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The Scientific Method and Model Testing
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The Scientific Method and Model Testing
The Scientific Method and Model Testing
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1
Question
How is science distinguished from a static collection of facts?
Page 3
Answer
Science is a critical method for provisionally understanding the world, not merely a body of accumulated knowledge.
2
Question
Which feature makes a statement scientific rather than merely meaningful?
Page 4
Answer
It must be falsifiable: some imaginable observation could refute it.
3
Question
Why must a scientific explanation remain open to criticism?
Page 3
Answer
Scientific claims may be wrong, and criticism permits attempts to identify that possibility using logic and evidence.
4
Question
When is an explanation treated as provisionally true?
Page 1
Answer
When it withstands vigorous attempts at refutation more successfully than competing explanations.
5
Question
Why can scientific theories not be considered proven?
Page 2
Answer
Scientific explanations are tentative; they may be overturned by later evidence or stronger competing explanations.
6
Question
How does science respond to the limits of current knowledge?
Page 3
Answer
It recognizes those limits while using the best available logic, methods, and evidence to provide answers that may later be overturned.
7
Question
Which characteristic makes the claim “The sun revolves around the earth” scientific?
Page 2
Answer
It is potentially falsifiable, even though the claim is false.
8
Question
Why does observing a predicted pattern not prove a theory?
Page 2
Answer
The argument is logically invalid: observing a predicted outcome does not establish that the theory producing the prediction is correct.
9
Question
How can politics be studied scientifically?
Page 2
Answer
Politics can be studied through a scientific method that examines claims and evidence; political science studies politics in a scientific way.
10
Question
How does science differ from simply seeking knowledge?
Page 3
Answer
Science is a particular, “recklessly critical” pursuit: ideas are continually subjected to logic and evidence.
11
Question
What role does self-criticism play in scientific inquiry?
Page 4
Answer
It subjects propositions to critical examination, rather than accepting them solely because of their origins or initial appeal.
12
Question
When did August Kekulé’s insight about benzene become part of science?
Page 4
Answer
Only after the implications of his insight withstood critical examination.
13
Question
Why is an insight alone insufficient to establish scientific understanding?
Page 4
Answer
Its implications must withstand critical attempts to show that they are false.
14
Question
Which two qualities should scientific explanations exhibit besides testability?
Page 1
Answer
They should explain previously puzzling facts and be logically consistent.
15
Question
What additional output should a scientific explanation produce?
Page 1
Answer
Many potentially falsifiable predictions.
16
Question
Why are tautologies not falsifiable?
Page 4
Answer
They are true by definition, so no observation can contradict them without changing the meaning of the terms.
17
Question
Which feature makes “Triangles have three sides” a tautology?
Page 4
Answer
Having three sides is part of the definition of a triangle.
18
Question
How can defining a “strong state” make a claim tautological?
Page 4
Answer
If a strong state is identified by its ability to overcome special interests, saying that strong states can do so is true by definition and not falsifiable.
19
Question
Why are claims about inherently unobservable phenomena classified as unscientific here?
Page 5
Answer
They are not falsifiable when no test can be conceived for them; this classification does not establish whether they are true or false.
20
Question
How does the scientific method begin when an observation is puzzling?
Page 5
Answer
Researchers observe the world and formulate a question or puzzle about the unexpected observation.
21
Question
Why does an observation become a scientific puzzle?
Page 5
Answer
It conflicts with a prior expectation or theory about how the world works.
22
Question
Why do scientists always interpret observations against prior expectations?
Page 5
Answer
Without a preexisting theory or expectation, an observation could not surprise us or generate a puzzle.
23
Question
How does a theory explain an initially puzzling observation?
Page 5
Answer
It is a logically consistent set of statements describing why observed things occur, constructed to explain the puzzle.
24
Question
Why must a theory be logically consistent to be testable?
Page 6
Answer
Logical inconsistency prevents researchers from determining its empirical predictions and which observations would falsify it.
25
Question
What does the principle of the uniformity of nature assert?
Page 6
Answer
Nature’s operating mechanisms are unchanging: if X causes Y today, it will also cause Y tomorrow and the next day.
26
Question
How does uniformity of nature distinguish laws from understanding?
Page 6
Answer
It asserts that the laws of nature do not change, although human understanding of those laws may change over time.
27
Question
How do social scientists handle unsystematic variation in observed behavior?
Page 6
Answer
They divide observed behavior into systematic and unsystematic components, then focus on explaining the systematic components.
28
Question
Why does scientific modeling involve imagining processes behind observations?
Page 6
Answer
Researchers treat a puzzling observation as the result of a previously unknown process and speculate about what hidden process could have produced it.
29
Question
How does imagination contribute to scientific model-building?
Page 6
Answer
Imagination and creativity help researchers conceive possible prior processes, but speculation is constrained by logic and what is already known about the world.
30
Question
Why must scientific models simplify the world?
Page 7
Answer
A model cannot capture infinitely many details; it must retain what is needed to explain the phenomenon and leave out the rest.