SOC 153 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Scientific Control

• School: Miami University
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOC 153
• Professor: Steven Nelson

Document Summary

Scientific method dramatically improves the reliability and usefulness of our factual knowledge- more accurate deductions and predictions. Science helps us avoid mistakes b/c it uses a set of rules and procedures, also must. Science is apolitical- if not for science, then facts are determined by those with power submit findings. 9. falsification- subjecting all explanations to critical tests designed to disprove them: publication- making your findings and procedures open for the public critique and collaboration measure poverty. Validity- are you really measuring what it"s saying you"re measuring? food stamps don"t. Accuracy- ballpark answer (about ,000) think target all shots to middle not close. Precision- very precise, but inaccurate (exact answer family earns ,740) think targets all shots are very close together. Causation: if x happens/exists then y will happen. Thing that is causing something to happen(independant variable) Together they seem like they have no correlation. X=ice cream y=drowning z=summer(causes ice cream and drowning)