NEUR1020 W2

• What are the features of a science?

  It is grounded in observation and is cumulative in knowledge that grows overtime. It is also self-correcting and achieves explanation and understanding
• What is the importance of falsification and the logic of scientific discovery?

  It implies incremental refinement and that our knowledge progressively becomes a closer approximation to the truth.
• What kinds of judgements are required for real scientific discovery?

  The quality of data, the adequacy of theory, and about alternative explanations
• What does reliability refer to?

  Refers to how repeatable or consistent a measure is
• What does validity refer to?

  Whether the measurement you have actually assesses the thing it’s supposed to assess
• What are some of the judgement questions about theory?

  Is the theory general enough?

  Can the theory be tested?

  Is the theory parsimonious?

  Can we rule out alternative explanations?
• Why do we use quantitative measurement?

  It allows us to put a numerical value on a measurement, so it quantifies out uncertainty and allows objective measurements. It also allows for comparisons to be made.