Douglas D. Piirto September 25, 2014 Masters Graduate Program Scientific Method, Literature Reviews, Critical Review Douglas D. Piirto September 25, 2014

Definition of Scientific Method Oxford Dictionary defines scientific method as: ”A method or procedure that has characterized natural science since the 17th century, consisting in systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and the formulation, testing and modifications of hypotheses.”

Attributes of Modern Scientific Method A method of: acquiring new knowledge, investigating phenomena, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge. Based on empirical and measurable evidence. Systematic observation Replicated and Repeatable Focused Hypothesis driven Based on what is known and what is not known External review Communicated Archived

History Dates back to 7th century BCE when Daniel, a Jewish captive of Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar conducted a scientific experiment focused on a hypothesis with a control group, treatment group, and conclusions. Many prominent people have helped us developed the scientific method including such names as: Aristotle (4th century BCE), Plato, Euclid, Ptolemy (2nd century CE) and many others. Modern scientific method based on more recent scientists such as: Roger Bacon (13th centruy CE), Francis Bacon (17th century CE), Liindberg (21st century), and many others…

Terms Hypothesis—Educated guess about relatonship between independent and dependent variables Independent variable is the manipulated variable e.g., varying the amounts of nitrogen to determine the effect on plant growth Dependent variable (e.g., plant growth) is the variable that is affected by varying amounts of nirogen fertilization Effect is a noun e.g., the effect of nitrogen fertilization on plant growth Affect is a verb e.g., How doe nitrogen affect plant growth and survival Model Theory Control Group

Steps of Scientific Method Ask a focused question with critical thinking skills Do background research (i.e., literature review) Construct a hypothesis statement Test hypothesis by doing a controlled experiment Analyze data Draw conclusions Communicate your results.

What Is a Literature Review Machi and McEvoy (2009) define a Literature Review as: ”…a written document that presents a logically argued case founded on a comprehensive understanding of the current state of knowledge about a topic of study. This case establishes a convincing thesis to answer the study’s question.” It is a written agrument that promotes a thesis position by building a case from credible evidence based on previous research. It lays out a logical case to defend the thesis position taken… Basic literature review looks at what we know Advanced literature review is focused on identifying a research problem based on original research…

Steps of the Literature Review Process Machi and McEvoy (2009) list the following steps for a Literature Review Process: Select a topic Search the literature Develop the argument Survey the literature Critique the literature Write the review

Conducting a Critical Review of a Scientific Paper Refer to handout Journal Requirements and blind peer reviews Literature review contains important papers published on the topic. Clearly expanation of what is known in relation to what is not known. This then leads to the objectives and hypothesis of the study Purpose/objectives of the paper clearly stated Hypothesis clearly stated Methodology fits the hypothesis and is focused on the objectives of the paper Data is properly colledcted and analyzed Tables and Figures are properly presented Discussion relates to the results obtained and to the published literature Summary and Conclusion is concised written And much more

When Doing Critical Reviews Be tactful Don’t be sarcastic State the strengths of the paper State the areas that could be improved Show tolerance and courtesy to the author(s) Remember the author knows the paper better than you do Help the author…the author could be you someday…

Piirto Assignment No. 2 Identify a focused question related to what you want your Masters study to focus on Initiate your Literature Review Utillize library resources in your quest to locate information Start by finding 5 to 10+ peer reviewed papers related to the topic Make a list of those papers Select one of the 10 articles you list and conduct a critical review of that paper. Develop a short report.

References: Goldhaber, A. S., Nieto M. M. 2010. Photon and graviton mass limits. Rev. Mod. Phys. (American Physical Society) 82:939, doi: 10.1103/RevModPhys.82.939. pages 939-979. Lindberg. 2007. The beginnings of western science. Univ. Of Chicago Press. 2nd edition. Machi L. A. and B. T. McEvoy. 2009. The Literature Review. Corwin Press. 164 pages. Newton, I. (1687, 1713, 1726). Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, University of California Press, ISBN 0-520-08817-4. third Edition. From I. Bernard Cohen and Anne Whitman’s 1999 Translation. 974 pages. Oxford Dictionary

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