LU 3 : Scientific Inquiry - An Overview

What are the basic assumption of science ?

• Order : Nature is orderly, laws of nature describe order and individuals are part of nature

• Determinism : all phenomena have natural cause

• Empiricism : truth claims must be demonstrated objectively

What are the nature of science of scientific knowledge ?

• the role of imagination

• the tentative nature of scientific information

• the role of subjectivity

• the role of evidence and inference

Explain about the role of imagination ?

• it is essential to visualize natural processes in the mind

• to recognize links between different pieces of information

In the tentative nature of scientific information, how do scientist ask questions about the world ?

• make observations

• do experiments that provide more observations

• use logic and reasoning to explain those observations

In the tentative nature of scientific information, how do we know the model might be closed to correct ?

• when we first develop an explanation, its a model

• the model is tested experimentally to gather more information, observations and data

• if the model is tested many times and continues to withstand the tests, the model might be closed to correct

In the tentative nature of scientific information, how do we distinguish a new model from well tested model ?

• a new model is referred as hypothesis

• a well-tested model is a theory

In the tentative nature of scientific information, how are scientific information reliable and tentative ?

• it is reliable because it is based on reproducible evidence

• it is tentative because future observations or experiments may indicate that the information needs to be revised

Explain about the roles of evidence and inference ?

• science is a process of obtaining data, then developing inference from the data

• the data, observations and evidence are facts

• the scientific knowledge developed from the observations is inference

What are the tools of scientific inquiry ?

• experiment

• observation : sight, hearing, taste, touch, smell

Explain what is scientific method

• it happens when a question has no answer and the general method of scientific inquiry begins

• then one or more plausible hypotheses or explanations can be tested by scientific experiment to answer the question

• thus, the process of doing science begins with a question when there is no known answer

What are the key to design a successful experiments ?

• the identification of all variables relevant to

• the observed phenomenon

• the question posed

What are the ways of thinking involves in scientific inquiry ?

• explain questions raised about natural phenomena

• use experiments to test plausible hypotheses

What are the basic skills of scientific inquiry ?

• observing

• classifying

• communicating

• measuring

• predicting

• hypothesizing

• inferring

What are the uses of scientific inquiry ?

• to make connections with world situations

• to encourage more active problem solving approach learning and thinking

• to apply math skills

• to review what is already known in light of experimental evidence

• to propose answer, explanations and predictions

• to use tools to gather, analyze and interpret data

What are the steps to scientific inquiry ?

1. State the problem by asking questions

2. Make observations

3. Form hypothesis

4. Design an experiment

5. Collect, record and analyze data

6. Draw conclusions

7. On step 5 , if hypothesis is false or partially true, think again and form a new hypothesis

What is the difference of positivism and the scientific method ?

• positivism is a quantitative approach as it involves rules of logic, truth, law, prediction’

• scientific method/ inquiry is founded on experiment and observations

What are the criticisms of positivism and the scientific method ?

• scientists are skeptics on who challenge unconfirmed observations and tentative conclusions

• questions that focus on ethical or value-laden matters cannot be empirically tested

• the complexity of human experience

• measurement problems

• control problems

What is the implication for nursing professional practice ?

both quantitative and qualitative research are important in the development of nursing knowledge and practice