The key to success in the study of science is to fully understand the nature, process, and limitations of the Scientific Method, which is the primary means for the scientific study of nature.

Nature and Purpose of the Scientific Method

Scientific Theories

Therefore, a scientific theory is an explanation about the nature and functioning of the physical universe based on observable data that can be subjected to testing and which leads to workable explanations of the physical universe. A scientific theory must lead to research. It must be falsifiable; that is, it must suggest avenues of scientific research that can lead to reliable data proving or disproving its claims. Scientific research involves the application of the scientific method which requires that objective data can be tested and that the results obtained from any tests can be verified independently by other researchers. So, for a scientific theory to exist as a theory, there must be evidence supporting the theory; there must be ways of objectively and independently testing the theory to verify its conclusions, and the conclusions reached must suggest avenues of further study that can be verified or disproved.

One difficulty in science is theories about past events that are no longer subject to direct observation and analysis, for instance, the disappearance of the dinosaurs. Suggestions have been offered that dinosaurs disappeared as a consequence of an astronomical object (meteor or comet) striking the earth. Such a theory can be independently tested for by, for instance, examining rock strata for the time period involved to determine if there is evidence of a meteoric strike (for instance, the presence of meteoric dust/iron). It must explain other data (for instance, not only did dinosaurs disappear, but various other changes occurred in the climate, fauna, and flora, and such changes could also be explained by a meteoric impact). It must be possible to disprove the theory (as in finding NO evidence in the rock strata of meteoric dust or iron). Other theories, such as a disease wiping out dinosaurs, dinosaur eggs being eaten by mammals, or dinosaurs becoming infertile, while possible or plausible, cannot be subjected to any process of scientific analysis and, therefore, fail the test of being considered as theories.

Scientific theories require rigorous testing and study. U.S. contemporary culture, despite its dependence on scientific discovery and achievement, is largely unaware of how science actually works. Instead, most people treat the word "theory" as meaning something unproven or merely believed to be true. A scientific theory is only a legitimate theory if it can be demonstrated to explain existing phenomena, be subject to testing and capable of being falsified, and can be used to effectively and accurately predict new behaviors, conditions, and data.

Students studying science will need to be familiar with the primary theories affecting that branch of science in which they are engaged.

The Scientific Method Illustrated: "In the Laboratory With Agassiz"

Samuel Scudder's story about studying under Louis Agassiz, "In the Laboratory With Agassiz," discussed in Learning to See is a narrative example of the central process in scientific study, the Scientific Method.

Observing details

As the student first looked at the fish, he wrote down lists of details. Exhausting that, he began to draw the fish and, in the process, saw more details. When Agassiz arrived, the student reported the list of details to Agassiz. [Note: Agassiz's statement that "A pencil is one of the best eyes" suggests that drawing the fish helped the student see more. Hmmmm. Does this shed any light on the next item?]

Hypotheses and Ideas/thoughts/concepts/patterns

Agassiz is dissatisfied with the student's list, claiming the student had missed the most conspicuous feature. After thinking about the fish overnight--without observing any additional details--the student has the answer. How did he get the answer. Obviously, it was something he had seen without realizing he had seen it. In looking at the student's answer--fish had symmetrical sides with paired organs--the class eventually decided that what the student did was connect a variety of details which he had seen into a pattern which made sense. I suggested that whenever a person does that, we say that they have an idea, or, in other words, every idea or thought or concept is a pattern of details (facts) which make sense. This definition fit with what Agassiz said later, when he makes the statement, "Facts are stupid things until brought into connection with some general law." What he is saying is that facts or details are useless until we make sense of them. In science, making sense out of observed details (or building patterns out of facts) is called making a hypothesis.

Multiple patterns/Multiple hypotheses

But even though the student had correctly identified the pattern Agassiz was looking for, he still had to look at his fish. Why? Perhaps because there were additional patterns to see. [Teacher's note: In fact, the story about the hideous monsters which the students drew suggests that once the student became so filled with the various patterns that describe the haemulon, he could not draw a fish without drawing it according to that pattern.]

Experimenting with hypotheses

After three days, additional fish from the same family of fish are brought to the student to review. Why? Perhaps because he was expected to check his findings against his observations of these related fish.

Conclusion:

What Scudder was learning is not a series of facts about fish. He was learning a process for evaluating information, a way of thinking about information, and this process that he is learning is called the scientific method which at its simplest involves the following steps:

The Necessity for Accurate Measurement

Because science is dependent on the ability to accurately analyze data, science requires methods for accurately measuring results. Students studying science must familiarize themselves with the types and tools for measuring data. These include measurements of things like temperature, pressure, radioactivity, wind velocity, weight, mass, and so on. Each field of science has specific kinds of measurements and tools for measuring. Classes in science often are designed to have students perform experiments not primarily for the verification of previous experimentation but instead to facilitate students use and practice with various scientific tools and quantitative measurements.

Because of this need for accurate measurements, mathematics is an indispensable tool in the study of science.

Patterns and Relationships

Not only will students of science need to become proficient and comfortable with the tools and measurements of science, but they must also become aware of specific relationships that scientists have discovered that can be used to predict outcomes. Typically, these are expressed in mathematical formulae, such as E=mc2, which is Einstein's explanation of the relationships between mass, energy, and light, and their conversion from one to the other; F=ma, Newton's second law which explains the acceleration of any mass results in a measurable Force; or Ohm's Law V=IR which explains that the voltage of an electrical current is equal to the the amount of electrical current multiplied by the resistance of the conductor of that current. Because these various laws are commonplace and extensively used, students should memorize them as well as understand what they mean. The same is true for the values of certain constants like the speed of light.

The Scientific Method applied to other disciplines