This concise book provides an introduction to the scientific method of inquiry. This book not only presents
not only a methodical approach to the proper conduct of science but also contains comprehensive coverage of pseudoscience
and fallacies. Compact enough to be used as a supplementary book, yet comprehensive enough in its coverage to be
used as a core text, this text assists students in using the scientific method to design and assess experiments.
Benefits:
NEW! An entirely new Chapter 2,"Observation,"-- gives unprecedented attention to this basic concept.
NEW! Chapter 4,"Testing Explanations," has been streamlined and simplified. The concept of decisive
experiment is discussed in an intuitive way that will be helpful to beginning students.
NEW! For the sake of clarity, the discussion of proposing and testing explanations is composed of two shorter
chapters (Chapters 3 and 4).
NEW! A reorganized Chapter 6--on fallacious applications of scientific method--is designed to make these matters
more accessible for students.
NEW! Each chapter discusses examples from the fringes of science--ESP, UFOs, crop circles--in the text and
exercises. Students learn what good science and poor science involve.
NEW! Refined exercise sets and additional new problems add timeliness and freshness to the book's presentation.
Hundreds of practical, relevant exercises and examples address common conceptual issues and pitfalls confronted
in students' own practices of scientific leaning.
Real-life examples from scientific literature provide immediate practical applications of the concepts encountered
in the book.
Table of Contents
Preface
1. SCIENCE
Just What Is Science? Asking Why
Scientific Method
The Consequences of Science
Scientific Method in Daily Life
Exercises
2. OBSERVATION
Making Accurate Observations
Anomalous Phenomena
Observation and Anomalous Phenomena
The Burden of Proof
Summary
Exercises
3.PROPOSING EXPLANATIONS
Explanation
Causes
Correlation
Causal Mechanisms
Underlying Processes
Laws
Function
The Interdependence of Explanatory Methods
Rival Explanations and Ockham's Razor
Explanation and Description
Summary
Exercises
4. TESTING EXPLANATIONS
The Basic Method
How to Test an Explanation
How Not to Test an Explanation
Testing Extraordinary Claims
Summary
Exercises
5. ESTABLISHING CAUSAL LINKS
Causal Studies
Limited Effect Levels
Multiple Causal Factors
Bias and Expectation
Types of Causal Study
Reading Between the Lines
Summary
Exercises
6. FALLACIES IN THE NAME OF SCIENCE
What Is a Fallacy? False Anomalies
Questionable Arguments by Elimination
Illicit Causal Inferences
Unsupported Analogies and Similarities
Untestable Explanations
Redundant Predictions
Ad Hoc Rescues
Science and Pseudoscience
The Limits of Scientific Explanation
Summary
Exercises
Further Reading
Index
