how to think and work like a scientist

Welcome! My name is Zweistein, I will be assisting you in learning how to think and work like a real scientist! A good question? Knowledge Observation Imagination An educated guess… A valid hypothesis! Testability Falsifiability Wrap-Up

First, let me show you how to use this workshop! You can navigate through the exercise by using the links on top. A good question? Knowledge Observation Imagination An educated guess… A valid hypothesis! Testability Falsifiability Wrap-Up

You may return to any chapter at any given time for reviewing purpose. Additionally, you can go back and forward using the arrows on top! A good question? Knowledge Observation Imagination An educated guess… A valid hypothesis! Testability Falsifiability Wrap-Up

Shall we begin? A good question? Knowledge Observation Imagination An educated guess… A valid hypothesis! Testability Falsifiability Wrap-Up

At the beginning of each experiment, there always has to be a question. A good question? Knowledge Observation Imagination An educated guess… A valid hypothesis! Testability Falsifiability Wrap-Up

A good scientific question emerges from three components. A good question? Knowledge Observation Imagination An educated guess… A valid hypothesis! Testability Falsifiability Wrap-Up

Journals Libraries A good question? Knowledge Observation Imagination An educated guess… A valid hypothesis! Testability Falsifiability Wrap-Up

Existing Data Exploration A good question? Knowledge Observation Imagination An educated guess… A valid hypothesis! Testability Falsifiability Wrap-Up

Ideas Problem Solving A good question? Knowledge Observation Imagination An educated guess… A valid hypothesis! Testability Falsifiability Wrap-Up

OK, now that you know how to come up with an interesting scientific question, it is time for practice. A good question? Knowledge Observation Imagination An educated guess… A valid hypothesis! Testability Falsifiability Wrap-Up

Think about an interesting question. Something you would like to know about… Write your question down. A good question? Knowledge Observation Imagination An educated guess… A valid hypothesis! Testability Falsifiability Wrap-Up

Here are some examples of questions people may ask. A good question? Knowledge Observation Imagination An educated guess… A valid hypothesis! Testability Falsifiability Wrap-Up

Now that you have a question, the next step is to formulate a hypothesis, i.e. what do you expect or assume? Let’s do this for our examples! A good question? Knowledge Observation Imagination An educated guess… A valid hypothesis! Testability Falsifiability Wrap-Up

Click on the question to show a possible hypothesis for that questions. Click the hypothesis to see the question again. A good question? Knowledge Observation Imagination An educated guess… A valid hypothesis! Testability Falsifiability Wrap-Up

Time for practice again! Look at your question and formulate a hypothesis. What do you expect the answer to be? Or do you think you know what is NOT the answer? Write your hypothesis down! A good question? Knowledge Observation Imagination An educated guess… A valid hypothesis! Testability Falsifiability Wrap-Up

You now have a hypothesis, an educated guess of the answer to your question. But is it a good one? Let’s figure it out! A good question? Knowledge Observation Imagination An educated guess… A valid hypothesis! Testability Falsifiability Wrap-Up

A good question? Knowledge Observation Imagination An educated guess… A valid hypothesis! Testability Falsifiability Wrap-Up

Let’s take a look at these, one by one! A good question? Knowledge Observation Imagination An educated guess… A valid hypothesis! Testability Falsifiability Wrap-Up

A good question? Knowledge Observation Imagination An educated guess… A valid hypothesis! Testability Falsifiability Wrap-Up

Let’s check our examples! A good question? Knowledge Observation Imagination An educated guess… A valid hypothesis! Testability Falsifiability Wrap-Up

Are these hypotheses testable? Click the respective box to check your answer. A green tick means testable, a red cross means not testable. Click for explanations! Even though ethically problematic, to say the least, you could test this! Of course, no one would allow you to do it but hypothetically, it is possible. You can test this by observing human populations. As long as individuals die, your hypothesis is supported. There is no way of telling whether there is an almighty being or not because we don’t ever know whether our observations are manipulated by such a being, if it existed. This one is easy! You can certainly take a car, increase or decrease its weight and measure the gas mileage it gets. This is a tricky one! You can ask hundreds of people for their opinion. However, “best” is a subjective opinion, and therefore not scientifically measurable! A good question? Knowledge Observation Imagination An educated guess… A valid hypothesis! Testability Falsifiability Wrap-Up

A good question? Knowledge Observation Imagination An educated guess… A valid hypothesis! Testability Falsifiability Wrap-Up

Are these hypotheses falsifiable? Click the respective box to check your answer. A green tick means testable, a red cross means not testable. Click for explanations! There is a (high) possibility that sacrificing a virgin will not stop a volcano from erupting. That possibility is also observable. Therefore, this hypothesis is falsifiable. This hypothesis cannot be disproven, it is therefore not falsifiable. We do not know if in the future a human being will be born that outlives us all. This is falsifiable. Results could show that higher weight results in better gas mileage, or that there is no change at all. Higher weight from extra parts for better aerodynamics could cause this, for example. A good question? Knowledge Observation Imagination An educated guess… A valid hypothesis! Testability Falsifiability Wrap-Up

A good question? Knowledge Observation Imagination An educated guess… A valid hypothesis! Testability Falsifiability Wrap-Up

These two hypotheses are scientifically testable and falsifiable. Does your hypothesis pass the test? A good question? Knowledge Observation Imagination An educated guess… A valid hypothesis! Testability Falsifiability Wrap-Up

Let’s wrap it up! A good question? Knowledge Observation Imagination An educated guess… A valid hypothesis! Testability Falsifiability Wrap-Up

A good question? Knowledge Observation Imagination An educated guess… A valid hypothesis! Testability Falsifiability Wrap-Up

You know now how to ask a good question and how to formulate a valid hypothesis! A good question? Knowledge Observation Imagination An educated guess… A valid hypothesis! Testability Falsifiability Wrap-Up

Observe one death If your hypothesis is testable and falsifiable, bring it to the first lab! If not, rephrase it until you think it works! A good question? Knowledge Observation Imagination An educated guess… A valid hypothesis! Testability Falsifiability Wrap-Up false

Don’t worry if you’re not sure, your lab group and your instructor will discuss your hypothesis. I will see you in our next exercise: how to design a good experiment! A good question? Knowledge Observation Imagination An educated guess… A valid hypothesis! Testability Falsifiability Wrap-Up