Scientific method
Name
The scientific method is a process for empirically testing potential answers to questions about natural phenomena in ways that may be repeated and verified. The answers that result from the testing are added to the body of knowledge we have about the natural universe. Scientific explanations are always subject to being revised and updated, based on further testing.
Typically, the scientific method consists of the following steps:
1. Observation: Make an observation about something in the natural world.
2. Question: Asking how the phenomenon came to be (why, what, how, etc?)
3. Hypothesis/Prediction: Propose a suggested answer to your question (must be testable) and make a prediction.
4. Experiment: Test the hypothesis by collecting data to corroborate or disprove it.
5. Conclusion: Draw a conclusion based on data collection. Rigorous and exhaustive testing and substantial data collection may eventually result in a theory being formulated.
The Scientific Method in everyday thinking The scientific method sounds abstract, but you don’t have to be a scientist to use it. People constantlyor use it in their everyday lives. Whether you are diagnosing a problem with your car, following a recipe, designing a business plan, you are likely using some form of the scientific method! 1. Think of a situation where you used trial and error to diagnose and solve a problem. In the space below, describe your problem and your process for solving it.
2. How do the steps you took to solve the problem correspond to steps in the scientific method?
Physical Anthropology and Science
Scientific Experiment #1. Sam is a bioarchaeologist studying health and disease lived in Peru 2000 years ago. She finds a skeletonoch With abundant t evidence of malnutrition and was incredibly unhealthy and disease-ridden. She concludes from this that the M patterns among the ancient Moche people who e population — ridden.
3. What is a key weakness of this experiment?
Scientific Experiement #2 You are part of a team investigating patterns of aggressive behavior among wild chimpanzees in Tanzania. You notice that two members of your team, George and Helen are generating wildly varying types of data. George is observing many more instances of aggressive behaviors among the chimpanzees he is studying than among Helen’s population.
4. Why might George and Helen be getting different results?
Apply the Scientific Method to Physical Anthropology Work in a small group. You will be given a ., er physical anthropology. Discuss and then I 5. Formulate a hypothesis that seeks to wriPap e answer to the following questions: Phenomenon you are investigating (a “provisional’ answer to the question above).
6. Describe the type or types of data you would collect to test this hypothesis.
7. What results of your data would support your hypothesis?
A common visualization of a scientific experiment involves a scientist in a white coat mixing chemicals or injecting lab rats. In reality, science takes place in a wide variety of settings. Scientific research in physical anthropology can involve numerous types of data collection, including fossils, DNA, primate behavior, CT scans, blood pressure readings, etc. While some physical anthropological research such as DNA analysis or bone measurement can be done in the lab, many types of data can only be collected in field settings.
Scientific experiments conducted in laboratory settings have many advantages. In the laboratory, variables in an experiment can be manipulated and conditions more precisely controlled. It is also much easier to repeat and replicate experiments in a lab setting than in the field.
In contrast, conditions in field research can be extremely variable and hard to control for. For example, wild primates may be too elusive for primatologists to observe. In paleoanthropology, fossils and human bones are difficult to locate, and skeletal remains are often poorly preserved. Human biology research on living people requires their cooperation and goodwill; populations also frequently move.
Of course, research on humans is also governed by strict ethical and legal standards.
