hsci130-week2.2-science&healthsciences

what are facts ?

★ something generally accepted to be true

★ something that has not been disproven

★ objective & verifiable information

★ Within the same theoretical framework, people do not disagree about the facts

what are data ?

observations that are measured & measurable

what are metaphors ?

a word, concept or symbol used as a heuristic device to convey an ABSTRACT concept

what is theory ?

★ in hsci we do NOT mean a guess or a hunch

★ set of ideas (concepts) and statements that link the ideas together

★ constructed for a purpose - to describe, to explain, to predict, to control 

★ that is capable of being tested and falsified (proven wrong)

★ framework for looking at phenomena 

★ that brings different hypotheses together 

★ supported by different types of evidence 

★ “abstraction of something that exists in the real world but it is not the thing itself”

what is science ?

process of observation, explanation, experimentation & prediction that results of phenomena, attained by verifiable means

★ both a human activity & a body knowledge based on thinking & action of people to describe & test explanations of features of shared reality

★ any systematic & empirical study of ourselves & the world around us 

features of western science

★ theory is always open to falsification(can be proven wrong) - falsification is the universal methof

★ collective activity; means of acquiring knowledge 

★ communicated through language 

★ rules & maps 

★ replication

assumptions of western science

★ shared bio-physical social world

★ humans can investigate our world 

★ independent investigation 

★ individuals & groups of scientists can compare ideas, methods, & results & should come to similar conclusions

★ causal processes exist

why do we do science ?

★ survival & quality of life 

★ curiosity 

★ solutions to problems 

★ find truth 

★ preparation for the future 

★ explain why & how natural phenomena occur 

★ make money 

★ goverment 

how is the direction of science determined ?

★ what we learn in school 

★ large groups of people are affected by certain things 

★ technology advances 

★ cultures & values of people 

★ scientists, who are the scientists, what they’re curious about

★ emergency, crisis

★ goverment

★ make money

what is health science

★ disciplines focused on wellness, health, illness, & disease

★ application of knowledge to improve wellness, health, illness, & disease

health sciences - disciplines, knowledges, approaches, & practices

what are paradigms ?

★ paradigms are ways of looking at the world

★ ways of thinking about an aspect of reality that are shared by members of a particular discipline or group of people that influence how science is carried out

dictionary definition :

★ a framework containing basic assumptions, ways of thinking, & methodology that are commonly accepted by members of a scientific community; 

★ a cognitive framework shared by members of any discipline or group 

textbook definition : 

★ a theoretical paradigm is a conceptual framework or school of thought in which interrelated ideas & concepts about a particular aspect of reality are formulated