A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Transcript

Transcription

1 Screen 1: Marketing Research is based on the Scientific Method. A quick review of the Scientific Method, therefore, is in order. Text based slide. Time Code: 0:00 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 1 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

2 Screen 2: The Scientific Method can be applied to any inquiry. It is the basis for all natural sciences: Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Geology, Medicine, Physics, and so on. Text based slide. Time Code: 0:08 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 2 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

3 Screen 3: The Scientific Method also forms the basis for all social sciences: Anthropology, Economics, Geography, History, Linguistics, Political Science, Psychology, and Sociology. Text based slide. Time Code: 0:26 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 3 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

4 Screen 4: And, of course, Marketing Research. Text based slide. Time Code: 0:40 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 4 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

5 Screen 5: The Scientific Method is a collection of ways to investigate phenomena, update knowledge, and acquire new knowledge. While these methods may vary with each discipline, the Scientific Method entails the following process. Text based slide. Time Code: 0:46 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 5 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

6 Screen 6: The process begins by making observations about the phenomena or events we want to investigate. Text based slide. Time Code: 1:02 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 6 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

7 Screen 7: Once observations have been made, the investigator asks questions. Text based slide. Time Code: 1:12 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 7 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

8 Screen 8: Albert Einstein stressed the importance of a creative investigator asking interesting questions when he said, The mere formulation of a problem is far more often essential than its solution. To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle requires creative imagination and marks real advances in Science. Text based slide. Time Code: 1:18 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 8 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

9 Screen 9: Research questions are turned into testable hypotheses. Researchers create a pair of hypotheses. One is the Null Hypothesis, which says that nothing significant is happening. The other is the Alternate, or Research, Hypothesis, which states that the research findings are significant; that is to say, they are not the result of mere chance. Text based slide. Time Code: 1:47 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 9 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

10 Screen 10: Based on the results of the hypothesis tests, hypotheses might be refined, expanded, or rejected. Text based slide. Time Code: 2:13 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 10 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

11 Screen 11: The Scientific Method is an iterative, or repetitive, process. Scientists continually seek more data as they continually retest their hypotheses. In the case of Applied Marketing Research, however, where time is limited and decisions must be made, investigators will not continually test and refine hypotheses. Text based slide. Time Code: 2:23 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 11 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

12 Screen 12: Scientists develop theories when hypotheses are continually confirmed. Theories are supported with lots of data. They have explanatory power. It is a serious misunderstanding of the Scientific Method to belittle something you do not like by saying It is only a theory, as Creationists do when they speak of the Theory of Evolution. Text based slide. Time Code: 2:47 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 12 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

13 Screen 13: The Scientific Method is based on empiricism, which is an epistemology or a theory of knowledge. Text based slide. Time Code: 3:12 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 13 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

14 Screen 14: Empiricism comes from the Greek word meaning test or trial. Text based slide. Time Code: 3:22 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 14 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

15 Screen 15: It is related to the Latin terms for experiment and experience. Text based slide. Time Code: 3:28 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 15 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

16 Screen 16: Empiricism is a philosophical doctrine of observation, testing, and experimentation. Text based slide. Time Code: 3:35 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 16 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

17 Screen 17: Empiricists argue that all of our knowledge comes from our sense perceptions seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, and touching and our experience living in the real world. Text based slide. Time Code: 3:46 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 17 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

18 Screen 18: Aristotle, the ancient Greek philosopher, is often credited with laying the foundations for the Scientific Method. He outlined the inductive method, which starts with observations and has the goal of finding powerful statements laws and theories about how nature works. Text based slide with a picture of Aristotle. Time Code: 3:59 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 18 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

19 Screen 18: In contrast to the inductive method, there are the deductive methods of logic and mathematics. Deductive methods start with a few true statements or axioms with the goal of proving additional statements that must logically follow. Here is a classic example of deductive reasoning: Socrates is a man. All men are mortal, therefore Socrates is mortal. Text based slide with a picture of Aristotle. Time Code: 4:21 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 19 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

20 Screen 20: Roger Bacon described the Scientific Method in the 13 th century. Bacon relied on Aristotle, whose books were preserved during the Middle Ages by Muslim scholars. For Bacon, the Scientific Method involved Text based slide with a picture of Roger Bacon. Time Code: 4:48 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 20 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

21 Screen 21: observation, hypothesis generation, and independent and continual verification of hypotheses. Text based slide with a picture of Roger Bacon. Time Code: 5:03 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 21 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

22 Screen 22: Church authorities were not happy with Bacon. The church, confortable with its dogma, imprisoned him. Text based slide with a picture of Roger Bacon. Time Code: 5:12 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 22 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

23 Screen 23: In the first half of the seventeenth century, French philosopher René Descartes laid down four principles for researchers in his Discourse on Method. Text based slide with a picture of René Descartes. Time Code: 5:18 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 23 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

24 Screen 24: The first principle is to avoid prejudice. Text based slide with a picture of René Descartes. Time Code: 5:30 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 24 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

25 Screen 25: The second principle is to divide the problems into its component parts. Text based slide with a picture of René Descartes. Time Code: 5:35 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 25 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

26 Screen 26: The third principle is to solve the simplest problem first before moving to more complex issues. Text based slide with a picture of René Descartes. Time Code: 5:41 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 26 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

27 Screen 27: And, the fourth principle is to make complete enumerations of procedures and findings to assure that nothing is missed. Text based slide with a picture of René Descartes. Time Code: 5:48 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 27 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

28 Screen 28: Hypotheses are testable conjectures about phenomena. But, where do researchers get hypotheses? Text based slide. Time Code: 5:56 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 28 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

29 Screen 29: Researchers get ideas for hypotheses from making observations. Picture of a scientist holder a beaker. Time Code: 6:05 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 29 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

30 Screen 30: Researchers create hypotheses by making educated guesses. Picture of Albert Einstein. Time Code: 6:11 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 30 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

31 Screen 31: Many researchers create hypotheses when they get a flash of inspiration. Picture of Madame Marie Curie holding a test tube. Time Code: 6:18 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 31 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

32 Screen 32: And, some researchers create hypotheses through a process of deduction. Portrait of George Washington Carver. Time Code: 6:24 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 32 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

33 Screen 33: Hypotheses are used to predict an outcome of an experiment or our observations. Hypotheses are verified or refuted by looking at the statistical probability of the outcome. Text-based slide. Time Code: 6:31 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 33 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

34 Screen 34: If a hypothesis is not testable by empirical means, it is not useful for scientific investigation. Text-based slide. Time Code: 6:44 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 34 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

35 Screen 35: Not only must a hypothesis be testable, the predictions must be repeatedly verified for a hypothesis to become a theory. Text-based slide. Time Code: 6:53 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 35 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

36 Screen 36: Science is an iterative, or repetitive, process. Text-based slide. Time Code: 7:04 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 36 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

37 Screen 37 With Basic Research investigations, we expect that peers must be able to replicate a researcher s results. Of course, with Applied Marketing Research, the research will be considered a trade secret, and independent verification of the findings will not be allowed. Text-based slide. Time Code: 7:11 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 37 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

38 Screen 38: If the facts uncovered by the investigation contradict the predictions, the researchers must revise or reject their hypothesis. Text-based slide. Time Code: 7:30 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 38 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

39 Screen 39: Further testing leads to a theory s revision or rejection. Text-based slide. Time Code: 7:40 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 39 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

40 Screen 40: And, what we consider true changes with the evidence. Text-based slide. Time Code: 7:45 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 40 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

41 Screen 41: Good researchers seek to disseminate their findings in peer-reviewed publications. Many consider this a critical part of the Scientific Method. Of course, Marketing Researchers who produce Applied Marketing Research will not publish their results in order to protect their clients trade secrets. Text-based slide. Time Code: 7:50 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 41 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

42 Screen 42: The case of Pons-Fleischmann s research on cold fusion illustrates the importance of peer review. These scientists claimed to have produced nuclear fusion at low temperatures. Cold fusion, as it is called, would allow for the generation of low cost, environmentally friendly energy. Who wouldn t want that? Text-based slide. Time Code: 8:12 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 42 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

43 Screen 43: Immediately after the announcement of this breakthrough, researchers at laboratories around the world tried to replicate the results. Unfortunately, they all failed. Text-based slide. Time Code: 8:34 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 43 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

44 Screen 44: Given the enormous importance of Cold Fusion, the United States Department of Energy reviewed the Pons-Fleischmann researcher twice. It concluded that there is no persuasive evidence to support it. Text-based slide. Time Code: 8:45 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 44 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

45 Screen 45: On rare occasions, a new theory will replace an established theory if it can explain phenomena better. Thomas Kuhn, author of the famous book, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, called this a paradigm shift. Text based slide with a picture of the book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas S. Kuhn. Time Code: 9:00 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 45 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

46 Screen 46: One of the most famous paradigm shifts was the Copernican Revolution. Since the days of Aristotle and Ptolemy, scientists held that the universe is based on a geocentric model. All heavenly bodies, including the Sun, revolve around the earth. By the Middle Ages, this theory was accepted as dogma by the Catholic Church. An attack on this theory, it was argued, would undermine the foundations of Catholicism. Text based slide with pictures of Aristotle and Ptolemy. Time Code: 9:19 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 46 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

47 Screen 47: In the early part of the sixteenth century, Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus presented his friends with a book that argued for a heliocentric view of the heavens. This model placed the sun at the center of our solar system with the Earth revolving around it. Text based slide with a picture of Nicolas Copernicus. Time Code: 9:48 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 47 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

48 Screen 48: Using his newly invented telescope, Galileo observed phenomena supporting Compernicus. He published his findings. In 1633, the church tried and convicted Galileo for heresy. It banned his books, deprived him of his teaching position, and forced him to live under house arrest for the rest of his life. Over 300 years later the church acknowledged that Galileo was right and cleared him of the charge of heresy. Text based slide with a picture of Galileo Galilei. Time Code: 10:08 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 48 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

49 Screen 49: Fact versus values: The Scientific Method addresses questions of fact: What? When? Where? Who? How? Text-based slide. Time Code: 10:40 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 49 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

50 Screen 50: Science deals with questions of what is, not what ought to be. Answering ethical questions or settling matters of faith is not the purpose of science. Text-based slide. Time Code: 10:51 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 50 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD

51 Screen 51: This is Edward Volchok. Thank you for watching my video on the Scientific Method. Slide showing the words, The End. Time Code: 11:05 A Quick Review of the Scientific Method Page 51 of 51 Edward Volchok, PhD