UPDATE 2026
Levels of Knowledge - Answers description, prediction, control, explanation
5 sources of gaining knowlegde - Answers custom and tradition
authority
personal experience
reasoning
scientific inquiry
deductive reasoning - Answers general to specific
theory > hypothesis > observation > confirmation
inductive reasoning - Answers specific to general
observation > pattern > hypothesis > theory
scientific method - Answers A series of steps followed to solve problems including
collecting data, formulating a hypothesis, testing the hypothesis, and stating
conclusions.
Nullius in verba - Answers Take nobody's word for it
assumptions of science - Answers - real and knowable universe
- universe operates according to understandable laws or rules
- laws of the universe are immutable
- laws can be understood by careful observation, experimentation and research
Pyramid of Evidence - Answers RCT
Controlled not Random
Cohort or Case Control
Multiple Time Series
Expert Opinion
7 characteristics of research - Answers - research is objective and logical
- based upon empirical evidence
- development of generalizations
- unhurried and patient activity
- replication
- requires courage
- reductive
Three Stages of Truth - Answers Ridicule
, Opposition
Self-Evident
Spin Doctor - Answers a spokesperson employed to give a favorable interpretation of
events
Relative Risk - Answers The ratio of the risk of disease in exposed individuals to the
risk of disease in non-exposed individuals.
Relative Risk Reduction - Answers difference in event rates expressed relative to
control event rate
Absolute Risk Reduction - Answers difference between event rates
Number Needed to Treat - Answers the number of people who need to receive the
intervention in order to prevent one person from developing the condition
True Experiment - Answers The only research strategy that can determine that
something causes something else; involves randomly assigning people to different
treatments and then looking at the outcome.
Amorality - Answers knowledge and morality should be independent
Caution - Answers new knowledge is accepted cautiously
Consistency - Answers the world is orderly and remains so for long periods of time
Determinism - Answers the cause of events can be determined and take place for a
reason
Empericism - Answers knowledge should be acquired through observation
Intelligibility - Answers humans have the ability to understand the world
Parsimony - Answers simple explanations are preferable
Skepticism - Answers knowledge remains open to criticism or challenge
Hypothesis - Answers A testable prediction, often implied by a theory
Fact - Answers consistently observed event
Theory - Answers an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes
observations and predicts behaviors or events
Basic Research - Answers pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge
base
Applied Research - Answers scientific study that aims to solve practical problems
Qualitative Research - Answers relies on observations to determine reasons for
human behavior
Quantitatve research - Answers collect numerical data to understand concept being
studied