Chapter 2: Thinking Scientifically: The Scientific Method and Other Ways of Knowing

Inductive reasoning

begins with detailed observations about something and uses those observations to construct a generalized understanding of how the greater system or phenomenon functions. It is often used to create predictions and build models.

Deductive reasoning

starts with broad generalizations and gradually focuses in on a specific statement of assumed truth.

Observation

information collected empirically using senses (sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell) and objectively where others using the same methods would observe the same information.

Data

Empirical and objective observations collected by scientists.

Experimenting

Scientists use data to create new hypotheses that they can test by collecting more information or conducting experiments.

Hypothesis

Based on observations and prior knowledge, a statement of an assumed fact that can be tested.

Experimental design

An important part of the scientific method where scientists carefully design experiments to test only one thing.

Natural experiments

Experiments where scientists observe things that are happening, have already happened, or already exist without changing factors.

Manipulative experiments

Experiments where scientists control some conditions and change others to test a hypothesis.

Blind experiment

An experiment where another scientist sets up the control group and manipulated group without informing the observing scientist which is which.

Hypothesis

is based on observations and states an assumed fact in a way that it can be tested.

Null Hypothesis

States that there is no relationship between variables.

Theory

In science, an explanation of a natural phenomenon that has been repeatedly tested and is currently accepted as a fact.

Law

Explains a process that has been observed but does not explain why the process occurs.

Pie Charts

Circles with pieces that represent different categories of information. All slices together equal 100 percent.

Bar Graph

Illustrates categories of data across a numbered scale.

Histograms or frequency distributions

Another name for bar graphs.

Line Graphs

Illustrate how measurements of a particular variable or data type change over time.

Degree of uncertainty

The amount of unknown information involved in scientific discoveries.

Unknown

Scientific discoveries through experimentation still have some details that are

Statistics

A mathematical way of interpreting data and measuring the amount of uncertainty involved.

p-value of 95 percent

An excellent result for most experiments.

Information literacy

The ability to distinguish between reliable and unreliable information in the media.

Primary resources

Resources containing the most recent and newly acquired scientific knowledge that have been evaluated by other scientists.

Secondary sources

Explain information from primary sources in a way average readers can understand, such as magazines, newspapers, and books.

Tertiary sources

Can show the impact of scientific knowledge on cultural or political landscapes, but scientific facts may be lost due to opinions and debates.

Westerners

Many modern medicines were "discovered" by blank after already being used for thousands of years by Indigenous communities.

Bark of the willow tree

Used by Native American communities to treat body aches and pains for thousands of years.

Coca plant

Applied by Indigenous communities of South America to relieve pain.

Novocaine

An ingredient used by dentists that came from the coca plant.

Mariculture

The term used for pre-colonial Indigenous practices to conserve and manage marine resources.

Fish ponds built by Native Hawaiian communities, clam gardens, and octopus houses

Examples of Indigenous coastal practices used to responsibly harvest and manage marine resources.

Western North America

Region where Indigenous communities practiced active land management through intentional fire setting.

Coastal British Columbia

Location where a scientific study found two distinct species of wolves.

Traditional ecological knowledge or TEK

The cumulative body of knowledge about ecology and ecosystems passed through generations and curated by Indigenous communities.

Jessica Hernandez, Ph.D

Describes Indigenous science as a relationship between humans and the environment where humans care for the environment and the environment cares for humans.

Fresh Banana Leaves

Book by Jessica Hernandez explaining that Indigenous knowledge systems are curated through generations and passed down through storytelling and oral tradition.

The elders of the Indigenous Heiltsuk First Nation

Community that already knew about the two distinct types of wolves in British Columbia.