theoretical background and discussion, the methodological design, the data analysis, the research conclusion and an important criteria of scientific quality: the systemic nature of science.

In scientific thinking, ideas are expressed as a concepts, which are ideas defined by accepted theories and tested by scientific methods; so concepts only exist in the structure of theories, and they can´t exist in a independent way. Scientific knowledge is completely conceptual and concepts are its basic cell, which establish a complex set of relationship, creating a conceptual system, named theory.

Scientific research (and university thesis) is an expression of theory, an instrument for testing hypothesis and theories through reliable data. Is for this feature that research and thesis are structured and supported by theories, not by isolated concepts or ideas coming from common knowledge. But is frequent that theses have a poor use of concepts and theories, and not a few of them includes a speech based in intuition or common knowledge. This is a severe theoretical error of theses which could have a serious consequences for their quality.

Based in concepts, human reason function with judgements or logical propositions, which are connections of ideas or concepts, whose function is to explain complex process of reality in a synthetic way. Judgements are generals and constitute the basis of scientific explanations. In theses, judgements are the basic nature of conclusions and they must respect logical quality criteria.

Hypothesis are the source of scientific explanations and they are educated guesses about the nature of the research problem, with base in previous knowledge. For this reason, hypothesis formulation is one of the most important task of scientific research. University theses (in the quantitative approach) must concede the sufficient attention to this step, which have a set of quality standards in the theoretical, logical, semantical and methodological axis.

Theories are systems integrated by concepts and judgements, which are previously proved by methodologically guided research process. Theories are the central structure of science, whose development depends of the acceptation or rejection of theories, and whose progress goes through more complexity in theory construction. But the utility of theories depend of the concepts which integrate it and of the state of the research in the knowledge field. So, theories don't offer an absolute true knowledge, but a relative true one, which is constantly reformulated, emerging new and more comprehensive knowledge as a result of the research action of thousand of scientist all over the world.

For a thesis, this feature is very important, because the students need to know the most important theories of their thematic field, but also because they need to be in permanent actualization in the new theoretical approaches and proposals. If the students don't have this actualized knowledge or the tutors don't demand it, the final result of thesis lack an important quality factor. Moreover, the theoretical background and discussion in theses, requires a set of quality standards which measure the sufficiency in this matter in the four quality axis.

But concepts, judgements and theories requires a critic conscience about the logical form in which the thinking process has been developed: the concepts and judgements, have enough precision?, have been well interconnected?; is correct the reasoning process?, are the conclusions well established from the logical point of view?. This are some questions that indicate that is necessary a logical analysis of theses quality, based in the principle that reasoning process is guided by the laws of logic, mostly because logic is the form of languages. A misunderstanding in this matter brings undesirable consequences to theses quality.

The most visible characteristic of languages is that they requires some sign combination rules. Natural languages have their specific rules, historically created by their own consolidation process and constantly improved by social experience. But science and research are artificial languages which create their own rules for signs (concepts) combination, and these rules are improved constantly by science and research development. Some general methods of reasoning in sciences are the relation between the individual, particular and general levels of thinking; analogy and association; induction, deduction and abduction; analysis and synthesis; the historical and logical approaches; and others.

Concepts precision is one of the most important logical features of science. The ideal of total precision is perhaps one essential characteristic of quantitative paradigm in science, which state that the use of quantitative concepts are a basic norm for research. But even in the case of use or qualitative concepts, precision are the result of a logical work to define them in two main angles: concept's extension and intension. In the process of theses elaboration, students and tutors must concede attention to this logical work, which can be controlled by a set of quality standards.

Logical reasoning can be clearly expressed by scientific generalization of data to form inductive judgements and, from them, to form synthetic propositions, which are the basis of theories. Generalization is the main logical process by which is possible to formulate conclusions which explain not only the specific data and cases included in the study, but principally a broader range of objects; and the logical method that guide this process is induction.

In theses, this features are essentials: the students who work in a quantitative research must understand that they have to explain their problem at a general level, with conceptual precision and logical reasoning. In this level, the evaluation model define a set of logical indicators to measure the logical quality of theses.

Two epistemologic principles are essential to sciences: (i) consistency and (ii) stability of the research object. Once the research theme has been established, it should be identic to itself through the entire research process. Consistency means theoretical identity in all the conceptual structure of the investigation, and means that if there are any theoretical change in any level of the conceptual structure, it provoke a similar change in the entire system, by which also change the predefined object of the investigation. Even a little variation in the object (for instance, by using different concepts) provoke a similar variation in the total meaning of the research. From here is possible to establish that consistency is an important semantic factor of theses quality.

sinónimo Stability is the identity of the research object through time, it means, through all the research process. A little conceptual change in one moment of the research (for instance, in the deduction of specific objectives from the general objective) by introducing synonymes of the main concepts or for other reason, it provokes a similar change in the theoretical structure and in the general meaning of the investigation, whose consequence could be some conclusions that couldn't explain the object in a correct way, from the theoretical point of view. For these reasons, another important dimension of theses quality is the semantic analysis, in which intervene some complex process as the significance of ideas, a central subject of semiotics.

precisado Semantic analysis is a central quality criteria of scientific thinking and from it has been emerging entire methodological paradigms in social sciences, which focus the significance of social process for human being. For theses, semantic analysis is other source of quality which have to be specified.

Methodological thinking is the most evident feature of scientific research. Science differs from any other form of knowledge precisely for its indispensable use of pre-established proceedings, methods and techniques, which are previously standardized and approved by the main scientific establishment. Moreover, the notions of methodology (as a general study of methods) and scientific method, are the basis for scientific action in order to produce new, valid and reliable knowledge. The problem of scientific true rest strictly on the methodological thinking.

The rules of scientific method must be compatibles with the rules of theory construction and development, of logical precision, of semantical consistency and stability. It means that scientific method, as an abstract generalization, exist only through the concrete research in each of the scientific fields, with basis in the precision of the object, the theories that explain it and the reassonning can led to valid conclusions. Each particular science have its own set of methods to prove its hyphotesis and theories.

Students and tutors must respect the methodological repertoire of the specific field of knowledge, the methodological standards established by the historical development of this science. Theses must be evaluated in their methodological quality, as an essential quality component.