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RM Copy of SCI Principles

The document outlines key principles for evaluating claims and theories, including the need for extraordinary evidence for extraordinary claims, the importance of testability, and the preference for simpler explanations as per Occam's Razor. It emphasizes the necessity of replicability in research findings and the importance of ruling out rival hypotheses to ensure validity. Additionally, it highlights the distinction between correlation and causation to avoid misinterpretation of data.

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shaikhizrein
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4 views

RM Copy of SCI Principles

The document outlines key principles for evaluating claims and theories, including the need for extraordinary evidence for extraordinary claims, the importance of testability, and the preference for simpler explanations as per Occam's Razor. It emphasizes the necessity of replicability in research findings and the importance of ruling out rival hypotheses to ensure validity. Additionally, it highlights the distinction between correlation and causation to avoid misinterpretation of data.

Uploaded by

shaikhizrein
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Name of principle Explanation Example

EXTRAORDINARY CLAIMS The more a claim The claim that a monster,


- contradicts what we already like Bigfoot, has been living
know, the more persuasive in the American Northwest
Is the evidence as strong as the evidence for this claim for decades without being
the claim? must be before we should discovered by researchers
accept it. requires more rigorous
evidence than the claim that
people remember more
words from the beginning
than from the end of a list.

TESTABILITY - Scentess try to test, the If your friend predicted that


novel predictions of their Mancity and Chelsea will
Can the claim be disproved? (and rival) theories in order both win tomorrow but
to find out if the theory really Everton and Liverpool will
describes the world. lose and this prediction is
true, you might think it could
be due to chance. But they
instead predicted that
Mancity will win by 4 goals
and Chelsea by two goals
but Everton and Liverpool
each lose by 3 goals, you
might consider placing bets.

OCCAM’S RAZOR - If two hypothesis explain a If a person with poor vision


phenomenon equally well claims to spot a flying
Does a simpler explanation we should gentraly select saucer during a Frisbee
fit the data just well? the simpler one. tournament taking place on
a foggy day, it's more likely
that his UFO report is due to
a simpier explanation they
are mistaking of a Frisbee
for a UFO than an alien
visitation.
REPLICABILITY - A finding must be capable of If a researcher finds that
being duplicated by people who practise
Can the results be independent researchers meditation score 50 points
duplicated in other studies? following the same ‘recipe’ higher on an intelligence
test than people who don't
but no one che can dupicate
this finding, we should be
sceptical of it.

RULING OUT Findings consistent with If an investigator finds that


several hypotheses require depressed people who
RIVAL HYPOTHESES - additional research to receive a new medication
eliminate these hypotheses. improve more than do
Have important alternative equally depressed people
explanations for the findings who receive nothing, this
been excluded? difference may be due to the
fact that the people who
received the medication
expected to improve .

CORRELATION VS The fact that two things are The finding that people eat
CAUSATION - associated with each other more ice cream on days
doesn’t mean that one when many crimes are
Can we be sure that A causes the other. committed doesn’t mean
causes B ? that eating ice-cream
causes crime; both could be
due to a third variable such
as higher temperatures.

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