Scientific method is a systematic method of testing hypotheses in research. The four steps are as follows: Step 1: "Observation and description of a phenomenon or group of phenomena" (Introduction to the scientific method, 2012, University of Rochester). The scientific method begins with existing research, and builds upon the research of other individuals in the field and/or observation of a particular phenomenon. Step 2: " formulation of a hypothesis to explain the phenomena" (Introduction to the scientific method, 2012, University of Rochester). The hypothesis is what is tested over the course of the experiment. It is specific, and not merely descriptive and is limited enough so that other variables that could cause the phenomenon can be eliminated. Step 3: "use of the hypothesis to predict the existence of other phenomena, or to predict quantitatively the results of new observations" (Introduction to the scientific method, 2012, University of Rochester). Step 4: "performance of experimental tests of the predictions by several independent experimenters and properly performed experience" (Introduction to the scientific method, 2012, University of Rochester). A hypothesis is not confirmed by merely one experiment, given that experiments can be affected by unaccounted-for variables and can be also influenced by random, chance events (especially in small samples) and observer bias. After drawing conclusions from the initial experiment, the researcher must retest the results, and, if necessary, further isolate the conditions under scrutiny. However, when conducting research on human beings, it can be more difficult to create hypotheses that eliminate other influencing phenomenon or to create a perfectly representative...
When studying human beings, experimenters are limited ethically and logistically to how much they can limit the variables on human beings vs. studying the laws of nature.
Scientific Method Scenario 1: You come home after a long day at work and you flip on the light switch and nothing happens; light does not come on. Now what? Miriam Webster's dictionary defines the scientific method as all of the "principles and procedures for the systematic pursuit of knowledge involving the recognition and formulation of a problem, the collection of data through observation and experiment, and the formulation and testing of
Many inquiries were made into the universe, from how it worked to its creation, as well as the construction of a workable calendar and an understanding of numerous illnesses. These collective areas of discussion fall under the term of natural philosophy, or philosophy of nature. Before modern science was developed and widely used, natural philosophy was the prominent method of gaining knowledge. So dominant and involved was natural philosophy
Scientific Method: The BYOD Debate The Scientific Method The scientific method is a recipe for constructing non-arbitrary, consistent, and reliable representations of natural phenomena by collecting and analyzing relevant data in a systematic and organized manner. It forms the basis of theory-development, and generally comprises of five major steps -- i) formulation of a question about the phenomenon of interest; ii) development of hypotheses based on knowledge obtained from existing theories and
On orders of Pope Paul V, Galileo is ordered not to hold or defend the Copernican theory. Later, in 1624, Galileo was allowed to write about the Copernican theory provided that he treated it as a mathematical hypothesis. When Galileo published Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems in1630, comparing the Ptolemaic and Copernican models, the Church stopped its distribution and condemned Galileo to house arrest for the rest
scientific approach to knowledge is generally an expansion on the common-sense everyday approach, by which individuals seek the truth. For example, both the scientific and the everyday approaches to knowledge entail successive and related stages of observation, reporting, concepts, instruments, measurement, and hypotheses. The scientific method is usually far more formal and rigid than the general, everyday approach to knowledge because of the necessary rigors of the sciences. If an
proponents of evidence based instruction represent one end of the methods of teaching continuum where practices that have been tested empirically using rigorous research designs are considered to be the only valid method of instruction (Odom et al., 2005). On the other end of the spectrum are methods that may be have some basis for use such an intuition, theory, etc. But have not been subject to empirical scrutiny
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