Scientific Method

Question 1

What are the four claims of Science

Answer 1

1. Rationality: Uses reason and evidence to find truth.
2. Truth: Statements must correspond with physical reality.
3. Objectivity: Beliefs must be testable and not based on controversial assumptions.
4. Realism/Reality: Human thoughts must correspond to an external, independent reality.

Question 2

What is the ‘scientific method’

Answer 2

A rational method used to discover objective truth about physical reality through observation, experimentation, and reasoning.

Question 3

What does PEL stand for in the PEL method

Answer 3

Presupposition - Evidence - Logic

Question 4

What is the PEL method

Answer 4

A method of scientific reasoning that involves identifying necessary presuppositions, gathering admissible and relevant evidence, and using logic (deductive or inductive) to reach a conclusion.

Question 5

What is the difference between inductive and deductive reasoning

Answer 5

Deductive reasoning: Starts with a general model to predict specific data; conclusions are guaranteed if premises are true.
Inductive reasoning: Uses specific data to infer a general model; conclusions are probable but not guaranteed.

Question 6

What is ‘statistics’

Answer 6

A field of mathematics that provides methods to estimate or predict the nature of measured parameters, allowing us to quantify uncertainty in a non-deterministic natural world.

Question 7

What is a parameter

Answer 7

A quantity of interest in a population, such as the number of fish in the ocean or cells in a body.

Question 8

What kinds of data are there

Answer 8

1. Categorical data: Qualitative (e.g., gender, species).
2. Numerical data: Quantitative (e.g., age, height), which can be discrete or continuous.

Question 9

What is the difference between nominal, ordinal, and continuous data

Answer 9

Nominal: Categories with no inherent order (e.g., colors).
Ordinal: Categories with meaningful order (e.g., rankings).
Continuous: Numerical values that can take on any value in a range (e.g., temperature).

Question 10

What is the difference between categorical and numerical data

Answer 10

Categorical: Describes qualities or categories (e.g., eye color).
Numerical: Describes quantities using numbers (e.g., weight, height).

Question 11

What’s the difference between an observational and an experimental study

Answer 11

Observational study: No intervention by researcher; cannot establish causation.
Experimental study: Researcher assigns treatments; can establish causation.