When two variables are merged together it may have a negative outcome or a positive outcome. In order to fully verify if the first variable has influence on the second variable is to put the variables to examine and observe how they respond when combined. The only way to know a cause and effect relationship between two variables is to conduct a scientific experiment. A scientific experiment is a “test under controlled conditions that is made to demonstrate a known truth, to examine the validity of a hypothesis, or to determine the efficacy of something previously untried” (Experiment). A scientific experiment has requirements and rules that must be met in order for the experiment to be valid and reliable. On the other hand, if an experiments rules and requirements are not fulfilled the scientific experiment is ruled as invalid. A valid scientific experiment must have a testable hypothesis that the researcher has formulated through direct observation, or revising …show more content…
Repetition during an experiment verifies that the results are not accidental but consistent. Consistency is a major aspect to make an experiment more reliable, valid and accurate. Dr. F and his team never mentioned repetition for his experiment and Dr. F and his team never were able to repeat the experiment before they were arrested. Dr. F did mention an after survey which was never completed but an experiment requires repetition of at least three times. Another device of accuracy that was not mentioned was the method of measurement the researcher was using during the experiment. If a researcher fails to mention the scale of measurement that was used; other outside researchers reviewing the experiment will not understand the scientific experiment and the results. A scientific experiment is a step by step procedure that should be able to be repeated by other researchers with no
It is composed of several steps, it starts with observations. Observations are where a person collects known data concerning what you are going to test on. Next they formulate a hypothesis based on their observations. After they have a hypothesis they perform several experiments to prove or disprove it.
Going into details of the article, I realized that the necessary information needed to evaluate the experimental procedures were not included. However, when conducting an experiment, the independent and dependent variable are to be studied before giving a final conclusion.
In order to have a successful, reliable experiment you need sufficient data and evidence, reliable research, variables to test and a follow – up experiment. There are several types of variables you need to do an experiment. An independent variable is the manipulated experimental factor that is changed to see what the effects are. A dependent variable is the outcome. This factor can change in an experiment in reaction to the changes in the independent variable. An experimental group is the group of participants that are exposed to the change that the independent variable represents. The control group is participants who are treated in the same way as the experimental group except for the manipulated factor which is the independent variable (King 24). Proper data, evidence and research is also needed so the experiment turns out correctly and you know what you are testing. A follow – up experiment is not required, however it helps the validity of the conclusion of the experiment. Validity is “the soundness of the conclusions that a researcher draws from an experiment” (King 25). Conducting a follow – up experiment will help researchers and people alike see if the experiment worked properly, continues to help people and see how participants are doing after the experiment is over.
Scientists make progress by using the scientific method, a process of checking conclusions against nature. After observing something, a scientist tries to explain what has been seen. The explanation is called a hypothesis. There is always at least one alternative hypothesis. A part of nature is tested in a "controlled experiment" to see if the explanation matches reality. A controlled experiment is one in which all treatments are identical except that some are exposed to the hypothetical cause and some are not.
In research, the cause is the independent variable and the outcome is the dependent variable. According to Bachman, R and Schutt, R. (2012),” a variable is a characteristic or property that can vary taking on different values or attributes.” Furthermore, Bachman, R and Schutt, R. (2012) indicate, “ an independent variable causes a change in a dependent variable affecting its state by either impacting it positively or negatively.”
Every year, over two hundred million innocent animals are injured or killed in scientific experiments across the world. Of those animals, between seventeen and twenty million are used in the United States alone. In the United States alone an animal dies in a lab every three seconds. People in favor of animal experimentation say they’re taking animal lives in order to save humans. However is it really necessary to subject animals to painful experiments and torturous conditions in the name of science? Is it right to destroys an animal’s life while testing mascara or shampoo? Animals have their own rights as do humans and we should respect that. Animal experiments do not offer the best results to benefit us humans and it is costly. Animal experimentations should be abolished because it is unethical to destroy an animal’s life.
In addition to logical consistency, testability is an important piece when evaluating a theory. According to Akers & Sellers (2013), “a theory must be testable by objective, repeatable evidence” (p.5); thus, if the theory is not testable then it has no scientific value. There are several reasons why a theory might not be testable; such as its concepts may not be observable or reportable events and tautology. Tautology refers to a statement or hypothesis that is tr...
As just stated, experimental tests may lead either to the confirmation of the hypothesis, or to the ruling out of the hypothesis. The scientific method requires that an hypothesis be ruled out or modified if its predictions are clearly and repeatedly incompatible with experimental tests. Further, no matter how elegant a theory is, its predictions must agree with experimental results if we are to believe that it is a valid description of nature. In physics, as in every experimental science, "experiment is supreme" and experimental verification of hypothetical predictions is absolutely necessary.
The Scientific Method is the standardized procedure that scientists are supposed to follow when conducting experiments, in order to try to construct a reliable, consistent, and non-arbitrary representation of our surroundings. To follow the Scientific Method is to stick very tightly to a order of experimentation. First, the scientist must observe the phenomenon of interest. Next, the scientist must propose a hypothesis, or idea in which the experiments will be based around. Then, through repeated experimentation, the hypothesis can either be proven false or become a theory. If the hypothesis is proven to be false, the scientist must reformulate his or her ideas and come up with another hypothesis, and the experimentation begins again. This process is to be repeated until a theory is produced. The production of a theory is usually called the conclusion. After considerable testing of the theory, it may become what is known as a law, but laws are only formed in very rare occasions where the theory can be proven without a doubt, which is usually done through induction.
In order for an experiment to be considered a true experimental design, the design must fit specific criteria. The researcher must have a hypothesis for a cause and effect relationship between variables, the treatment group, the control group, random selection for the treatment group, and random assignment for the control group. In a simple experiment, the researcher forms two groups that are similar or equivalent, through probability, to each other in every way possible appropriate to the concept of experiment. The treatment group receives the procedure for the experiment and the control group does not. Therefore, the only difference between the groups will be that one group receives the treatment for the experiment and one group does note. After the experiment is conducted the researcher analysis the results in both groups.
A researcher uses an experiment to scientifically test out a hypothesis. In an experiment there are many different factors that are involved. There is the independent variable, which is the cause, it is the one that is being manipulated, and the dependent variable, which is the effect, is the response. When conducting a experiment it is important to make sure that the only thing than can affect the dependent variable is the independent variable. This is known as internal validity. Using random assignment to separate the participants into groups helps eliminate any outside factors, and creates an equal chance for all participants to be apart of the experimental conditions. There are many pros and cons to this type of method. The experimental method creates a strong control of the variables involved in the experiment, which allows an easier determination on cause and effect. If needed, it is fairly easy to replicate an experiment and is less time consuming than other research methods. However there are many downfalls as well. When conducting an experiment the setting of where the experiment is taking place is more artificial which may cause certain behaviors that wouldn’t occur in real life. This is known as external validity, which is the measure of how much the results of a study can be generalized and used in different situations, and people. To improve external validity cover stories are created when conducting experiments so the participants are not aware of what is really going on, or experiments are done in a natural setting as opposed to in a laboratory. However, this creates less control over confounding variables that can affect the experiment, which can create bias results (Aronson,
Unethical experiments have occurred long before people considered it was wrong. The protagonist of the practice of human experimentation justify their views on the basis that such experiments yield results for the good of society that are unprocurable by other methods or means of study ( Vollmann 1448 ).The reasons for the experiments were to understand, prevent, and treat disease, and often there is not a substitute for a human subject. This is true for study of illnesses such as depression, delusional states that manifest themselves partly by altering human subjectivity, and impairing cognitive functioning. Concluding, some experiments have the tendency to destroy the lives of the humans that have been experimented on.
Every research paper must be reliable and verifiable. The ways in which one goes about this can vary, but what stays the same is the place where this take place; the methods. In the methodology section of a research paper one must list the participants in the experiment, the apparatus in which the experiment was conducted and the procedure of the experiment itself. A good methodology section not only list the findings of the experiment; it tells what the findings mean in unison with the hypothesis in an effectual way. Without a well-executed methodology section, the reliability and validity of your findings are disregarded.
investigators take from the crime scene. With scientific methods it helps investigators to produce a
A team of scientists can observe the same phenomenon under investigation. They can then formulate a hypothesis to account for those behaviors. They can then form experiments so they can confirm or reject those hypothesis designed to explain the behavior of organisms.