Scientific Method and Epidemiology Covid 19 Topic
Lab 1 – Scientific Method and Epidemiology
In this lab, we are going to learn about the basic steps of the scientific method. A core concept used in science research is the hypothesis. A hypothesis is a fancy way of describing a possible theory of why something happens or why something can be true/false. Refer to this website for more detailed information on the various aspects involved in creating and testing a hypothesis as part of the scientific method.
Let’s talk about population sizes and epidemiology. Having a larger population is important for scientific research. There is a property known as “power” in statistics and to over-simplify a somewhat complicated topic, the more data points (larger population) you have the greater your power. That means that there is more weight behind your research study, and the greater likelihood that your hypothesis will be valid. For example, in epidemiology studies an increase in population leads to the epidemiological findings having more weight. We will learn how to formulate a hypothesis about epidemiology using something topical: COVID-19.
We want you to visit this database: https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#demographics and look at some data points such as race, age, and sex and others. You will see a menu bar on the left that categorize data into topics like Pediatric and Your Community.
Use the website above!!!!!
Come up with your own hypothesis regarding something related to COVID-19 and then use the different data points from this website to see if your hypothesis is valid or not. Some examples of possible hypotheses: there are more cases of COVID in the United States than New Zealand, or males aged 18-29 are more likely to have COVID-19 than females aged 18-29, due to differences in mask-wearing habits. (It’s okay if your hypothesis is not validated by the data on the website). We are more interested in your critical thinking skills and thought process.
