THE NATURE OF SCIENTIFIC
INQUIRY
WHAT IS SCIENCE? AND WHAT SCIENCE IS NOT!
Dictionary definition of science: 1. Knowledge. 2. Knowledge acquired by
study. 3. Systematized knowledge of any one department of the study of mind or
matter, as, the science of physics. Obviously, not exactly how a scientist would
define science. Science is really much more than the definition above;
science involves a certain attitude about nature, science involves processes or
methods, and science results in products. David H. Ost and David George
(1975) in an article "The contradictory Faces of Science" (in The
Science Teacher, V. 42, No. 10, p. 14) gives the following definition of
science:
"...science is a human activity that has evolved as an
intellectual tool to facilitate describing and ordering the environment.
Once one accepts the idea that science does not exist in any other realm but the
mind, it ceases to be a 'thing', an entity with its own existence. Though
scientific truth or fact is ideally objective, it is subject to human perception
and logic..... As a method, science is relatively stable and universally
applied, while as a body of knowledge, it is constantly changing."
THE NATURE OF SCIENCE
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Attitudes of Science: Curious, objective, logical, and
rational approach to the investigation of the world around us.
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Methods of Science: Sequential approach to the
investigation of natural phenomena. For example, collecting data,
evaluating data, formulating hypotheses, testing hypotheses by observation or
experimentation, devising appropriate and controlled experiments, devising
unbiased and objective measuring procedures, etc.
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Products of Science: facts, hypotheses, theories,
principles, and laws of nature.
TERMS USED IN SCIENCE
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FACT: In science, an observation that has been repeatedly
confirmed.
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LAW: A descriptive
generalization about how some aspect of the natural world behaves under stated
circumstances.
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HYPOTHESIS: A
testable statement about the natural world that can be used to build more
complex inferences and explanations. (NOT JUST AN EDUCATED GUESS!!!
THE HYPOTHESIS HAS TO HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO BE FALSIFIED!!!)
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THEORY: In science,
a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world that can
incorporate facts, laws, inferences, and tested hypotheses.
WHAT IS NOT SCIENCE?
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So, what is not science? Science is based on the
objective analysis of data collected from the natural world.
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As such, speculation based on our own biases of how we view nature
is not in the realm of science. Thus, magic, mysticism, witchcraft,
astrology, and other supernatural claims are outside the confines of scientific
investigation.
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Religious beliefs also fall outside the boundaries of science
(science does not say that these beliefs are false, or true, but simply that
these beliefs cannot be scientifically investigated).
In other words, we cannot formulate hypotheses that are testable (have
the potential to be falsified) relative to supernatural beliefs.
THE NATURE OF SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY
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THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD
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1. A problem or idea about nature.
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2. Gathering of initial data (information) about the idea or
problem.
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3. Formulation of a valid hypothesis (A valid hypothesis must
be testable, in other words, it must be possible to prove whether it is false or
is consistent with observed facts). A hypothesis is a very tentative explanation
of some observed phenomenon of nature.
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4. Testing of the hypothesis by observation of nature or
experimentation. In both cases, facts (data) are gathered and analyzed
relative to the hypothesis. The hypothesis is a predictive model.
The data will tell us whether the prediction(s) we have made relative to some
natural phenomena is (are) consistent with the observed facts OR NOT.
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5. Formulation of a theory. If, after repeated testing and
wide acceptance by the scientific community, it is determined that none of the
data is inconsistent with the stated hypothesis; the hypothesis will be elevated
to the status of theory. A theory is an extensively tested and widely
accepted explanation for some natural phenomenon. On the other hand,
if any of the data is inconsistent with the hypothesis, then it will be modified
or rejected.
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6. Further testing of the theory. In fact, theories are
continually being tested as more scientific data is gathered. Theories
are also the spawning ground for additional hypotheses.
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Some hypotheses that are very descriptive of nature under certain
sets of circumstances may eventually be elevated to the status of principles
or laws of nature, but only after repeated testing and we cannot conceive of
situations where the result would be different.
A scientific principle is typically more specific than a scientific law,
but the division is often arbitrary. Usually scientific laws are
descriptions of natural phenomena of a more general nature and of more
importance than a principle. Scientific laws and principles are
descriptive and tell us how nature acts (not how nature ought to act).
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Some theories serve as broad scientific models (paradigms) of natural
processes and involve many accumulated facts, principles and laws. A
good example is the Theory of Plate Tectonics, which explains internal
movements within Earth and provides an explanation as to why earthquakes and
volcanoes (and other phenomena) affect certain parts of Earth's surface.
Another example is the modern Theory of Biologic Evolution, one of the
strongest and most fact supported theories in science, which acts as the central
unifying concept in the biological sciences (including the medical sciences).
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Scientific models (often representing things that we cannot
observe directly) may be physical models, mental models, or equations
(mathematical models).