Science Is A Closed Belief System: Social Construction

Question 1

Social construction

Answer 1

Whereby the theories which are developed are created by scientists themselves as opposed to being objective truths

Question 2

Knopp-cotina

Answer 2

Although science does require scientists to do research and conduct observations of the physical world around them, the theories themselves are then a product of the scientists interpretations of the information they observe - scientific theories are therefore constructed by scientists

Question 3

Woolgar

Answer 3

Adding that the social construction of scientific theories will be influenced by their prior knowledge, culture and values of the scientists themselves, when interpreting evidence, scientists will try to make sense of it by basing their theories on what they already believe to be true

Question 4

Illustrated by astronomic research

Answer 4

Lab in Cambridge picked up unexplained sound frequencies coming from outer space on their radio telescope and though it was alien life communicating, however in British society, the existence of aliens is not accepted as true, therefore the idea was dismissed

Question 5

Woolgar notes

Answer 5

That the theory that was eventually socially constructed was not based on definitive evidence, but influenced by the pre-convinced ideas of scientists

Question 6

Evaluation: Peer review

Answer 6

This could be challenged by the fact that before a theory gets published it has to undergo peer review

Question 7

Evaluation: simplistic interpretation

Answer 7

Most scientific research does not involve a simplistic interpretation of a small amount of evidence, positivist research point out that most studies are reliable and subjected to repeat testing. To suggest they make up theories is inaccurate