A Beginner’s Guide to Scientific Method

This concise book provides an introduction to the scientific method of inquiry. This book not only presents not only a methodical approach to the proper conduct of science but also contains comprehensive coverage of pseudoscience and fallacies. Compact enough to be used as a supplementary book, yet comprehensive enough in its coverage to be used as a core text, this text assists students in using the scientific method to design and assess experiments.

Preface

viii

Science

1

(7)

Just What Is Science?

1

(1)

Asking Why

2

(1)

Scientific Method

3

(2)

The Consequences of Science

5

(1)

Scientific Method in Daily Life

6

(1)

Things to Come

7

(1)

Exercises

7

(1)

Observation

8

(18)

Making Accurate Observations

8

(6)

Anomalous Phenomena

14

(3)

Observation and Anomalous Phenomena

17

(2)

The Burden of Proof

19

(2)

Summary

21

(1)

Exercises

22

(4)

Proposing Explanations

26

(26)

Explanation

26

(4)

Causes

30

(1)

Correlation

31

(4)

Causal Mechanisms

35

(1)

Underlying Processes

36

(1)

Laws

37

(1)

Function

38

(2)

The Interdependence of Explanatory Methods

40

(1)

Rival Explanations and Ockham's Razor

41

(2)

Explanation and Description

43

(1)

Summary

44

(1)

Exercises

44

(8)

Testing Explanations

52

(18)

The Basic Method

52

(1)

How to Test an Explanation

53

(6)

How Not to Test an Explanation

59

(1)

Testing Extraordinary Claims

60

(4)

Summary

64

(1)

Exercises

64

(6)

Establishing Causal Links

70

(37)

Causal Studies

70

(1)

Limited Effect Levels

71

(9)

Multiple Causal Factors

80

(2)

Bias and Expectation

82

(1)

Types of Causal Study

83

(6)

Reading Between the Lines

89

(2)

Summary

91

(1)

Exercises

92

(15)

Fallacies in the Name of Science

107

(30)

What Is a Fallacy?

107

(2)

False Anomalies

109

(2)

Questionable Arguments by Elimination

111

(1)

Illicit Causal Inferences

111

(2)

Unsupported Analogies and Similarities

113

(2)

Untestable Explanations

115

(1)

Redundant Predictions

116

(1)

Ad Hoc Rescues

117

(2)

Science and Pseudoscience

119

(5)

The Limits of Scientific Explanation

124

(1)

Summary

125

(1)

Exercises

126

(11)

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A Beginner’s Guide to Scientific Method

Summary

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials