Английский язык для магистрантов научная деятельность. English for master students academic activity. Учебное пособие

BEFORE YOU READ

You are going to read the text entitled PRINCIPLES AND STEPS OF THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD. Answer the following questions:

1.What does the scientific method involve?

2.Where can the principals of the scientific method be applied?

READING

Read the text and check your answers.

PRINCIPLES AND STEPS OF THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD

The scientific method is the process of objectively establishing facts through testing and experimentation. The basic process involves:

1.making an observation,

2.forming a hypothesis,

3.making a prediction,

4.conducting an experiment

5.and finally analyzing the results.

The principles of the scientific method can be applied in many areas, including scientific research, business and technology.

The scientific method uses a series of steps to establish facts or create knowledge. The overall process is well established, but the specifics of each step may change depending on what is being examined and who is performing it. The scientific method can only answer questions that can be proven or disproven through testing.

Make an observation or ask a question. The first step is to observe something that you would like to learn about or ask a question that you would like to be answered. These can be specific or general. Taking the time to establish a well-defined question will help you in later steps.

Gather background information. This involves doing research into what is already known about the topic. This can also involve finding if anyone has already asked the same question.

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Create a hypothesis. A hypothesis is an explanation for the observation or question. If proven later, it can become a fact.

Create a prediction and perform a test. Create a testable prediction based on the hypothesis. The test should establish a noticeable change that can be measured or observed using empirical analysis. It is also important to control for other variables during the test.

Analyze the results and draw a conclusion. Use the metrics established before the test see if the results match the prediction.

Share the conclusion or decide what question to ask next. Document the results of your experiment. By sharing the results with others, you also increase the total body of knowledge available. Your experiment may have also led to other questions, or if your hypothesis is disproven you may need to create a new one and test that.

AFTER READING TASKS

Answer the following questions.

1.Can the principals of the scientific method be applied in business or technology?

2.What stages does the basic process in scientific research involve? Can you enumerate them?

3.What kind of questions can the scientific method answer?

4.What is the first step in the scientific method? Why is it so important?

5.What does gathering background information involve?

6.What is a hypothesis?

7.Why is sharing the results of your research with others so significant?

Match the words with their opposites.

Write the Russian equivalents of the following phrases. Make up your own sentences with them.

1.to draw a conclusion

2.to make an observation

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3.to make a prediction

4.to establish facts objectively

5.to control for variables during the test.

6.to increase the total body of knowledge available

7.to establish a well-defined question

8.to be applied

9.to be proven or disproven through testing

Match the words with their definitions. Translate the sentences below the table.

1.What is your conclusion?

2.The evidence does not support the article's conclusions.

3.The evidence points/leads to the inescapable conclusion that she was negligent.

4.He has devoted himself to the pursuit of knowledge.

5.These facts are based on close observation of the phenomena.

6.The researcher's excellent powers of observation are evident in the experiment's detailed descriptions.

7.Observations made using the telescope have led to new theories.

8.Some interesting observations came from the study.

9.He recorded his observations in a notebook.

10.She has little knowledge of history.

11.He has devoted himself to the pursuit of knowledge.

12.She acquired a thorough knowledge of local customs.

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13.I have a reading knowledge of French [=I can read French], but I can't speak it fluently.

14.Journalists have begun making predictions about the winner of the coming election.

15.Despite predictions that the experiment would fail, it has done very well.

16.The figures and statistics are used for the prediction of future economic trends.

WRITING

Write the outline of the text "PRINCIPLES AND STEPS OF THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD".

SPEAKING

Speak about principles and steps of the scientific method using your outline. Remember to mention:

1.making observations,

2.forming a hypothesis,

3.making predictions,

4.conducting experiments,

5.analyzing the results.

Lesson 3. Formulation of Hypotheses.

VOCABULARY

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BEFORE YOU READ

You are going to read the text entitled FORMULATION OF HYPOTHESES. Answer the following questions.

1.What is a hypothesis?

2.What factors should be taken into consideration while formulating hypotheses?

3.What are the ways of formulating hypotheses?

READING

Read the text FORMULATION OF HYPOTHESES and check your answers.

Formulation of Hypotheses

A hypothesis is a tentative assumption that proposes a possible explanation to some phenomenon or event. A hypothesis is said to be forceful if the assumption is not from the very beginning of the research and really needs to be well proved. Researchers weighing up alternative hypotheses should take into consideration:

testability;

simplicity;

scope – the apparent application of the hypothesis to multiple cases of phenomena;

fruitfulness – the prospect that a hypothesis may explain further phenomena in the future;

conservatism – the degree of "fit" with existing recognized knowledge-systems.

Hypotheses can be logical (arising from literature review), descriptive (predicting certain features in a phenomenon) and explanatory (anticipating plausible explanation of a puzzle).

Generally a hypothesis is used to make predictions that can be tested by observing the outcome of an experiment.

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If the outcome is inconsistent with the hypothesis, then the hypothesis is rejected. However, if the outcome is consistent with the hypothesis, the experiment is said to support the hypothesis.

Ways to formulate hypotheses

Bacterial growth may be affected by temperature.

Ultra violet light may cause skin cancer.

Temperature may cause leaves to change color.

All of these are examples of hypotheses because they use the tentative word “may”. However, their form is not quite correct. Using the word “may” does not suggest how you would go about proving it. If these statements had not been written carefully, they may not have even been hypotheses at all. For example, if we say “Trees will change color when it gets cold” we are making a prediction. Or if we write "Ultraviolet light causes skin cancer", we make a conclusion.

One way to prevent making such easy mistakes is to formalize the form of the hypothesis.

Formalized hypothesis examples:

If leaf color change is related to temperature, then exposing plants to low temperatures will result in changes in leaf color.

If skin cancer is related to ultraviolet light, then people with a high exposure to uv light will have a higher frequency of skin cancer.

Notice that these statements contain the words, if and then. They are necessary in a formalized hypothesis.

Formalized hypotheses contain two variables. One is "independent" and the other is "dependent." The independent variable is the one the scientist controls and the dependent variable is the one the scientist observes and/or measures. In the statements above the dependent variable is printed in italics and the independent variable is underlined. The ultimate value of a formalized hypothesis is that it forces us to think about what results we should look for in an experiment.

AFTER READING TASKS

Answer the following questions.

1.What is a hypothesis?

2.Why is hypothesis said to be forceful?

3.What should researchers take into consideration weighing up alternative hypotheses?

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4.How many variables do formalized hypotheses contain?

5.What is the ultimate value of a formalized hypothesis?

Complete the sentences.

A hypothesis is said to be forceful…

Researchers weighing up alternative hypotheses should … Hypotheses can be …

Generally a hypothesis is used …

If the outcome is inconsistent with the hypothesis, … If the outcome is consistent with the hypothesis, … Using the word “may” does not suggest … Formalized hypotheses contain …

The independent variable is …

The ultimate value of a formalized hypothesis is …

TRANSLATE

Translate the following sentences into Russian.

1.Inadequate information allows two types of errors: accepting a hypothesis as true when it is false, and rejecting a hypothesis as false when it is in fact true.

2.The purpose of this book is to argue in favor of a fresh paradigm.

3.The booк’s approach is consistent with both its point of departure and its aims.

4.In framing a hypothesis, the investigator must not currently know the outcome of a test or that it remains reasonably under continuing investigation

5.A hypothesis is a sentence which shows us how two different things are connected.

6.Scientists generally base scientific hypotheses on previous observations that cannot satisfactorily be explained with the available scientific theories.

7.A working hypothesis is a provisionally accepted hypothesis proposed for further research, in a process beginning with an educated guess or thought.

8.In its ancient usage, hypothesis referred to a summary of the plot of a classical drama.

9.Any useful hypothesis will enable predictions by reasoning (including deductive reasoning).

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10.The scientific method involves experimentation, to test the ability of some hypothesis to adequately answer the question under investigation.

11.In recent years, philosophers of science have tried to integrate the various approaches to evaluating hypotheses.

12.In statistical hypothesis testing, two hypotheses are compared. These are called the null hypothesis and the alternative hypothesis.

13.The null hypothesis is the hypothesis that states that there is no relation between the phenomena whose relation is under investigation, or at least not of the form given by the alternative hypothesis.

14.The alternative hypothesis, as the name suggests, is the alternative to the null hypothesis: it states that there is some kind of relation.

15.The alternative hypothesis may take several forms, depending on the nature of the hypothesized relation.

Translate the following verb phrases into Russian. Make up your own sentences with them.

1.advance a hypothesis

2.formulate a hypothesis

3.put forward a hypothesis

4.accept a hypothesis

5.check / test a hypothesis

6.verify a hypothesis

7.contradict a hypothesis

8.reject a hypothesis

9.prove a hypothesis

SPEAKING

Speak about:

1.the ways of formulating hypotheses

2.the ways of formalizing hypotheses

Make up a speech and present it to the group.

HOME ASSIGNMENT

Study the information below, translate the passages and make the summary to present it to your group mates (22-25 sentences). Supply your speech with the examples from the table. Consult Appendix 2 if necessary.

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Working Hypothesis

A working hypothesis is a hypothesis that is provisionally accepted as a basis for further research in the hope that a tenable theory will be produced, even if the hypothesis ultimately fails. Like all hypotheses, a working hypothesis is constructed as a statement of expectations, which can be linked to deductive, exploratory research purpose in empirical investigation and is often used as a conceptual framework in qualitative research.

Developing a hypothesis 1. Ask a question

Writing a hypothesis begins with a research question that you want to answer. The question should be focused, specific, and researchable within the constraints of your project.

Do students who attend more lectures get better exam results? 2. Do some preliminary research

Your initial answer to the question should be based on what is already known about the topic. Look for theories and previous studies to help you form educated assumptions about what your research will find.

At this stage, you might construct a conceptual framework to identify which variables you will study and what you think the relationships are between them.

3. Formulate your hypothesis

Now you should have some idea of what you expect to find. Write your initial answer to the question in a clear, concise sentence.

Attending more lectures leads to better exam results. 4. Refine your hypothesis

You need to make sure your hypothesis is specific and testable. There are various ways of phrasing a hypothesis, but all the terms you use should have clear definitions, and the hypothesis should contain:

The relevant variables

The specific group being studied

The predicted outcome of the experiment or analysis 5. Phrase your hypothesis in three ways

To identify the variables, you can write a simple prediction in if…then

form. The first part of the sentence states the independent variable and the second part states the dependent variable.

If a first-year student starts attending more lectures, then their exam scores will improve.

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In academic research, hypotheses are more commonly phrased in terms of correlations or effects, where you directly state the predicted relationship between variables.

The number of lectures attended by first-year students has a positive effect on their exam scores.

If you are comparing two groups, the hypothesis can state what difference you expect to find between them.

First-year students who attended most lectures will have better exam scores than those who attended few lectures.

6. Write a null hypothesis

If your research involves statistical hypothesis testing, you will also have to write a null hypothesis. The null hypothesis is the default position that there is no association between the variables. The null hypothesis is written as H0, while the alternative hypothesis is H1 or Ha.

H0: The number of lectures attended by first-year students has no effect on their final exam scores.

H1: The number of lectures attended by first-year students has a positive effect on their final exam scores.

Hypothesis examples

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