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Science Literacy Sketchnotes: Scientific Methods

Week four in my Science Literacy MOOC was all about scientific methods. Basically, it ran through a bunch of different experiment types and then we learned about what bias could affect their validity and reliability.

I motivated myself by pretending I was on Star Trek and I needed this knowledge to run my sweet experiments in space and gain the respect of the crew. It helped because this was a bit out of my comfort zone.

Here are my notes!

What's in a scientific paper? Abstract, introduction, materials and methods, results, and discussion.
Variables! 3 types Independent variables that are manipulated. Dependent variables that are measured. and Confounding variables that are anything that can influence the other variables.
Hypothesis
Never state that a claim is proven true or false. The laws of probability call the shots here. In a scientific paper, it is p<0.05 (probability is less than 5%) which suggests the finding is significant and not by chance.
r=|x| - Remember that coorelation does not equal causation!
What to look for designing a badass, responsible, helpful survey. Representative samples. large sample sizes, remove potential for social desirability, questions unbiased, a variety of measurement methods.
External Validity and Internal Validity
High external validity and high internal validity are what we’re aiming for in scientific methods.

Next week is my last week. I have definitely noticed a difference in my critical thinking skills at home and at work.

Science Literacy Sketchnotes



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