Themester

What can we know and how do we know it? This course will introduce students from the sciences and humanities to key elements of scientific research: observation and experimentation. Observations and experiments are foundational to the scientific endeavor. They put assumptions and expectations to the test; they provide a framework for learning basic principles; and they inspire new ideas. Our class will start with general discussions about what observations and experiments are, how they are used to test ideas, and how they vary across different scientific fields. We will examine some classic experiments in psychology and neuroscience to illustrate important aspects of observation and experimentation that are relevant in the experimental sciences today. By exploring techniques and methods, we will wrestle with ideas about what experiments and observations can (and can’t) ascertain and how and what can be learned from them. We will also take a critical look at the scientific process and explore issues of responsibility, validity and control, ethics, replication, negative results, risk, and failure.

This course is part of the Arts + Sciences Undergraduate Research Experience (ASURE) two-course sequence Believing the Unreal: Conspiracy Theories and the Psychology of Pseudoscience.

Instructor: Dr. Richard Hullinger

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