What Definitions Should and Should Not Do

Even among logicians, there is no unanimity as to what ought to be called “definitions.” Having said this, we mention below briefly, without the constraints of quotation, some of the desir­able and some of the undesirable traits of definitions, as expressed by logicians. A definition should Make communication possible when it is impossi­ble without

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Quantity and Quality in Research

One can think of several cases in which the distinctive feature that separates the scientific from the nonscientific is quantifica­tion, which means expressing laws or relations in terms of quanti­ties combined with qualities rather than by qualities alone. To mention that New York city is full of criminals is a nonscientific expression in contrast

The Uses of Numbers in Research

Recognition of the importance of numbers, the basis of all quan­tification, dates back to Pythagoras (572—500 BC). One of the first steps ever taken toward the formation of science was count­ing, using numbers. Otherwise, it is hardly possible to express anything with at least some degree of the precision needed for science. Whether the

An Intellectual Close-up of Counting in Research

Counting requires that the group within which it is done be sep­arable. If it is said that there are more people in Chicago than in New York, it is understood that the areas that are officially demarcated as Chicago and New York are known without ambi­guity, relative to their various suburbs, that only people

The Process of Measurement in Research

After admitting that counting is the basis of measurement, we may ask the question, Can any quality whatsoever of a thing or things (external to us) be measured? If we supply the answer no to open the issue, then a more specific question is, What are the qualities that can be measured? Let us

Quantities and Measurements in Research

We have noted that in the process of answering the question, How many? (when relevant), we need counting, and that count­ing, besides being a measurement by itself, is the basis of all other measurements. When we measure the height of a person who is, let us say, 5’10”, we are in effect counting the

Derived Quantities in Research

Using only the three quantities mentioned above, we can make a lot of measurements in the physical world. For instance, confin­ing ourselves to length alone, we can measure the area of a given (flat) surface. Consider an area whose length is 3 inches and the width is 2 inches. If we draw the lines

Units for Measurement in Research

A unit is a quantity used as a standard, in terms of which other quantities of the same kind can be measured or expressed. We discussed earlier measuring the height of a person and used the inch as the unit of length. The inch itself is an arbitrarily defined quantity, meaning there is nothing

Fundamental Quantities and Dimensions in Research

We have mentioned three quantities—length, mass, and time— with some familiar units to express these. We may at this point note that the inch, the pound, and the second used in this discus­sion are simply circumstantial, in that, being located in the United States, I have used the units familiar to the general public

Dimensional Analysis in Research

We have witnessed above that speed can be expressed in different units; the same speed can be expressed, if we wish, in miles per second, meters per day, inches per year, or in any other units we choose. In each case, the number will be different, combined with the corresponding unit. But there is

Accuracy versus Approximation of the Research

Being accurate and being scientific are often taken to be synony­mous. And similarly, being approximate is taken to be contrary to being scientific. Neither of these beliefs is necessarily true. Imagine a piece of “scientific” information in which the distance between Boston and New York is mentioned as 221.8215 miles. The questions that should

The Purpose of Experimenting

The purpose of any experiment is to collect data, which, in turn, needs to be analyzed or processed to derive inferences. There are four ways of collecting data: observation, surveys, computer sim­ulation, and experiment. Though analyses of data using these methods share common features, our interest here is confined to the collection of data

Cause and Effect in Experimental Research

Debate on the relation between cause and effect, causality, as it is known in philosophy, is more than two hundred years old and was prominently projected by Hume, a British philosopher. Light­ning and thunder follow a sequence, lightning before thunder. In normal commonsense language, we may say that a particular lightning “caused” the subsequent

Pertinence and Forms of Cause in Experimental Research

A bundle of isolated facts is not science any more than a heap of bricks is the wall of a house. An “ordering” of the bricks, placing them side by side, some on top of others, is essential for building a wall. Likewise, science calls for an ordering among events; that order is mostly

Mill’s Methods of Experimental Inquiry

Occasions in which only two events, isolated from all other events, are causally connected with each other are rare. More often than not, two events mixed among many need to be detected as causally connected, and others need to be ignored as insignificant, if not irrelevant. Francis Bacon (1561—1626) is credited with an early

Planning for the Experiment

Experiments are often time-consuming, if not also expensive. It is reasonable, then, to plan the goal, extent, and step-by-step course of experiments before embarking on their execution. Since sci­ence is not a product of a manufacturing process, the unforeseen and the unavoidable are to be expected. But the element of con­tingency should be reduced

Standardization of Test Material(s) in Experimental Research

To the extent that the experimenter is specific about the materials involved, his experiments are likely to be reproducible. The degree of involvement may vary from the highest-extreme to the lowest: from the materials being tested as a part of the experiment to the materials used for the furniture in the room. To illustrate

Reproducibility of Experimental Research

The purpose of any experiment is observation. But it is not a casual observation, loosely related or inconsequential. It is an observation made to use as evidence in the process of building up a case, that case being the hypothesis concerning the connected­ness between selected events of nature. As a witness in a court

Number of “Experiments”

As pointed out above, absolute reproducibility is perhaps impos­sible. But reproducibility to a satisfactory level, as a matter of faith, is necessary. As to how many times a given relation between a cause and its effect needs to be confirmed to be accepted as reproducible, this is a question that should not be pressed

To Define a Problem

The word “problem,” in the context of research, defies the dictionary definition, which connotes difficulty, doubt, and hin­drance. While engaged in searching in new territory, that is, researching, a struggle involving difficulty, doubt, and hindrance is to be expected. But that is not what the word signifies. Instead, it serves as a loose definition