• Question: Have you tested your theorys in lots of ways?

    Asked by emmmma to Jamie, Jodie, Kat, Mark, Niamh on 17 Mar 2011 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Katherine Davies

      Katherine Davies answered on 14 Mar 2011:

      Hi

      Yes my methods have to undergo lots of testing by myself and will be tested by many others in the field (what we call peer-review) before they will be accepted. I have to do lots of blind tests, which means I use my methods to estimate the age of pupae other people have collected – only they know the actual age. If I can use my methods, I also have to make sure others can too, so I will have to teach them also.

      Kat

    • Photo: Jodie Dunnett

      Jodie Dunnett answered on 14 Mar 2011:

      I have only used one analytical technique (polarography) but by producing lots of repeat results I am hoping that the statistical tests that I am going to perform will help me to answer my research question.

    • Photo: Jamie Pringle

      Jamie Pringle answered on 14 Mar 2011:

      Hello Emma,

      Yes indeed, that is really important in science. For me, I am doing my pig burying experiments in a variety of environments (coastal/woodland/urban/rural) to see what effect this may have on finding the burial locations.

    • Photo: Niamh Nic Daeid

      Niamh Nic Daeid answered on 15 Mar 2011:

      Hi Emma – yes . it depends on the research your carrying out really, I look after about 10 different research students so we have ten different projects with lots of theorys in each. You can test theorys by doing experiments and working out what the results tell you and whether it’s what you expected or not, or by asking people their views on a particular issue you might be interested in and seeing what their point of view is and how it matches with your expectation ….

    • Photo: Mark Hill

      Mark Hill answered on 17 Mar 2011:

      Hello Emmmma,
      I have already answered a similar question to someone,so excuse me if it was to you and I duplicate here.

      I conduct a ‘grounded theory’ type investigation, in seeing where the evidence leads the investigation. I don’t set out with a hypothesis to pursue and build a reconstruction around. This allows me to keep an open mind on causation factors and the event reconstruction.

      When I have drawn my conclusions, from consideration of all of my enquiries, research, testing and evidence, my report is peer reviewed by my colleagues, to ensure that my findings are reasonable, any expert opinion that I have given is sound and well founded, and that any maths done is also correct. Then the report is published.
      Thank you.
      Mark

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