THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD

"Medawar, a Nobel Laureate, says, in effect, that there is no scientific method. He concludes that if an effective scientific method existed then scientists would be more successful in their endeavors than they are, and if a method existed that leads a scientists with certainty to the truth then there is no excuse for not solving scientific problems." (Schumm, 1991)

The Scientific Method, by Ron

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD

  • objective (quantitative, measurement)
  • testable (falsifiable)
  • repeatability
  • communication (publication)

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HYPOTHESES (a 'guess'?)

  1. I always get the fuzzy end of the lollypop
  2. The battle goes to the strong, & the race to the swift.
  3. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.
  4. Sandwiches always land jelly-side down.

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  • What does the hypothesis predict?

  • Are the predictions of this hypothesis unique?

    • measurable, quantitative predictions
    • SCIENTIFIC METHODS [HW Link]
    UGA Office of International Agriculture

    CONTROLED TESTS

    NATURAL TESTS

      Why was Tikal abandoned 1200ya?
      test [1] [2]

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    Scientific Data

    • QUANTITATIVE

    • MEASUREMENT

      • Accuracy: how well a measurment matches the "true" value
      • Precision: how closely repeated measurements agree

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    Interpret results of Observations or Measurements

    • Explain results & propose explanation

    • Was a hypothesis falsified?
        The goal is to disprove hypotheses
        (propose new hypothesis?)

  • PUBLISH - discuss - argue

      Introduction
      Methods
      Results
      Conclusions

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