Wolf's "Intro to the Scientific Method"

From Biol301

Collected Thoughts

-"In summary, the scientific method attempts to minimize the influence of bias or predjudice in the experimenter when testing an hypothesis or a theory."

-Scientific Method Steps:

1. Observation and description of a phenomenon or group of phenomena.
2. Formulation of an hpypothesis to explain the phenomena.
3. Use of the hypothesis to predict the existence of other phenomena, or to predict quantitatively the results of new observations.
4. Performance of experimental tests of the predictions by several independent experimenters and properly performed experiements.

-"What is key in the description of the scientific method just given is the predictive power of the hypothesis or theory,..."

-"Theories which cannot be tested,..., do not qualify as scientific theories."

-"..., there is error intrinsic to instruments of measurement. Because this type of error has eqqual probability of producing a measurement higher or lower numberically than the "true" value, it is coalled random error."

-"..., there is nonrandom or systematic error, due to factors which bias the result in one direction. No measurement, and therefore no experiement, can be perfectly precise."

-"The most fundamental error is to mistake the hypothesis for an explanation of a phenomenon, without performing experimental tests. Sometimes 'common sense' and 'logic' tempt us into believing that no test is needed."

-"...all data must be handled the same way."

-"In a field where there is active experimentation and open communication among members of the scientific community, the biases of individuals or groups may cancel out, because experimental tests are repeated by different scientists who may have different biases."

-"An hypothesis is a limited statement regarding cause and effect in specific situations; it also refers to our state of knowledge before experimental work has been performed and perhaps even before new phenomena have been predicted."

-"The word model is reserved for situations when it is known that the hypothesis has at least limted validity." (I.E. Hook's 'Law' which is only valid for small things with small movement.)

-"A scientific theory or law represents an hypothesis, or a group of related hypotheses, whcih has been confirmed through repeated experimental tests."

-"Theories are not easily discarded."

-"...the key force for change is the scientific method, and its emphasis on experiment."

-"Whiel the method appears simple and logical in description, there is perhaps no more complex question than that of knowing how we ccome to know things."