What is the Scientific Method?

If we want to reach an objective description of our world, then we need to reduce these subjective influences. We need standardized procedures in gaining further knowledge of our world. The scientific method is such a standardized procedure in [...]

An episode of the TOKTalk.net podcast, hosted by ok, titled "What is the Scientific Method?" was published on December 24, 2007.

December 24, 2007 · TOKTalk.net

Summary

http://www.toktalk.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/MP3/005-toktalk-scientific-method.mp3 If we want to reach an objective description of our world, then we need to reduce these subjective influences. We need standardized procedures in gaining further knowledge of our world. The scientific method is such a standardized procedure in gaining further knowledge in the natural sciences. One of the goals of science is to explain various phenomena of the natural world in an objective and unbiased manner. Different people perceive the world differently, due to different educational and cultural backgrounds. For some people a glass of water is half full, for others it is half empty, and still for others it is just a glass of water. Different people perceive and interpret reality differently. If we want to reach an objective description of our world, then we need to reduce these subjective influences. We need standardized procedures in gaining further knowledge of our world. The scientific method is such a standardized procedure in gaining further knowledge in the natural sciences. Transcript: In this edition of TOKTalk we will have a look at the scientific method. What are the steps involved? Listen to find out! One of the goals of science is to explain the phenomena of the natural world in an objective and unbiased manner. Different people perceive the world differently because they have different educational and cultural backgrounds. For some people a glass of water is half full, for others it is half empty, and still for others it is just a glass of water. Different people perceive and interpret reality differently. If we want to reach an objective description of our world, then we need to reduce these subjective influences. We need standardized procedures for gaining further knowledge of our world. The scientific method tries to eliminate these subjective influences. It also sets a standard on how further knowledge should be gained in the natural sciences in the first place. Other disciplines, such as history or mathematics use of course different methods for gaining further knowledge. Most of us are using the scientific method in our every day life, without being consciously aware of it. In the following few minutes I would like to give you an overview of the different steps of the scientific method and I would like to base it on an every day example. Imagine that you want to start your car in the morning to drive to work, and the car refuses to start. Step 1: Observation: You turn the key and realize that the car does not start. Maybe you hear a short sound of the turning starter motor, but the sound dies off immediately and the car is quiet again. You also realize that the car radio stops to work and that the head lights dims when you turn the key. Step 2: Hypothesis: You are under time pressure and need to leave. We need to isolate the problem and find a solution. Are we out of fuel? Is the temperature to cold for the engine to start? Did a fuse break? Is the battery dead? Is there a mechanical problem with the engine? There are probably many possibilities why a car does not start, and this is not the time for wild guessing. We need to eliminate the options. The car was refueled yesterday, so the missing gasoline is not the problem. Is it a broken fuse? In this case the whole electrical system would not work and there would be no sound at all. Can we exclude a mechanical problem? Possible, but the engine did work before and there was no indication. Maybe, for whatever reason, the battery of the car is empty. Maybe we should start looking here first. A hypothesis is an educated guess and not a wild guess. There should be a good reason for choosing a particular hypothesis. Step 3: Experiment: You now test the hypothes by conducting an experiment. You think that the battery is dead, so you exchange the battery or you use the battery of another car to get the engine working. This experiment will either prove your [...]

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