INTRO TO NATURAL SCIENCE MID
TERM STUDY GUIDE EXAM QUESTIONS
WITH CORRECT ANSWERS
what does it mean to say that a difference in causal study outcomes is statistically
significant - ANSWER-When a difference is said to be statistically significant that means
that the result is not attributed to chance and that if the null hypothesis is true then
there's a low chance of getting a result of that large.
what is a null hypothesis and what does it mean to say that a study has failed to reject
this - ANSWER-A null hypothesis is when there is no significant difference between
specified populations, any observed difference being due to sampling or experimental
error. Failure to establish a causal link is often called a failure to reject the null
hypothesis.
what is matching and what role does it play in causal studies - ANSWER-correspond or
cause to correspond in some essential respect. It can be used to control for extraneous
causal factors in prospective studies.
what is a randomized study and the advantages/disadvantages - ANSWER-In
randomized studies people are chosen by chance to be involved with the experiment.
The biggest advantage is that they are capable of providing unequivalent evidence for a
causal link. The disadvantages are they tend to be expensive and they can take a long
time to carry out.
what is a retrospective study and the advantages/disadvantages - ANSWER-begin with
two groups, the familiar experimental and control groups, but the two are composed of
subjects who do and do not have the effect in question. The study then involves looking
into the subjects backgrounds in an attempt to uncover different levels of the potential
causal factor in the two groups. Advantages are they are used better for uncovering
potential causal links, they are inexpensive, can be done quickly, and they involve little
more than careful
what is a prospective study and the advantages/disadvantages - ANSWER-begin with
subjects who have already been exposed to the causal agent under investigation, then
the experimental subjects are compared to control subjects who have not been exposed
to the suspected cause. Advantages are that they require much less manipulation,
easier to carry out, use large groups, and are less expensive. The disadvantage is the
greater size increases the chances that samples will be representative with respect to
other causal factors.
what rule of thumb can be used to determine whether difference in study outcomes is
statistically significant - ANSWER-The 3 rules of thumb are:
, If there is no overlap in the intervals for the two, the difference is statistically significant.
If there is some overlap in the intervals, the difference is probably statistically significant.
The greater the overlap the smaller the chances the difference is significant.
If there is a good deal of overlap, the difference is probably not statistically significant
false anomalies - ANSWER-when you create a sense of mystery that is heightened by
subtle fabrication. An example would be how people who have died then been revived
during medical emergencies have reported to have remarkable experiences.
questionable arguments by elimination - ANSWER-establishing one alternative, A, by
eliminating the possibility of the other. For example, a study might say someone has
mental telepath because he or she is able to guess the playing vcard an experimenter is
thinking about more frequently than chance would suggest.
illicit causal inference - ANSWER-when people draw conclusions on theories where the
information is sketchy. An example is that you had an electrician come and fix your
furnace and a few days later your clock stops working so you think the electrician did
something do it.
unsupported analogies and similarities - ANSWER-when an explanation works in one
case is given as evidence for the correctness of a similar explanation in another case
untestable explanations and predictions - ANSWER-when you have a claim or
hypothesis that is unfalsifiable. For example, someone cashed a check yesterday and it
bounced today, because they didn't realize they had less money in their account than
they thought
ad hoc rescue - ANSWER-when you save the claim in the face of mounting evidence
that is wrong. An example is that a psychic agrees to be apart of a test but fails because
he said the shyness effect was in place, which is when his ability works when we want it
to
exploiting uncertainty - ANSWER-when scientists publish their results that they made
sure were correct and cover anything that says otherwise. An example is the
controversy over the Shroud.
6 ways pseudoscience differs from genuine science - ANSWER-science cannot be
distinguished from pseudoscience simple on the basis of results each produces,
distinctions can't be drawn along lines of scientific discipline, it has nothing to do with
the distinction between "hard" and "soft"science, genuine science is self-correcting
unlike pseudoscience, genuine science gradually produces a maturing body of
explanatory or theoretical findings where pseudoscience produces very little theory,
genuine science is open to revision whereas pseudoscience rarely change claims, and
genuine science embraces skepticism while pseudoscience tend to view skepticism as
a sign of narrow-mindedness.
TERM STUDY GUIDE EXAM QUESTIONS
WITH CORRECT ANSWERS
what does it mean to say that a difference in causal study outcomes is statistically
significant - ANSWER-When a difference is said to be statistically significant that means
that the result is not attributed to chance and that if the null hypothesis is true then
there's a low chance of getting a result of that large.
what is a null hypothesis and what does it mean to say that a study has failed to reject
this - ANSWER-A null hypothesis is when there is no significant difference between
specified populations, any observed difference being due to sampling or experimental
error. Failure to establish a causal link is often called a failure to reject the null
hypothesis.
what is matching and what role does it play in causal studies - ANSWER-correspond or
cause to correspond in some essential respect. It can be used to control for extraneous
causal factors in prospective studies.
what is a randomized study and the advantages/disadvantages - ANSWER-In
randomized studies people are chosen by chance to be involved with the experiment.
The biggest advantage is that they are capable of providing unequivalent evidence for a
causal link. The disadvantages are they tend to be expensive and they can take a long
time to carry out.
what is a retrospective study and the advantages/disadvantages - ANSWER-begin with
two groups, the familiar experimental and control groups, but the two are composed of
subjects who do and do not have the effect in question. The study then involves looking
into the subjects backgrounds in an attempt to uncover different levels of the potential
causal factor in the two groups. Advantages are they are used better for uncovering
potential causal links, they are inexpensive, can be done quickly, and they involve little
more than careful
what is a prospective study and the advantages/disadvantages - ANSWER-begin with
subjects who have already been exposed to the causal agent under investigation, then
the experimental subjects are compared to control subjects who have not been exposed
to the suspected cause. Advantages are that they require much less manipulation,
easier to carry out, use large groups, and are less expensive. The disadvantage is the
greater size increases the chances that samples will be representative with respect to
other causal factors.
what rule of thumb can be used to determine whether difference in study outcomes is
statistically significant - ANSWER-The 3 rules of thumb are:
, If there is no overlap in the intervals for the two, the difference is statistically significant.
If there is some overlap in the intervals, the difference is probably statistically significant.
The greater the overlap the smaller the chances the difference is significant.
If there is a good deal of overlap, the difference is probably not statistically significant
false anomalies - ANSWER-when you create a sense of mystery that is heightened by
subtle fabrication. An example would be how people who have died then been revived
during medical emergencies have reported to have remarkable experiences.
questionable arguments by elimination - ANSWER-establishing one alternative, A, by
eliminating the possibility of the other. For example, a study might say someone has
mental telepath because he or she is able to guess the playing vcard an experimenter is
thinking about more frequently than chance would suggest.
illicit causal inference - ANSWER-when people draw conclusions on theories where the
information is sketchy. An example is that you had an electrician come and fix your
furnace and a few days later your clock stops working so you think the electrician did
something do it.
unsupported analogies and similarities - ANSWER-when an explanation works in one
case is given as evidence for the correctness of a similar explanation in another case
untestable explanations and predictions - ANSWER-when you have a claim or
hypothesis that is unfalsifiable. For example, someone cashed a check yesterday and it
bounced today, because they didn't realize they had less money in their account than
they thought
ad hoc rescue - ANSWER-when you save the claim in the face of mounting evidence
that is wrong. An example is that a psychic agrees to be apart of a test but fails because
he said the shyness effect was in place, which is when his ability works when we want it
to
exploiting uncertainty - ANSWER-when scientists publish their results that they made
sure were correct and cover anything that says otherwise. An example is the
controversy over the Shroud.
6 ways pseudoscience differs from genuine science - ANSWER-science cannot be
distinguished from pseudoscience simple on the basis of results each produces,
distinctions can't be drawn along lines of scientific discipline, it has nothing to do with
the distinction between "hard" and "soft"science, genuine science is self-correcting
unlike pseudoscience, genuine science gradually produces a maturing body of
explanatory or theoretical findings where pseudoscience produces very little theory,
genuine science is open to revision whereas pseudoscience rarely change claims, and
genuine science embraces skepticism while pseudoscience tend to view skepticism as
a sign of narrow-mindedness.
