Tiffany Bishop on The Scientific Method

PHS 100A – Environmental Studies

Warner Pacific College

October 10, 2011
Abstract

This paper includes the idea, the definition, and the founders of the Scientific Method. There will be pieces from others found throughout my research to back up my findings. I will also include how it has influenced the “western culture”.

Keywords: Scientific, Science, Method 

The Scientific Method was first introduced to me in Middle School. I recall from my favorite Science teacher when doing experiments using the process over and over again. This is a good memory as I found this teacher to be very good at her job and able to explain well the tasks at hand. Science is not a strong subject of mine but this processes it very helpful when working through theories.

The book Environment: The Science Behind the Stories gives the steps of the Scientific Method as follows: (p.11)

1. Observations

2. Questions

3. Hypothesis

4. Predictions

5. Test

6. Results

As you can see there is some work before you are able to actually test your theory. Observation is what gets this Scientific Method going; this is what the experiment is all about. Questions are important in finding out things that you did not already know about your observation. The hypothesis is what is tested, as the scientist you create an answer to your observation and then use this hypothesis to test during your experiments. Predictions are made as to what is thought the results of the test will create. The next step is to finally do the test, once the test in complete you get the actual results.

The creators of the Scientific Method are said to be the Muslims. They were the first to have used it in the 10th or 14th century. They were the first to use observation and experiment. Once it was discovered many people added to it and used it in different ways. This is how it evolved into the modern Scientific Method we use in the Western Culture today. I always thought “western culture” came from North America, why? I’m not sure but I never thought it started in Ancient Greece. There is a website that states “Today, Western culture has at least some presence in nearly all nations of the world. It does not currently exist, however, anywhere in a perfect and complete form. Wherever Western culture exists, it is at least partially mixed—and often largely mixed—with non-Western culture. Western culture has at least some presence in nearly all nations of the world. It does not currently exist, however, anywhere in a perfect and complete form. Wherever Western culture exists, it is at least partially mixed—and often largely mixed—with non-Western culture.” (2011) This is the best definition I found that made the most sense to me. Understanding what Western culture is helps to understand what is taken from it and how we live our lives.

The Scientific Method is widely used therefore widely understood from country to country. Math is like a universal language, with the exception of the use of metrics. I thank my Middle school teacher for a great experience in the Scientific Method making it easy to get back into.  
References

http://www.westerncultureglobal.org/what-is-western-culture.html. What is western culture? Retrieved October 10, 2011. 2009 Western Culture Global.

Withgott, J., & Bennan, S. (2011). Environment: the science behind the stories

(4th ed.). New York, NY. Pearson Benjamin Cummings.

Shuttleworth, Martyn (2009). Who Invented the Scientific Method? Retrieved [Date of Retrieval] from Experiment Resources: http://www.experiment-resources.com/who-invented-the-scientific-method.html