Question Set:
I have always been the kind of person to believe in what can be seen and what can be proven by science. As a science major, my mind is wired to think visually and to answer questions with empirical evidence and data. Therefore, for this project I chose to look at the big question of "What is Science" from the perspective of a scientific researcher.
To answer the question "What is Science" from this point of view, I chose several sub-questions to narrow down the topic and to be more specific. I decided on these questions because they are all things that a researcher should think about before conducting research. Science has a purpose, there is a reason that humans seek knowledge, and there are limitations to what researchers can explain. There has to be guidelines as to what can be justified as "credible" science and the society determines what is accepted and what is not.
1. What are the aims of science?
2. Why seek knowledge?
3. What makes something scientifically proven and what makes science credible?
4. Are there limitations to science?
5. In what ways does society determine what scientists study?
To answer the question "What is Science" from this point of view, I chose several sub-questions to narrow down the topic and to be more specific. I decided on these questions because they are all things that a researcher should think about before conducting research. Science has a purpose, there is a reason that humans seek knowledge, and there are limitations to what researchers can explain. There has to be guidelines as to what can be justified as "credible" science and the society determines what is accepted and what is not.
1. What are the aims of science?
2. Why seek knowledge?
3. What makes something scientifically proven and what makes science credible?
4. Are there limitations to science?
5. In what ways does society determine what scientists study?
My Thesis:
For the scientific researcher, science is a commonly accepted method that humans use to better understand the world that we live in. Science is conducted in a specific manner utilizing hypothesis testing and experimental processes. It is used to answer or to better explain the questions that the society has about the observable and unobservable things in the universe. However, it is limited. Science can only tell us what is false and is not capable of proving truth claims. Since we cannot ever fully accept scientific claims as truth, science is credible based on the common agreement amongst scientist and a community of people. Although some may say that research can be conducted simply for the sake of knowing, I believe that research conducted against the values of mankind for purposes that will not benefit society would be of no practical value in our world today because of the cost associated with science and technology.