Explication of logical-gnoseological content of academic texts as a factor affecting the methodological competence of educational researchers

Introduction. The authors investigate logical-gnoseological content of pedagogical knowledge and methods of its identification. The purpose of the article is to reveal how the ability to explicate logical-gnoseological content of academic texts affects methodological competence of educational researchers. Materials and Methods. The research involved the set of following methods: (a) the analysis of scientific literature, with the main focus on pedagogical knowledge and methods of educational research in order to identify the field of pedagogical theory which needs further investigation; (b) statement of a hypothesis about the influence of researchers’ ability to explicate logical-gnoseological content of the text on the level of their methodological competence; c) theoretical causal analysis of the increase in the level of methodological competence of researchers; (d) the local educational experiment to confirm the hypothesis. Results. It is found that the activity of educational researchers involving revealing and logical-substantial developing empirical conclusions, theoretical justifications, comparisons, the intrinsic analysis of phenomenological manifestations, results of the analysis of the factors which influence the studied process, contained in academic texts, promotes increase in level of methodological competence of educational researchers. It is expressed in the ability to define and to classify the theoretical field of education, to follow the laws of sufficient reasoning, identity, non-contradiction and the law of the excluded middle in making conclusions. Conclusions. The methodological competence of educational researchers is determined (as one of the significant reasons) by the ability to explicate the following logical-gnoseological content of the analyzed academic text: a) identifying sufficiency, substantial and logical correctness, the correct addressability of theoretical and empirical justification to the considered phenomena; b) the correct analysis of the factors influencing on educational phenomena; c) displaying research consideration in an intrinsic format.