Scientific Investigation or Inquiry - Ethnographic and Experimental and Related Concepts

Is the process people and scientists do when they raise questions about the world around them and seek answers to them by making observations in the natural world, or experiment by trying things out. In both cases they observe and think about those results. The thinking connects the observations with reasoning to make conclusions, which explain the natural world.

Two kinds of Scientific investigation or inquiry are known as: 1. ethnographic and 2. experimental

1. Ethnographic is observation of natural objects, interactions, and events.

2. Experimental is when a person directly manipulates a(n) variable(s).

... both for the purpose of understanding of the world.

Both ethnographic and experimental investigations
follow a general procedure

A person designs and conducts the scientific investigation.

• People plan and carry out experiments.
• Investigation involves all kinds of people.
• Scientific investigations sometimes result in new ideas and phenomena for study.
• Communication helps us learn from other people.
• Scientists make the results of their investigations public, communicating in ways that enable others to repeat the investigation or try different investigations.
• In science, it is helpful to work with a team of people and share findings with others.

Create a question / hypothesis, a procedure to implement, that result in observations to use as results.

• Questions can be created that can be examined through scientific investigations.
• Observations help collect information that can be used to answer questions.
• Tools can be used to make better and more accurate observations (magnifiers). Measurements help make more accurate observations.
• People learn by making careful observations of objects interactions.
• Observations can be compared through communication of properties.
• What people expect to observe often affects what they actually do observe.
• Unexpected observations can lead to new discoveries and to new investigations.
• There are many kinds of signals in the world that are not detectable with human senses. Variables are conditions that change.
• Changing variables (objects, time, temperature, distance, speed, mass, …) can help us answer questions and learn.
• Variables need to be controlled for an experiment to be a fair comparison.
• A control is an experiment with all the conditions the same except the one that is being tested.
• Manipulating variables helps collect data.
• If more than one variable changes at a time, the outcome may not be attributed to one of the variables. It may not be possible to identify or control all variables.
• Special care must be taken when using animals for research.
• Strong beliefs about what people expect to happen can prevent them from seeing other results. Scientists try to avoid this by having different people conducting independent studies.

Results are observable evidence that are used with reasoning to predict and explain.

• Observations are made to describe objects, interactions, or events.
• Objects can be described and compared by properties.
• Change is when properties of an object or event become different by as a result of interactions and noticed through the progression of time.
• Collecting data helps create explanations.

Results are recorded and communicated.

• It is important in science to keep honest, clear, and accurate records Pictures can be used to represent objects and events.
• Communication helps us explain evidence and reasoning to each other.
• Communication requires a message being sent and received.
• Information can be communicated in many different ways each of which has advantages and disadvantages.
• Recording observations helps remember specific information.
• Observations can be compared through communication of properties.
• Before and after pictures can be used to represent change.
• Computers help speed up and extend people's ability to collect, store, compile, and analyze data, prepare research reports, and share data and ideas with investigators all over the world.
• Accurate data keeping and openness are essential to assure an investigator's credibility.

Results / data / descriptions are analyzed and interpreted to create explanations.

• Data can be organized to discover, similarities, patterns, and differences that can be used to create explanations.
• Data can be charted or graphed to show relationships that can lead to explanations.
• Connections between evidence and explanations are sometimes hard to see.
• Some evidence can lead to multiple explanations.
• When people report different observations they can take more observations to try and find agreement.
• Science experiments normally have reproducible results and work the same way in different places.
• People can invent a rule to explain something by summarizing observations.
• People tend to over generalize (imagine general rules based on a few observations).
• Sometimes people use incorrect logic when they make a statement such as If A is true, then B is true. Therefore, if A isn't true, B isn't true.
• A single example can never prove something true.
• Sometimes a single example can prove something is not true.
• An analogy has some likeness and some differences.
• I can check my ideas in books and see if other people have the same ideas as I do.
• Some tests are not fair if all variables are not kept the same.
• Different reasons for what is happening have different degrees of accuracy.
• A good way to know something is to try it out.
• Data and explanations from investigations can be compared with what different scientists published about what they found and think about the world.

Conclusions are determined.

• Explanations are developed form observation and are based on what is already known about the world.
• Clear communication gives other people information about your discoveries and ideas.
• Communication allows other people to agree or disagree with a person's findings.
• People have always tried to communicate with one another.
• Diagrams, charts, pictures, and writing help communicate data.
• Investigative discoveries can become available to everyone in the world.
• Errors can occur when communicating.
• Repeating messages is a way to avoid miscommunication.
• Directions can be written so other people can try procedures.
• Sketches can be used to explain procedures, events, or ideas to the creator and other people.
• Numerical data can be used to describe and compare objects and events to the creator and other people. Tables and charts can be used to represent objects and events.
• If more than one variable changes at a time, the outcome may not be attributed to one of the variables.
• It may not be possible to identify or control all variables.
• What people expect to observe often affects what they actually do observe.
• Strong beliefs about what they expect to happen can prevent them from seeing other results. Scientists try to avoid this by having different people conducting independent studies.
• Unexpected observations can lead to new discoveries and to new investigations.
• There are many kinds of signals in the world that are not detectable with human senses.

Mathematics and other tools that are frequently useful in scientific inquiry.

• Mathematics can be used in many aspects of scientific inquiry.
• Charts and graphs can be used to identify relationships.
• Graphs can be used to recognize, represent and predict future relationships to the creator and other people.
• Other kinds of tables, matrices, diagrams, webs, symbols, maps can be used to interpret and communicate information.
• Regular and polar coordinates can be used to locate objects.
• The ability to code messages has allowed faster communication.
• Messages can be carried by many different media (light, electricity, sound, objects, glass fibers

Dr. Robert Sweetland's Notes ©