The Scientific Method

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The Scientific Method

• Malcolm Crowe
• 15 March 2004

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Why?

• MSc should demonstrate sustained rational
  argument
• Scientific method is a frequently cited model
  for rational argument
• Really a style of discourse
• Famous and still controversial
• This lecture will give some history
• And present conventions 2000

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References

• Gjertsen, D Science and Philosophy (Penguin
  1989)
• Whewell, W (1840) Philosophy of the Inductive
  Sciences (Thoemmes 1999)
• Feyerabend, P (1975) Against method (Verso 1988)

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Scientific Method Birth to Death

• The likely story (Plato, 360BC)
• Hypothesis (Bacon 1620, Descartes 1644)
• Reid (1785) Explanation not enough
• Hypothetico-deductive (Whewell 1840)
• Modernism (Popper 1934)
• Failure of modernism
• Scientific diversity (marine biology, strings)
• Mathematics collapses (Russell 1902)
• The Bohr-Einstein debate (1948)
• Postmodernism (Rorty 1981)

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Induction and Deduction

• Aristotle (330 BC) dialectics .. induction and
  deduction
• deduction from premises to results
• induction to find premises (but how?)
• Great scientific disasters Lavoisier (1789),
  Kelvin
• eliminative induction (Bacon 1605)
• resolution and composition (Mill 1843)
• complex methods did not help much
• blind application of induction fails

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Hypothetico-Deductive Method

• Plato (Timaeus) look for a likely story
• with observed state a natural outcome
• F Bacon (1620) scientific approach
• places all wits .. nearly on a level
• though techniques may require mastery
• science advances by rational argument
• Descartes (1644) hypothesis
• story that explains many observations
• Whewell (1840) requires prediction
• and some luck results must be new
• Einstein (1915) Theory of Relativity

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Scientific Theories

• are systems of hypotheses
• satisfying set of causal explanations
• need revision if predictions fail
• Popper (1934) falsification
• incorrect appeal to mathematical logic
• theories are not disproved
• but qualified by more successful ones
• sometimes facts are discarded too

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Postmodernism

• Postmodernism suspicious of
• grand narratives, universal methods
• absolute realities or objective truths
• So just present your ideas rationally
• obey normal conventions of subject
• dont fudge the data too much
• dont block the line of inquiry
• Importance of academic community
• What community are you writing for?
• Rorty (1991) solidarity

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Practice today

• Convincing investigation
• Hypotheses from anywhere
• similarity to previous successful ones
• should account for existing data
• Should make usable predictions
• look for better hypotheses if not
• At least write it up this way round
• even if you got the data first
• critics say that cheating is necessary

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Objectivity

• Rorty (1980) merely a compliment
• no method of absolute truth
• Try to avoid personal opinion
• offer a road anyone can follow
• experiments in principle repeatable
• arguments acceptable in community
• Kierkegaard (1840) Focus on results
• subjective writing focuses on process

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Project Guidelines

• Use hypothetico-deductive method
• requires no justification
• will please examiners
• In qualitative research use questions
• Recall or make use of prior work
• hypothesis/questions should use this
• Conclusions should hint at prediction

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Questions to ask yourself

• Have I covered all the angles?
• Why these particular examples?
• Why these interviewees?
• Are all the suspects included?
• Is this induction or deduction?
• How could my hypothesis be disproved?