Science as a Way of Knowing
(Chemistry 095A)
Tuesday/Thursday 9:30-10:45
Michael Strauss, 321 Cook
This syllabus provides an overview of the course. Some changes and modifications will be made depending on how the courseprogresses, student interest in various topics, and time limitations.
Many people don't have much formal training in the sciences and know little about what scientists do or the criteria by which scientific observations and explanations are assessed. Because of this, few know how to evaluate the kind of scientific information they read and hear in news reports on television, and in magazines and newspapers. This is unfortunate since we are all are confronted with an endless list of so called "scientific claims" purporting to be the result of serious scientific investigation.
Some of these are less important than others. For example, what does it mean when you see an advertisement for an herbal remedy which is "scientifically proven" to be effective in helping you sleep (or relax, or think more clearly, or lose weight, etc.) Such advertisements are often only clever combinations of fiction and fact, couched in scientific jargon. Many of us cannot tell the difference between genuine and bogus scientific claims such as these.
More importantly, consider the $7 billion in verdicts and settlements to women claiming injuries from breast implants and the report from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences saying there is no persuasive evidence that the implants caused the ailments that some juries had blamed them on (lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.) How should we view this struggle between scientific and legal approaches which center on differing definitions of certainty? What is the meaning of a causal connection? And how does it differ from a correlation? What is an hypothesis and how does it differ from a theory?
This course will help you learn what the term "scientific method" means, how scientific research (e.g., that of the psychologist, chemist, biologist, sociologist, physician, or the astronomer) is carried out, and how it differs from the pseudoscience of psychics, astrologers, fortune tellers and (too often) advertising agencies.
PART 1 (Foundations, Carey text)
We will begin with a brief, nontechnical introduction to the basic methods underlying science and scientific research and explore the question: What is science? We will focus on the nature of causes and explanations, the purpose of controls, the meaning of correlation and how it is different from causation, and the various types of causal experiments. This will be followed by a discussion of how explanations are tested and how experiments are designed. We will then briefly consider the nature of anecdotal evidence, as well as the nature of extraordinary claims and fallacies in the name of science. The sequence of discussions will follow the text by Carey: "A Beginner's Guide to Scientific Method." You will be given reading assignments to accompany our class discussions.
Our class work in PART 1 will sometimes take the form of a lecture where you will take notes. More often it will occur as a guided discussion (a dialogue between pairs of students, in small groups, or with the whole class participating.) There will be many short journal writing assignments and written quizzes during class time from which much of our discussion and dialogue may emerge. In class you should be prepared to write, answer questions posed to you, and participate in discussions with the group. To do this well you MUST read the assignments in the Carey text before class and do any written assignments on time so you understand the material. At the end of our work on the Carey text (as we finish PART 1) we will have a MIDTERM EXAMINATION.
In PART 1 you should learn:
1. The importance of a control in a scientific study.
2. Basic statistical concepts applied to scientific studies.
3. To make an assessment of scientific studies reported in newspapers, on television or in magazines.
4. Some basic concepts in science: theory, hypothesis, explanation, cause, and correlation.
5. To design a well controlled scientific experiment.
6. To distinguish between genuine science and pseudo-science.
PART 2 (Method, Theory and Context - Hatton and Plouffe text)
After we have completed our work with the Carey text we will begin reading and discussing the text by Hatton and Plouffe: "Science and Its Ways of Knowing." We will have lecture/discussions/workshops on the three parts of this book (1. On Scientific Method, 2. Developing a Theory and 3. Contexts of Discovery.)
At this point in the course you will begin to do research for and prepare a short class presentation (ca. 15 minutes) during which you should elaborate the beginning of your research efforts on a subject of interest to you which is relevant to the class discussion (vide infra.) During these presentations the audience (other students in class) will be responsible for taking notes, asking questions of the presenters, and evaluating the presentation. The presentation you make to the class will eventually result in the final draft of a paper you will contribute to our class book. Details are provided below.
You should put a substantial effort into preparing these presentations and consider using the overhead projector, blackboard, slides or other techniques to get your points across. Getting up in front of the class and reading a prepared text will NOT be satisfactory. Use of audience writing prompts, lecture, short discussions, and group work (like we use in working with the Carey text material) might be appropriate. The purpose of your presentations should be to engage the audience and help them understand your project and/or research effort.
The topic of your presentation and the research paper which follows from it should be something that interests you, and which deals with some aspect of pseudoscience, superstition, or other contemporary confusion. For example, you may wish to investigate purported psychic phenomena (a haunted house or building on campus or around town), the fortune teller on Route 7 in Shelburne, one of the many astrologers in town, a story in the Burlington Free Press or other paper or magazine dealing with extraordinary claims, (i.e., dowsing), or other anecdotal stories of unusual phenomena or events. You might wish to interview people involved or you may wish to do only library research. You should get my approval and discuss your ideas with me BEFORE beginning your paper. You will be graded on the process of writing (multiple drafts), not just on the final draft.
As you do research for your paper it is important that you keep in mind what you have learned from discussions of the Carey text. (the meaning of a control in a scientific study, statistical concepts applied to causal experiments, basic concepts such as hypothesis, explanation, cause, correlation, etc.)
PART 3 (Pseudoscience, Superstition, etc. - Shermer text)
After student presentations are complete and while you are working on drafts of your research paper we will begin reading and discussing the Shermer text: "Why People Believe Weird Things." We may have some class discussion and writing assignments focusing on this text, but the primary purpose of your reading Shermer should be to get a feeling for his understanding of skepticism, the difference between science and pseudoscience, the fallacies that lead people to believe what really isn't true, and the history of some specific issues (paranormal phenomena, near death experiences, alien abductions, cults, creationism, etc.)
We may, depending on scheduling, have a few guest speakers in class during PART 3, including those doing scientific investigations on campus and those purporting claims of unusual and extraordinary phenomena.
Our class book will be an edited, bound collection of your written essays. Compiling and editing roles will be assigned to students who will have significant authority in designing and producing the book. The book guidelines may be discussed by the class as a whole, so that a consensus emerges regarding the detailed structure of the project. Students will be responsible for collecting all the final manuscripts so the assembly of the book will allow delivery of a copy to everyone by the last week of class so that we can discuss it as a whole at that time.
Xerox ready final copies of manuscripts should be handed in to me for grading and review prior to book assembly. This means NO ERRORS OR OMISSIONS. The whole class will review these, or set up an editorial board to review them, in case last minute changes must be made. I will be involved in this process as well.
Your final manuscripts (only) should be about five pages in length, single spaced, with margins the same as in this syllabus. All drafts prior to the final draft should be double spaced. The font should be Times No. 14, ( like this ) justified on the left (as in this syllabus) with centered titles. Any diagrams and drawings should be standardized as requested by the editors. References should be in parenthesis and on line like this: (1), and listed numerically at the end of the paper without parentheses under the title "References." A standard format will be discussed during class time so the book is uniform in appearance.
Editors may order the essays according in some particular sequence. This will depend on what kind of topics students write about. They will also write an Introduction which should place the class book in context, explaining its development and describing the contents. This will be a minimum of two pages.
Editors will also assemble a Table of Contents. They may also wish to ask the instructor to write a brief Afterword or a Preface which will describe the class, the objectives, or other relevant material. They will also collect student-writer biographies (fifty words) for inclusion at the beginning of the book to go along with the class picture. These may be serious, semiserious or comical depending on what the class as a whole decides.
Editors will also commission students from the class to come up with a title design a suitable cover for the book. The latter can be in color and will be under a hard plastic transparent sheet which will cover both the front and back of the book. I will help with production details here.
Grades:
Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have questions (656 0274); email: mstrauss@zoo.uvm.edu. I will get a list serve started as soon as I get all your names, phone numbers and addresses. My office is 321 Cook and I will announce office hours later. Also, please feel to call or stop by any time. If I am not busy I will be happy to see you.
Class attendance is critical. We meet only two times per week, and missing class is detrimental to the whole group because we will be working together on many aspects of the course. It is also detrimental to the individual student.