The Scientific Method in Practice

Many books have been written about the scientific method, and it is a long and complex topic. Here I will only treat it briefly and superficially. The scientific method, as used in both scientific thinking and critical thinking, follows a number of steps.

1.One must ask a meaningful question or identify a significant problem, and one should be able to state the problem or question in a way that it is conceivably possible to answer it. Any attempt to gain knowledge must start here. Here is where emotions and outside influences come in. For example, all scientists are very curious about nature, and they have to possess this emotional characteristic to sustain the motivation and energy necessary to perform the hard and often tedious work of science. Other emotions that can enter are excitement, ambition, anger, a sense of unfairness, happiness, and so forth. Note that scientists have emotions, some in high degree; however, they don't let their emotions give false validity to their conclusions, and, in fact, the scientific method prevents them from trying to do this even if they wished.

One must next gather relevant information to attempt to answer the question or solve the problem by making observations. The first observations could be data obtained from the library or information from your own experience. Another source of observations could be from trial experiments or past experiments. These observations, and all that follow, must be empirical in nature--that is, they must be sensible, measurable, and repeatable, so that others can make the same observations.

3. Now one can propose a solution or answer to the problem or question. In science, this suggested solution or answer is called a scientific hypothesis, and this is one of the most important steps a scientist can perform, because the proposed hypothesis must be stated in such a way that it is testable. A scientific hypothesis is an informed, testable, and predictive solution to a scientific problem that explains a natural phenomenon, process, or event. In critical thinking, as in science, your proposed answer or solution must be testable, otherwise it is essentially useless for further investigation.

4. Next, one must test the hypothesis before it is corroborated and given any real validity. There are two ways to do this. First, one can conduct an experiment. This is often presented in science textbooks as the only way to test hypotheses in science, but a little reflection will show that many natural problems are not amenable to experimentation, such as questions about stars, galaxies, mountain formation, the formation of the solar system, ancient evolutionary events, and so forth. The second way to test a hypothesis is to make further observations. Every hypothesis has consequences and makes certain predictions about the phenomenon or process under investigation. Using logic and empirical evidence, one can test the hypothesis by examining how successful the predictions are, that is, how well the predictions and consequences agree with new data, further insights, new patterns, and perhaps with models.

5. If the hypothesis fails the test, it must be rejected and either abandoned or modified. Most hypotheses are modified by scientists who don't like to simply throw out an idea they think is correct and in which they have already invested a great deal of time or effort. Nevertheless, a modified hypothesis must be tested again. If the hypothesis passes the further tests, it is considered to be a corroborated hypothesis, and can now be published. A corroborated hypothesis is one that has passed its tests, i.e., one whose predictions have been verified. Now other scientists test the hypothesis. If further corroborated by subsequent tests, it becomes highly corroborated and is now considered to be reliable knowledge.

6. The final step of the scientific method is to construct, support, or cast doubt on a scientific theory. A theory in science is not a guess, speculation, or suggestion, which is the popular definition of the word ‘theory.’ A scientific theory is a unifying and self-consistent explanation of fundamental natural processes or phenomena that is totally constructed of corroborated hypotheses. A theory, therefore, is built of reliable knowledge - built of scientific facts - and its purpose is to explain major natural processes or phenomena. Scientific theories explain nature by unifying many once-unrelated facts or corroborated hypotheses; they are the strongest and most truthful explanations of how the universe, nature, and life came to be, how they work, what they are made of, and what will become of them. Since humans are living organisms and are part of the universe, science explains all of these things about ourselves.

Scientific knowledge comes from the practice of scientific thinking – using the scientific method – and this mode of discovering and validating knowledge can be duplicated and achieved by anyone who practices critical thinking.

(Retrieved and adapted from An Introduction to Science:

Scientific Thinking and the Scientific Method by Steven D. Schafersman. http://www.geo.sunysb.edu/esp/files/scientific-method.html)

‘ Ñ check yourself

Match the words from the two columns to make meaningful collocations.

the association	of the problem
the way	of view
the point	of students
the goal	of thinking
the significance	of the research

5 points

Match the verbs with the following words and phrases to make collocations.

 

to get to settle/verbalize to express to present/express to reach/set/achieve to specify to explain to write/work on

the goal oneself the opinion the problem the subject matter the PhD the diploma the significance of the research

8 points

Match the words from the two columns to make meaningful collocations.

actual	difficulties
vivid	thinking
to try oneself in	knowledge
to overcome	example
constructive	research

 

5 points

Write derivatives of the following words.

associate

(self)-realization

consciousness

admit

community

confess

thorough

expertise

8 points

Write one sentence using at least 10 words from the active vocabulary of Section 2C.

10 points

6 Look at your Timetable ‘putting on any of six thinking hats’ and write down its evaluation from the point of view of your hat.

10 points

Read the welcome speech of the Rector of the University of Santiago de Compostela to the students; look for the key words and present a resume of this speech based on key words in a written form.

Rector’s Welcome Speech

 

As the rector of the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC), I would like to welcome you to the web page of this public institution of higher learning. Maintaining an academic tradition of more than 500 years, the USC aims to provide students with high-quality learning and research. These high standards also extend to its different services as well as to its social and environmental needs. Organized into two campuses, one located in Lugo and the other in Compostela, the USC ranges over the whole five areas of knowledge: Experimental Science, Health Science, Social and Legal Science, Technical Science and Humanities. Moreover, the USC is an institution that shows an intense research activity, developed by its 72 departments, 18 research institutes and by more than 1600 researchers, all of them coordinated by the Innovation and Technological Transfer Centre (CITT).

The history of the USC constitutes a legacy we are proud of, represented in its architectural, art and bibliographical heritage, which is still alive as nowadays continues to do great service to our society.

From Galicia, our university is projected to the European technological and scientific development. Thus, its main aim is to play a relevant role in the framework of European Higher Learning Space, which is made in agreement with the Bologna Declaration, as well as to achieve closer bonds with the Latin American University community. In relation to this, it is worth mentioning that during the 2004 academic year, our university is organizing activities related to the program The Ways of the USC in America, the already held Iberoamerican Conference of Rectors and Responsibles of International Relationships being an outstanding example of it, that resulted in the Declaration of Compostela, signed by more than 200 Iberoamerican Universities.

The USC is directly committed to the quality of learning, research and services, as stated in its Strategic Plan, by means of which it aims to project itself to the future in order to transform its present and to solve the different demands of society. The efforts made in these last years justify the existence of a Vice-rectorship of Quality and Strategic Planning which allows for the promotion of a higher quality quota in the different fields and activities of the USC. However, it is the joint work done in our centers, departments, institutes of research and services what ultimately guarantees our progress in quality matters.

We must be aware that a new model of university is being created with the intention of reflecting the ‘post-industrial’ world. At the USC, this model implies the preservation of the characteristic features that define our university as an educative institution committed to the transmission both of knowledge and of the innovative results that emerge from research, thus helping to surmount those results left behind by the social, cultural, economic and technological transformations. In this way, the USC aims to go on being a model for our society that contributes to a sustainable development. In line with this, this web soon became a promoter of education, research and services. Besides this, it is an excellent letter of introduction to the USC, showing its identity, its work and its projects. The different pages of this website will show you an evolving university that does not forget the richness of its history, profits from its five-century heritage, and tries to go further so as to consolidate itself as a prestigious university within the current dynamic world. In essence, our University puts its knowledge and leadership in the service of the demands of our society.

10 points

8 Fill in the scheme ‘Hourglass’ on the activity ‘how to study successfully’.

14 points

9 To sum up Section 2C, read the story which happened to one of the authors of this book.

 

I will tell you a story that really happened in my life and in the life of a group of 3^rd year students from the Faculty of Journalism. What is this story about and what does it teach us?

Let me start with a short note. A teacher is a person who really wants to share his/her knowledge with their students. A teacher, as you understand now, is also a person who is always engaged in self-education. Besides, a teacher is a person who is not easily offended by students, as students sometimes do not understand what messages their sentences really deliver. Planning to send a message in their minds, they are sending quite the opposite one.

So here is the story. Once the faculty invited a foreign lecturer (an expert in journalism) to teach the students who had a good command of English as a foreign language. It was not an exceptional case at this institution. The classes of this particular expert took place at a sports base outside the university campus and outside the town as well, so that during three days the students could spend some time at a resort place having both extensive experience of training and some rest in a beautiful place.

The classes were quite extensive: a lot of information and some practical activities were offered to the students. The trainer shared her knowledge with students in a very quick and lively manner, as she wanted to cover many different topics she considered especially important for a contemporary reporter. That is why each new task, e.g. how to compose a lead for a news story was followed by only one practical task and a quick check on the lead structure. The trainer made some critical remarks; the students accepted criticism easily and gratefully: it seemed they were on the point of grasping the whole idea how to fulfill the task, but there was no time for a second attempt, so the students were proposed to switch to a new equally important topic.

A part of the material of the training course (namely journalist ethics) was offered exclusively in the format of lecturing, though the lecture was really well illustrated with examples of what is right and what is wrong. The key rule of journalist’s ethical behavior was formulated in the following way: ‘ Don’t make splashes!’ The rule was supported with the following interpretation: ‘W hen one criticizes some event or situation, it is the event itself (or the situation) which is under consideration, not the people involved’. In this case a reporter shouldn’t write about people being good or bad, shouldn’t switch into the evaluating mode, i.e. shouldn’t make splashes. It may also be explained with a focus on the message content: every message has its explicit (surface like) and implicit (deep) meaning. The explicit one is ‘I’ve said what I’ve said’, while the implicit one is ‘By saying this I mean that but also something else’ (and it may be ‘By saying this I meant quite the opposite’). A professional (say, a professional reporter) is to know that this implicit (potential) meaning can always be manifested to the audience. If such things happen, there is a range of possibilities that need to be considered: in some countries the reporter may be sued for personal injury (though in some places this could be difficult to do); in others, the reporter could be shot.

Then came the time when the days of this training course were over and the students had a final meeting with their lecturer and also the faculty members who organized this three-day course for them, brought them to the sport base and were regular visitors of the course just as the students themselves. It was expected somehow that the students would express their thanks to the lecturer. There were several students who gave the words of gratitude. One of speeches appeared to be the following one: ‘Thank you very much for your classes: for these three days we’ve learnt even more than we’ve learnt for three previous years at our faculty’. (A pause…. Splashes…). So here is a question to you: What is it that the speaker had learnt during those three days of classes?