Module 1; Lecture 1 scientific methods

Question 1

what is a scientific method

Answer 1

its a scientific process

Question 2

how many steps are there to testing a scientific method

Answer 2

5

Question 3

What are the 5 steps

Answer 3

1. Make observations
2. Form a question (testable= don’t use words like “best”,”better”,”worst”)
3. Propose a hypothesis (testable, falsifiable= Can be proven wrong)
4. Test your hypothesis, best way to turn question into hypothesis is to form a statement if, then + because statement —→ experimental manipulation (plots,)
5. Asses: Reject or accept all or part of the hypothesis, start over again at number 1.

Question 4

True or false people can tweak Data representation?

Answer 4

True. Often something that people can tweak to look more interesting then it actually is

Question 5

Correlation vs causation example

Answer 5

sharks & ice cream

Question 6

Correlation vs causation

Answer 6

doesn’t necessarily mean that one causes the other…Never assume that there is a causation relationship between variables.

Question 7

True or false, a sample size of 1 is sufficient

Answer 7

False, a sample size of 1 is never sufficient ( sample size matters)

Question 8

Global warming isn’t real because I was cold today, world hunger is over because I just ate - Stephen Colbert
This quote is an example of what?

Answer 8

Sample size of 1 not being sufficient

Question 9

What is Sampling bias?

Answer 9

Sampling just from one group not another, bullets in plane example

Question 10

Whats is Internal validity

Answer 10

Study is well designed and free from biases.

Question 11

What is External validity?

Answer 11

May or may not have external validity, that depends on wether sample is too specialized relative to the general population.

Question 12

Data visualization

Answer 12

Watch the y axis, what are things being compared to, some things might be manipulated to prove a point…

Question 13

What to be careful for when reading things?

Answer 13

Headlines, funding ( good answer is government or unbiased sources but in contrast some research is funded by an industry or partisan source), peer reviewed, etc…

Question 14

In canada what are the research institutions you can trust? WHY?

Answer 14

There are two, National Science and Engineering research council + CIRC = no conflict of interest, they don’t make money off the results from researchers.

Question 15

What is a media source?

Answer 15

Newspaper, magazines, websites

Question 16

What makes a good science media source?

Answer 16

• Clear links/reference to the original research
• Description of the data, how it was collected not just interpretation
• Interviews with authors of the study
• Interviews with other scientist involved in the study always good sign.