Thinking in Scientific Method
“In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual.”
― Galileo Galilei
The scientific method is a framework that is used for scientific inquiry. It is a systematic and empirical way of acquiring knowledge and understanding the world. In this process, questions and assumptions or our “ hypothesis” are explored through research and designed experimentation. Empirical data from the experiment are then analyzed and interpreted if they support our assumptions. A hypothesis that is backed up by empirical evidences that are verifiable and repeatable through experimentation means — it holds truth. As we keep learning in our scientific inquiry, to be able to ensure the integrity of our knowledge: it is important to be rigorously skeptical; to doubt conclusions that don’t have enough evidence, and to scrutinize and evaluate their truth.
The scientific method is dynamic, designed to solve a problem, and unravel the relationship of things; it is used to discover and understand the truth. Although the steps in our method might be logical step by step they are an interdependent unit. It is important to have a flexible and open mind. Let's say, for example, our Making Observation & Formulate questions, although it is the first step of our scientific method, it is necessary throughout our process. From our initial perception of a subject, making a hypothesis, to coming up with a solution, and right down to experimentation, where analyze the results.
An example of a scientific method includes:
- Making Observation & Formulate questions
- Research
- Formulate a Hypothesis
- Experimentation
- Data Collection
- Data analysis & Interpretation
* Making Observations & Formulate questions
“It’s not a silly question if you can’t answer it.”
― Jostein Gaarder, Sophie’s World
Our mechanism to interact with the objective reality is through our 5 senses: Smell, Sight, Touch, Hear, Taste. It is our window to making sense of the world. In making observations, we use our senses and we pay attention to a particular subject to examine it, these in the background are driven by our curiosity, thinking, and analysis.
Observations stimulate us to formulate questions. Questions are fuel to our curiosity. Curiosity is what drives us to look into the unknown and possibilities. It transforms the things we don’t know into what is known. Curiosity is the foundation of our scientific inquiry journey. Tools that we need in this journey are the fundamentals of question: How, What, When, Who, Which, Why, and Where?
For our experiment let’s use this situation as an example, you want to get more things done in a day, and sleep is what you think you can compromise to extend the number of hours you are awake in a day. Then you ask a question,
“How much sleep is necessary for a person to be effective cognitively?”,
“ Does sleep deprivation affects cognitive performance? ”
The first information you might use for observation is your memory. How did you feel and perform during the times you slept well and didn’t in the past. But you didn’t settle, so you decide to undergo these questions in a scientific method.
* Research
“Research is seeing what everybody else has seen and thinking what nobody else has thought.”- Albert Szent-Györgyi
This is an important step in our scientific method because we can resolve initial questions and make insights early in our endeavor through existing information, data, experiment, or evidence. Not only it will save us time, but it will also will makes us more informed with our observations and enables us to formulate a more refined hypothesis, and inform us in designing our experiments with the additional information.
For our experiment about sleep, we conduct a thorough review of the existing literature about sleep. Do background research to collect relevant and valuable information that will give insights on things that are already known and be aware of what questions remain to be answered. To do that, we might want to visit our nearest library or do a search on the internet. We just have to ensure that our source of information is reliable.
* Formulate a Hypothesis
“In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual.”
― Galileo Galilei
A hypothesis is a set of propositions to explain the occurrence of a certain phenomenon. It is also an educated prediction about the outcome of scientific experiments in a given set of conditions. It is informed by pieces of evidence that are observable or empirical.
Many hypotheses are formulated in a form of if..then statement: “If X is true, then Y will happen.” Let’s formulate our hypothesis:
“If sleep deprivation affects a person’s cognitive performance, then people who have slept lower than the recommended 8 hrs of sleep the night before will get lower scores on the same given test than those who had 8 hours of sleep.”
Elements of a Good Hypothesis
Replicable
A hypothesis should be formulated in a reproducible way. One way the scientific community confirms the validity of a new scientific discovery is that it should be verifiable through repeated experimentation; to do the same processes and methods from the original experiment and arrive at the same results.
Falsifiable
Something is falsifiable when it can be disproven with a single counterexample. For example, the “All crows are black.” statement is falsifiable since it can be disproved by single empirical evidence of a non-black crow. But the statement can still be falsifiable as long it could be disproven with a single counterexample.
Specific
A specific hypothesis is more testable and replicable, and it can inform us in designing an experiment properly. Targeting the right variables of our experiment that will reveal the truth to our scientific questions.
Elements of Bad Hypothesis
Outside our capacity to disprove
These are statements that are outside the realm of our current limitations. Reasons might be that we lack enough capacity such as resources, technology, and tools to prove or test our statement, or simply it is just downright impossible. For example, the statement “The universe is finite” would require exhaustive exploration of the universe, which is impossible.
Too subjective
These are statements that contain words or adjectives that don’t have a universal, concrete, and specific definition. A concepts such as “happy” and “fun”. Also, information that is based on personal opinion, judgment, perspectives, and feelings. In contrast to information which definition is observable and measurable.
* Experimentation
“If you’ve got the truth you can demonstrate it. Talking doesn’t prove it.”
― Robert A. Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land
Experimentation is a systematic, controlled, and measured set of conditions designed to investigate the validity of the hypothesis. It is a process of manipulating variables that we can change(independent variable) and then we observe its influence on another variable (dependent variable). We then group our samples or test subject and organized them into groups that have one variable altered and compare it to the group that is unaltered to contrast and reveal the cause and effect relationship of our variables.
Variables
A variable is a factor, trait, or condition that can exist in differing amounts or types that can affect the outcome of an experiment.
- Independent Variable — is the variable that is manipulated and changed by the people experimenting. We must focus on one variable so that we will be able to pinpoint which change is causing what you are observing
- In our example experiment our independent variables would be: the amount of sleep of the participants.
- Dependent Variable — is the variable that we measure, investigate and understand on how it depends on the independent variable: their relationships, and cause & effects. In our example experiment our dependent variables would be: the participants’ test scores.
- Controlled Variable — a condition that is kept the same in an experiment. It is controlled because it could influence the outcomes.
In our example experiment our Controlled Variable would be:
A similar set of tests ( set of questions, no. of items )
Food intake ( similar meals and meals interval)
Distractions (everyone should be able to focus well to the test)
Similar Incentive ( this aim to influence them with a similar goal)
Learning Resources ( provide them with similar review materials for an exam)
Experimental vs Controlled Group
The control group and experimental group are sets of the test sample that we are going to compare to each other. The difference between them is that in the experimental group the independent variable is changed; with the controlled group the independent variable is held constant — contrasting the influence of our independent variable to our study.
Ideally, these two groups should be identical in every respect except one: the independent variable is altered in our experimental group. So we start finding and selecting people for the test sample that have similar attributes. People include should be:
Similar Age
Similar Educational Attainment
Similar Educational Background
Ideally similar IQ scores
For our experimental groups, It includes:
- People who have slept 7 hrs
- People who have slept 6 hrs
- People who have slept 5 hrs
- People who have slept 4 hrs
For our controlled groups, It includes:
- People who have slept exactly 8hrs
* Data collection
“No thief, however skillful, can rob one of knowledge, and that is why knowledge is the best and safest treasure to acquire.”
― L. Frank Baum, The Lost Princess of Oz
Data collection is the process of gathering and measuring information about our variable of focus to answer appropriate questions and evaluate results. This is done systematically to ensure that data is collected appropriately defined and measured. It also enables experiments to experiments and results to be replicated and validated.
Data is usually divided into 2 categories:
Qualitative
Data is observed from sensory perceptions and descriptively expressed in terms of language rather than numerical values.
Quantitative
Quantitative data can be counted, measured, and expressed using numbers.
* Data Analysis
“If curiosity killed the cat, it was satisfaction that brought it back.”
― Holly Black, Tithe
Data analysis is the process of identifying the relationships and patterns of the data we’ve collected in an experiment and interpreting its meaning to discover useful information and draw conclusions.
One way we can organize our data is with tables. The process of making a table from raw data is called tabulating. It enables us to read and interpret our data easier.
(This is a mockup tabulation, this is not a product of an actual experiment. It only aims to demonstrate an example of how can we organize our data into a table.)
What conclusion can we draw with our data?
“Sleep deprivation did affect a person’s cognitive performance. People who have slept lower than the recommended 8 hrs of sleep the night before the given test did get lower scores than those who had 8 hours of sleep.”
With scientific method it allows us to make a more accurate understanding of the world through drawing conclusions from a rigorous analysis of empirical pieces of evidence. It allows us to overcome our biases through healthy skepticism and testing our assumptions and questions through observation, experimentation, and analysis. Now go forth future Einsteins! explore and understand the world, or for that “matter”, the Universe.
References:
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/science-fair/steps-of-the-scientific-method4
https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/psychpedia/scientific-method
