Sci Method practice

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NEUR 3020
Scientific Method in Neuroscience
What is Science?
“An interconnected series of concepts and conceptual schemes that have
developed as a result of experimentation and observation” (Conant 1951)
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Science requires:
Materialism (natural cause)
 Testability (prediction)
 Falsifiability (standards of evidence)

Terminology of Scientific Ideas
• Fact-
An observation that has been repeatedly confirmed. However,
observations are gathered by our senses, which can never be trusted entirely.
• Law-
A descriptive generalization about how some aspect of the natural
world behaves under stated circumstances.
• Hypothesis- A testable statement about the natural world that can be
used to build more complex inferences and explanations.
• Theory- A well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural
world that can incorporate facts, laws, inferences, and tested hypotheses.
http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=5787&page=5
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Scientific Method is:
Observation
 Question
 Hypothesis
 Prediction (if…then; if not…then)
 Test hypothesis
 Refine hypothesis
 Repeat!

http://www.nap.edu/catalog/5787/teaching-about-evolution-and-the-nature-of-science
Understanding the Scientific Method
The minimum form of the Scientific Method:

OBSERVATION – You notice a phenomenon.

QUESTION – Why/How does this phenomenon occur?

HYPOTHESIS – Answers the question, explains why the phenomenon in the
question is occurring.

PREDICTION Forecasts what could happen in your experiment. “If the
hypothesis is true then I would expect result ‘X’. If it is false I expect the result
to be not ‘X’ but ‘Y’.”

TEST the hypothesis: Collect and analyze data.

INTERPRET –
◦ What do the results mean? Is the hypothesis supported or not supported by the data?
Did you include controls for alternate hypotheses? Might your results have some
other explanation?
◦ Consider possible false positives or false negatives : "Our conclusions might be invalid
if … The experiments that could eliminate these alternatives are….“
◦ Now you can design the next experiment!
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Example:
 Observation –The traffic is terrible!

Question – Why is traffic so bad?

Hypothesis – It may have rained earlier this morning.

Make a Prediction: IF the traffic was bad because of rain,
THEN the pavement will be wet. IF NOT,THEN it won’t.

Test the Hypothesis by collecting data – Look for puddles, or
check the weather report.

Interpretation – What if your hypothesis is false? What
alternative, testable hypothesis can you come up with?
Example: http://www.ajc.com/news/news/national/baby-indiamay-be-spontaneously-combusting/nZZ4Z/
Pseudoscience
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Pseudoscience
Phrenology
 Anti-vaccine hysteria
 Homeopathic medicine
 “Alternative” medicine

◦ Faith healing
◦ Crystal healing
◦ Metals, magnets

Conversion therapy
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