- Accuracy & (un)certainty -
Two key aspects of the reliability of measurement outcomes are accuracy and precision. Consider a series of repeated weight measurements performed on a particular object with an equal-arms balance. From a realist, “error-based” perspective, the outcomes of these measurements are accurate if they are close to the true value of the quantity being measured—in our case, the true ratio of the object’s weight to the chosen unit—and precise if they are close to each other. [Stanford, 200807]
- Basic science -
Science in the domain of the natural world
- Belief(s) -
Subjective acceptance of a model, hence external to science
- Confirmation -
A measurement within the uncertainty range of its prediction, or a set of such measurements consistent with the predicted probability distribution
- Conjecture(s) -
A consistent cause & effect relationship, such as ranking or heritage, direct or by analogy to another domain - Creativity -
Part 3 of 4 of the scientific method, the design of models and experiments
- Explain -
To accept subjectively that a model accounts for real world processes, hence external to science
- Fact(s) -
An observation accurately measured against a standard
- Foundations -
Part 1 of 4 of the scientific method, encompassing language, logic, and mathematics by which models are expressed
- Hypothesis or hypotheses -
A conjecture based on all existing data in its domain and making a non-trivial prediction
- Inductive reasoning -
A method of reasoning in which a body of observations is considered to derive a general principle. It consists of making broad generalizations based on specific observations. Inductive reasoning is distinct from deductive reasoning.
- Language -
Natural verbal communications, such as English, ASL
- Law(s) -
A theory for which all explicit and implicit predictions have been validated
- Logic -
The abstract, formal structure of argument as characterized in language, including truth and falsity, rules of inference, deduction, mathematical induction, quantification, negation, adjunction, conjunction, and implication
- Mathematics -
Symbolic representation and treatment of relationships between entities characterized by numbers, shapes, sets, or patterns
- Measurement(s) -
Capture of real world observations on a standard scale
- Medical reversals -
Practices that have been found, through randomized controlled trials, to be no better than a prior or lesser standard of care. [Herrera-Perez et al., 2019; Prasad et al., 2013; Prasad et al., 2011]
- Model(s) -
A representation of a real world cause & effect or relationship, expressed in natural language, logic, or mathematics
- Objective or reliable knowledge -
Scientific objectivity is a property of various aspects of science. It expresses the idea that scientific claims, methods, results—and scientists themselves—are not, or should not be, influenced by particular perspectives, value judgments, community bias or personal interests, to name a few relevant factors. Objectivity is often considered to be an ideal for scientific inquiry, a good reason for valuing scientific knowledge, and the basis of the authority of science in society. [Stanford, 201030]
- Observation -
A registration of the real world on a sense or sensing instrument
- P-value -
The probability of the observed data (or of more extreme data points), given that the null hypothesis H0 is true, defined in symbols as p(D|H0). [Gigerenzer, 2004]
- Pathological science & pseudoscience -
Pathological science: The pathology at work is more akin to what the medical community would call malpractice. Another way to describe it would simply be “bad science” (which was the title of my 1993 book on cold fusion). “These are cases,” as Langmuir put it, “where there is no dishonesty involved but where people are tricked into false results by a lack of understanding about what human beings can do to themselves in the way of being led astray by subjective effects, wishful thinking or threshold interactions.” [Taubes, 191103] Pseudoscience: Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method.[1][Note 1] Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable claims; reliance on confirmation bias rather than rigorous attempts at refutation; lack of openness to evaluation by other experts; absence of systematic practices when developing hypotheses; and continued adherence long after the pseudoscientific hypotheses have been experimentally discredited.[2] [wiki]
- Precision -
Two key aspects of the reliability of measurement outcomes are accuracy and precision. Consider a series of repeated weight measurements performed on a particular object with an equal-arms balance. From a realist, “error-based” perspective, the outcomes of these measurements are accurate if they are close to the true value of the quantity being measured—in our case, the true ratio of the object’s weight to the chosen unit—and precise if they are close to each other. [Stanford, 200807]
- Prediction(s) & predictive power -
A forecast of a measurement
- Probability -
The branch of mathematics concerning numerical descriptions of how likely an event is to occur, or how likely it is that a proposition is true. The probability of an event is a number between 0 and 1, where, roughly speaking, 0 indicates impossibility of the event and 1 indicates certainty.
- Reliability -
How close repeated measurements are to each other. You can consider the reliability of a measurement, or of the entire experiment.
- Replication -
The study is replicable in that sense that it can be carried out again and, when this happens, the replication study will successfully produce the same or sufficiently similar results as the original. [sep]
- Reproducibility -
The term reproducible research refers to the idea that scientific results should be documented in such a way that their deduction is fully transparent. This requires a detailed description of the methods used to obtain the data and making the full dataset and the code to calculate the results easily accessible. This is the essential part of open science. [wiki]
- Retractions -
In academic publishing, a retraction is the action by which a published paper in an academic journal is removed from the journal. A retraction may be initiated by the editors of a journal, or by the author(s) of the papers (or their institution). Retractions are typically accompanied by a retraction notice written by the editors or authors explaining the reason for the retraction. [WIKI]
- Scientific method -
A process of objective investigation of the real world comprising the four parts of foundations, discovery, creativity, and validation
- Scientific misconduct -
Scientific misconduct is the violation of the standard codes of scholarly conduct and ethical behavior in the publication of professional scientific research. [WIKI]
- Senses or sensing equipment -
Seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching, or balancing
- Standard(s) -
A basis of comparison
- Technology -
Science in the domain of the man-made world
- Theory or theories -
A hypothesis containing a significant, validated prediction
- Validation & verification -
Part 4 of 4 of the scientific method, encompassing empirical evidence of, and statistics for, predictions (validation)