1st Lessonch

experiential (SOK)

direct personal experiences, involving human senses and making sense of that experiences

traditions (SOK)

social agreements and cultural reproduction; time-tested results

authority (SOK)

believe the knowledge produce by others whom you claim as rationally “believable”

science

more mindful and careful when making knowledge claims; avoid mistakes by following rigorous procedures to gather evidences and make conclusions based on this; results to knowledge claims that are more accurate than mere casual observations

def. of science

pursuit and application of knowledge and understanding of the natural and social world following a systematic methodology based on evidence

scientia

latin; knowledge, the ability to know, learning

static

a body of facts that resulted from research

dynamic

science is a process, an activity that explains cause and effect and predicts outcomes

methodological naturalism

scientists must look for naturalistic cause for a natural phenomenon

1.) the world is understandable

everything in the universe has a common, consistent pattern that can be understood through systematic study

2.) it requires certain procedures and rules

to ensure reliability, repeatability, testability, and objectivity of results

reliability, repeatability, and testability

redound to the extent to which an experiment, test, or measuring procedure can be repeated and still yield the same results

objectivity

expressing or dealing with facts or conditions as perceived without distortion by personal feelings, prejudices or biases, and interpretations

Francis Bacon

world can be understood empirically by careful and systematic observation, leading to what is known as the scientific method

Scientific Method

Observe, Ask, Form hypothesis, Test, Analyze data, Reproduce

Probability vs Non-Probability sampling

since oftentimes our resources could not make a census of respondents, we do sampling

3.) it demands evidence

validity of scientific claims depends on how the phenomena are observed

4.) It is a blend of logic and imagination

most scientific advancements started from rational thinking and creative imagination

5.) It explains observations and predicts events

established laws, models, and theories are used to explain situations and predict phenomena

6.) It requires peer scrutiny and acceptance by the scientific community

scientist’s finding cannot be said to have gained ground until these have gone through criticism and revision by fellow scientists

Single anonymized

reviewer identity is not made visible to author, author identity is visible to reviewer, reviewer and author identity is visible to editor

Double anonymized

reviewer identity is not made visible to author, author identity is not made visible to reviewer, reviewer and author identity is visible to editor

7.) It is self-correcting

scientists are not super-human. they also commit mistakes. however, some will eventually uncover those mistakes.

8.) It tries to avoid individual biases

scientists who produce scientific evidences have their own biases. the interpretation of data may be largely affected by the scientists’ age, gender, political conviction, ethnic origin, etc.

Threats to validity

the reasons why we can be partly or completely wrong with our conclusions

Researcher-related threats

experimenter effect – the researcher or his/her assistant who knows the purpose of the research might unintentionally or inadvertently influence the behavior of the participants

Participant-related threats

Hawthorne effect – the participants modify their behaviors or responses due to the fact that they know they are being observed

Procedure-related threats

History – the experiment is done during a current event related to the hypothesis being proved that might affect how the participants respond to the intervention

9.) It is not authoritarian

scientist could never decide or impose on other scientists what is true and what should be believed

10.) It could not provide answers to all questions

science is limited to the understanding of public knowledge, and the study of the natural, physical world

doing science is a complex activity

there are a lot of factors that influence the shaping of scientific research: funding opportunities, policy, culture, etc.

Science is organized in fields and disciplines

there are branches of science that generate research about a particular topic or phenomenon: astronomy, biology, geology, chemistry

Ethics is important in science

makes sure that imperfect scientists work within the bounds of generally accepted moral norms: plagiarism, data privacy, inflicting harm to people

Scientists should participate in public affairs

they have to communicate the results of the research they do, offer help to institutions for the greater good, participate in public debates and social conversations