The scientific method
is so ingrained in school children that they could practically recite it in
their sleep—question, hypothesis, test, observation, results, conclusion—these
are skills understood by fourth graders and repeated until high school
graduation. This is why I found it so surprising when I surveyed four
professors of science and all of them had various opinions of its
effectiveness. Effectiveness? How can this even be up for discussion? I spent
ten years in school learning how effective
the scientific method is, and now suddenly that means nothing?
Well, yes and no. Only
one professor responded that they do not use it all. Dr. Kryzsiak believes that
the traditional scientific method is not very useful with her research in
biochemistry. She says that while she uses “components” of the scientific
method, she doesn’t follow it to a tee. For example, she poses a scientific
question but offers no hypothesis. She is not alone, either; Dr. Burns does not
question or hypothesize, she gets “scientific ideas” from field work. Dr.
Bulinski and Dr. Sinski have something in common with Dr. Burns too—all three
include a step where they read scholarly papers on the subject they want to
study to make sure they are not repeating research. This step also refines what
they want to study exactly, and sometimes changes their direction entirely.
Dr. Bulinski cited
using the scientific method the most out the four scientists surveyed, yet she
still has a twist on it, because her research differs from the traditional lab
work of chemists and biologists. As a paleontologist, she has to plan her trips
to sites where she can collect the specimens she needs to study. For her
research, she follows every step of the method closely—right down to her
hypothesis.
After reviewing each
response, it seems that the use of the scientific method may just be personal
preference. What works for some sciences/scientists may not work for others.
Dr. Sinski made the clearest statement when he wrote “it is not so much a method as it is common sense.” So while these
scientists may not be recording every hypothesis and step in their process,
they are making predictions and experiments constantly, without even realizing
it.
I was a bit taken aback when I initially read the responses from the professors I interviewed, as well. As often as we learn the scientific method in elementary and high school, it feels as though it would be illegal for a scientist to NOT use it. I enjoyed the fact that you interviewed a wide range of scientists, and still came up with the same result: the scientific method is a model, not a set-in-stone way of researching. Ultimately, Dr. Sinski's quote makes the concept of the scientific method more accessible and understandable to a person who is not on the path to becoming the next world-renowned scientist.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your point that the scientists "are making predictions and experiments constantly, without even realizing it". In reading about the responses of the interviewed scientists, I can't help but think that their processes follow the scientific method in some way, even if they deny using it. The scientist that I interviewed (Dr. Finney) explains this concept quite well by referring to the scientific method as a more web-like process (rather than a step-by-step process). While the scientific method provides simple directions that all people can follow, it also provides room for more professional scientists to deviate from it and still attain the same results.
ReplyDeleteI feel that all of us were really shocked by the response being something different from what we have been taught up until this point. But just as Emily said, all of these scientists are still using the scientific method, just not step by step the way that we were under the impression it would be used. As I found in my interview, different types of scientists require a different way of collecting, analyzing, and organizing their data.
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