week 1 & 2

• Scientific Method


  Mathematical and experimental technique employed in the sciences, specifically the technique used in the construction and testing of a scientific hypothesis
• Research


  An inquiry process that has clearly defined parameters and has as its aims the discovery or creation of knowledge, or theory building; testing, confirmation, revision, refutation of knowledge and theory; and/ or investigation of a problem for local decision-making
• Characteristics of Scientific Methods

  • They are orderly & systematic processes
  • Their findings are based on the empirical evidences
  • Scientist attempt to control external factors that are not under direct investigation
  • They are based on assumptions or hypothesis
  • They are basically conducted to develop or test hypothesis
  • Findings of scientific methods can be generalized, which means that they can be used in situations other than the one under study
• Steps in the Scientific Method

  1. State the Problem

  2. Formulate a Hypothesis

  3. Test the Hypothesis

  4. Gather Data

  5. Analyze and Interpret the Data

  6. Draw Conclusions

  7. Communicate Results

  
• Why Scientists use this process?
• When conducting research, scientists use the scientific method to collect measurable, empirical evidence in an experiment related to a hypothesis (often in the form of an if/then statement), the results aiming to support or contradict a theory

  
• The scientific method and research cycle only leads to a progressively better understanding of a topic, but never a perfect understanding
• Limitations of Scientific Methods

  • Moral or Ethical Problem
  • Human Complexity
  • Measurement Problems
  • External Variable Control Problems
• Moral or Ethical Problem


  The constraint of involving humans, which is essential for observing human behavior for experimentation, is one such ethical problem. Thus, reliable scientific data cannot always be collected
• Human Complexity


  • It is difficult to categorize human behavior
  • When human behavior is studied & analyzed by other human beings, the personal biases come into the picture & distort the analytical facts
  • Human behavior is complicated, subtle & varied
  • Different aspects of human behavior are psychological in nature, which cannot be accurately measured
  • Human behavior is not uniform, certain, or predictable
  • All the people do not behave in the same way in similar circumstances
• Measurement Problems


  Therefore, with humans as subjects, measurements become a challenges
• External Variable Control Problems

  Scientific studies conducted on humans may have a limitation of weak or no control over external variables in scientific activity