Scientific Method
Overview
The purpose of this discussion and the material that informs it is to insure that you understand the process of science, how scientific integrity is maintained, and to muse upon why the degree of science denial in the U.S. is greater than it was in the recent past. In this first graded discussion you address each of the 3 separate but overlapping, science related issues in the title, and address each in your original post.
Instructions
Read the 8 Roman numeral headed sections of the Understanding Science 101 website: Understanding Science, how science really works!
Next, View the video, Science in America (4:41), a Ted Talks video by Neil deGrasse Tyson.Tyson, a cosmologist, is without argument – the scientist best known to the general public today. I highly recommend that you familiarize yourself with his biography via Wikipedia if he is new to you.
After you have finished studying the website material and viewing the video, compose and make a post of 3 paragraphs by responding to each of the following 3 questions. In addition, make critical comments on the posts of at least 3 other students.
See the Discussion rubric for quality and quantity expectations for both the original post and your commentary.
Paragraph 1: Outline in logical order what you consider to be the most important elements of the scientific method – and why. End your paragraph with a sentence or two about why you think the process of science has been so successful throughout recent history.
Paragraph 2: Define plagiarism and tell what part of the process of science keeps plagiarism at a minimum.
Paragraph 3: Currently, in the U.S. science denial along with the new notion of alternative facts are frequently in the news. With all of the advancements in medicine, technology and other areas of research, why do you think that some citizens don’t seem to trust “science”?
*Use 4-5 academic references in APA format with in-text citations in your initial post!
Citing Sources: For each discussion topic in the course, you will conduct Internet research to learn more about each environmental issue. You must properly reference each article or other source whose ideas, opinions, or data you use in your post. You must follow proper APA guidelines for each references. See the APA Tool Kit in the Research Section of your Syllabus.
