Lecture and Quiz 1
Randomized Clinical Trials
An experimental study of the effects of a variable (such as a drug or treatment) administered to human subjects who are randomly selected from a broad population and assigned on a random basis to either an experimental or a control group. The goal is to determine the clinical efficacy and pharmacologic effects of the drug or procedure.
_______________________ are objective and make no attempt to explain why the phenomenon is happening.
Observations
Describe the steps and purpose of the Scientific Method
Steps: 1. Observation: objective and make no attempt to explain why the phenomenon being observed is happening 2. Hypothesis: uses all the knowledge accumulated by the scientist 3. Experiment: no experiment can ever prove something. It can merely support or refute the hypothesis 4. Results: more often take the form of some kind of scholarly publication
Because human memory is malleable, our recollection of original facts can be replaced with new, false information.
True
Researchers found evidence that the majority of YouTube videos relating to climate change either deny that Climate Change was caused by humans or claimed it was a conspiracy.
True
Scientific theories are considered a fact and are not a matter of opinion.
True
Describe pseudoscience and be able to give examples of pseudoscientific claims.
When someone tries to present a concept, situation, or event as scientific in nature, but it is not based on the rules of science ex. denial of climate change and using terms such as "geoengineering"
Two-Group Experimental Design
an experiment with two conditions; the simplest possible experiment
Correlative Studies
correlates general characteristics of the population with health problem frequency with several groups during the same period of time
Epidemiological Studies
reveal the incidence and prevalence of a disorder in a particular population (the person is in their natural environment instead of a hospital room), not randomly assigned
Describe how new scientific findings make it from scientific journals to the mainstream media
scientific journals --> popular press outlets (easy for everyone to understand, not just scientists)
Describe the process of peer review, paying particular attention to who does the reviewing and what happens after the review.
scientists complete portion of research --> write a report & submit to a scientific journal that specializes in that research --> another group of scientists (with no ties to the original researchers) review the report and give feedback directly to the editor of the journal
Why is it important for religious people to be able to use and apply the rules of science?
to use science in order to lend credence to their ideas, Applying the rules of religion to issues of the natural world may encourage some religious to ignore empirical evidence that suggests a necessary action.
