Science Fuse

Science for everyone

 

WHAT IS SCIENCE?

Butterfly The word science brings to mind many different pictures: a heavy textbook, microscope, the white lab coat, astronomers peering through telescopes, a naturalist in a rain forest, Einstein’s equations, a space shuttle launch, and so on and so on. Depending on your personal experiences with science the thoughts may vary, and inevitably these images do reflect some aspect of science but none really provides the full picture because science covers so many different fields of study.

Science with its many different fields of study does cover many things; however certain aspects of science contain some of the same or very similar principles.

SCIENCE IS:

  • BOTH A BODY OF KNOWLEDGE AND A PROCESS. When you are in school it may seem that science is a collection of isolated facts in a text boo. This is only a small part of the essence of science. Science is also a process of discovery that allows us to link those isolated facts into coherent and comprehensive understanding of the natural world.
  • EXCITING. Science is a way of discovering what’s in the universe and how those things work today. It also helps us figure out how things worked in the past and how they will likely work in the future. Scientists are motivated by the thrill of seeing or figuring out something that no one has before.
  • USEFUL. Knowledge generated by science is a powerful and reliable way to investigate our world. It can help us develop new technology, treat disease, and deal with many of the problems of the world today.
  • ONGOING. Science continues to refine and expand our knowledge of the world. As it does, it leads to new questions and future investigations. Science is a continuum which will never end.
  • WORLDWIDE. Science is a process that occurs throughout the world. It is a multinational endeavor and occurs in all the regions of our world.

Science Is For Everyone

eye From the most basic concepts to the most advanced, science is a part of everyone’s existence. In this site we will talk about some very basic concepts like scientific method and running a scientific experiment, to science fair project information and the contributions of today. It is extremely important to realize that everyone can contribute to science and everyone uses science and the studies it provides us with each and every day.

Science is a thread throughout our world and one thing that crosses international, age and education levels and knows no boundaries. Science is completely limitless, making it essential to keep thinking and looking at new questions for further answers.

Science has prolonged our lives, helped up to live healthier. It has helped us find new sources of energy, helped us to better understand the limits of our resources, and is in the process of helping to solve world hunger and malnutrition.

Every time you ask I wonder why this or how that, you are beginning a scientific process. You may not think that you are conducting a scientific experiment, but when you look to research and data on the internet and in books for answers you have already begun using the scientific method to figure out the answer.

ACCESSING AND UNDERSTANDING SCIENTIFIC DATA

Where can I find copies of scientific journal articles?

Science flask Community libraries often have copies of well-known scientific journals. Hospital or university libraries may have a wider range and older issues of these journals. Some journals are also available on the Web. Some sites will offer this information for free, but some sites will require payment for this information.

What does it mean if an article or journal is "peer reviewed?"

Scientific journals require research articles to go through a process called "peer review." During peer review, scientific experts who were not connected to the study review the article and decide whether it was done properly and whether the findings have merit. Only studies that pass peer review get published.

What does it mean when researchers say that results are "statistically significant?"

The term statistical significance refers to a finding in a research study that is larger or smaller than would be expected by chance alone. Statistical significance is expressed in scientific journals by a probability value (p-value). P-values are calculated using a statistical formula that includes the number of people and health effects being studied and is designed to answer the question, "Could a group of this many people, who all experienced a common exposure, have had this health problem in common by chance alone?" A finding is considered statistically significant if there is less than a 5% probability (p=.05 or less) that the findings resulted from chance. Conversely, if there is greater than a 5% probability (p=.06 or greater) that a finding resulted from chance; the finding is not statistically significant.