Scientific Methods (scientific + methods)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Ethical problems in cytology

CYTOPATHOLOGY, Issue 1 2004
. Znidar
Great advances in medical science have raised a number of ethical issues, many of which affect cytopathology. Some of the main issues addressed in this paper relate to the organization of a cytology laboratory: internal and external quality control, adequate staffing levels and staff education, cytopathology reporting format and contents, confidentiality issues, relationship with the clinicians and involvement of cytopathologists in clinical management teams. Quality control has to be provided within cytology departments but external quality assurance is also essential, with national monitoring. New technologies should be used according to the best scientific methods, following cytological analysis. Scientific work in cytology has to respect the general principles of scientific ethics. The patient's interest has to be the main reason for such work. [source]


The Scientific Impotence Excuse: Discounting Belief-Threatening Scientific Abstracts

JOURNAL OF APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 3 2010
Geoffrey D. Munro
The scientific impotence discounting hypothesis predicts that people resist belief-disconfirming scientific evidence by concluding that the topic of study is not amenable to scientific investigation. In 2 studies, participants read a series of brief abstracts that either confirmed or disconfirmed their existing beliefs about a stereotype associated with homosexuality. Relative to those reading belief-confirming evidence, participants reading belief-disconfirming evidence indicated more belief that the topic could not be studied scientifically and more belief that a series of other unrelated topics could not be studied scientifically. Thus, being presented with belief-disconfirming scientific evidence may lead to an erosion of belief in the efficacy of scientific methods. [source]


Forensic Methods and Procedures Applied to Child Custody Evaluations: What Judges Need to Know in Determining a Competent Forensic Work Product

JUVENILE AND FAMILY COURT JOURNAL, Issue 3 2000
JONATHAN W. GOULD PH.D.
ABSTRACT Judges are seeing an increase in the number of forensic reports in the area of child custody. This increase in forensic mental health involvement suggests that judges need to better understand the application of current forensic mental health methodology to assist them in determining a competent forensic work product. Recent literature has argued that child custody evaluators need to craft their reports consistent with scientific methods and procedures as well as legal standards governing admissibility of scientific evidence. This paper provides a framework for judges to assist in determining whether a child custody evaluation has been crafted consistent with current behavioral science literature pertaining to use of forensic mental health methods and procedures. [source]


The Legacy of Methodological Dualism

MIND & LANGUAGE, Issue 4 2007
KENT JOHNSON
Despite much opposition, methodological dualism abounds in contemporary thinking. In this paper, I treat linguistics as a scientific activity and explore some instances of dualism. By extracting some ubiquitous aspects of scientific methodology from its typically quantitative expression, I show that two recent instances of methodologically dualistic critiques of linguistics are ill-founded. I then show that there are nonetheless some divergences between linguistic and other ordinary scientific methods, reflecting yet a third instance of methodological dualism. [source]


Diffusion of innovations: Anatomical informatics and iPods

THE ANATOMICAL RECORD : ADVANCES IN INTEGRATIVE ANATOMY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY, Issue 5 2006
Robert B. Trelease
Abstract Over the course of many centuries, evolving scientific methods and technologies have advanced the study of anatomy. More recently, such dissemination of innovations has been formally studied in multidisciplinary psychosocial contexts, yielding useful knowledge about underlying principles and processes. We review these precepts and show how diffusion of innovations theory and principles apply to the development and dissemination of anatomical information methods and resources. We consider the factors affecting the late-20th-century dissemination of personal computers and World Wide Web hypermedia into widespread use in anatomical research and instruction. We report on the results of a small experiment in applied diffusion, the development and Internet-based distribution of learning resources for a popular, widely distributed personal media player. With these wearable microcomputer devices already in use by a variety of students, new opportunities exist for widespread dissemination of anatomical information. The continuing evolution of wearable computing devices underscores the need for maintaining anatomical information transportability via standardized data formats. Anat Rec (Part B: New Anat) 289B:160,168, 2006. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Surgical Appreciation of Robert boyle in the 21st Century

ANZ JOURNAL OF SURGERY, Issue 12 2000
D. L. Murphy
Robert Boyle was known as the Father of Chemistry. He lived at a time when science and religion were closely linked. It was a pious and puritanical time, but also a time of great enlightenment. His original and paramount thesis, that air has weight, has given us Boyle's gas law. Another of his writings in the Cowlishaw Collection is on religion. It is stated that, at one stage, he was deliberating whether to be a scientist or a priest. Surgical appreciation of Boyle's law has poignant application in scientific methods and research in the 21st century. The development of advanced laparoscopic surgery represents a challenging new era in surgery that was not envisaged by our surgical predecessors. Basic surgical research into the effects of gas pressure on renal function and bowel response will be presented. [source]


A philosophical reflection on the epistemology and methodology of indigenous psychologies

ASIAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 1 2005
Kwang-Kuo Hwang
In order to answer the three crucial questions (why, what and how) about the development of indigenous psychology, three levels of breakthrough need to be made, namely, philosophical reflection, theoretical construction and empirical research. The controversial issues that have occurred in the earlier development of indigenous psychology are analyzed in terms of the switch in Western philosophy of science from positivism to post-positivism. Based on this analysis, it is argued that indigenous psychologists should construct formal theories illustrating the functioning of the human mind that may be applicable to various cultures, and then use these theories to study the particular mentalities of people in a given culture with the scientific methods of empirical research. [source]


Calibrated peer review for computer-assisted learning of biological research competencies

BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY EDUCATION, Issue 5 2010
Kari L. Clase
Abstract Recently, both science and technology faculty have been recognizing biological research competencies that are valued but rarely assessed. Some of these valued learning outcomes include scientific methods and thinking, critical assessment of primary papers, quantitative reasoning, communication, and putting biological research into a historical and broader social context. This article presents examples of Calibrated Peer Review (CPR) assignments that illustrate a computer-assisted method to help students achieve biological research competencies. A new release of CPR is appropriate for engaging students online in reading and writing about investigations. A participant perception inventory was designed for use as a repeated measure to discriminate among beginning, middle, and ending student perceptions. Examples are provided to demonstrate how to assess student perceptions of what they gain from instruction related to science research competencies. Results suggest that students in a large enrollment class consider CPR to be useful for helping them learn about quantitative and categorical research variables; the use of the experimental method to test ideas; the use of controls; analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data; and how to critically read primary papers. [source]