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.tit(Method of Scientific Research,Mark Earnest);
.spacing 130 mills;
.preface 280 mills;
.font a "sup";
The nature of scientific research is primarily twofold.  It encompasses
the "observation of phenomena and the discovery of their relations"%a1%*.
This process, however, is not unique in the scientific relm.  The 
process is applicable to everyday life, but in science there is a necessity
to make observations and judgements as objective as posible.  The scientist
must make a conscientious effort to minimize biases and concentrate his
study on the facts as they present themselves.  We must recognize that
research is formulated in the subjective process of the mind.  
In dealing with theory it is not possible to make concrete statements of fact.
But rather, we must restrict ourselves to making flexable inferences of 
observational information.

Research is guided by experence and experiment.  The two are inseperable;
without the experence of the researcher there could be no experiment, 
and without experiment (either physical or mathimatical) research could
exist.  It is both a theoretical and a creative process that is based on
preexisting fact, derived from previous experiments.  Theory is a 
logical progression of accumilated facts, which are then characterized
and classified by their appicability in pertaining tward an overall
objective.  Scientific evolution propigates from experiments.  It is
a directed sequence of hypotheses that are formulated into "chains of
necessary sequence"%a1%*.  This process allows for theories to grow
and mature as scientific knowledge expands.  This is refered to as the
working hypothesis.

The goal of science is to find theories that may be conceptually simpiler,
or in some way more profound, and thereby encompassing a wider range of
applicability.

Hypotheses play a major role in the process of scientific research.
They may origionate as an idea or as the result of observations made 
from experimental data;  or most likely as a result of both.  The 
formulation of progressive hypotheses must be based on an understanding 
of what is refered to as the scientific method.  It is an attempt to
"enlarge the logical scope" of the subject, and concieve ideas that 
may pertain to the validity of a given theory.  Teaching methods are
vastly improved by incorporating these ideas into his instructive
style.  The teacher must posess an intuitive feeling for his subject,
but more importantly (and usually as a result of) he should be able
to provide the student with a foundation with which the student can 
build a framework of knowledge.  Teaching should be designed to not
burden the student with memorization of endless facts, but to be a 
guide in the understanding of the learning process.  Of course there
must be a foundation to begin with.

Hypotheses are valued by their ability to stand to experiment.  As
new evidence is discovered, hypotheses are altered and updated to
meet the data.  If the experiment is strong enough, the hypothesis 
may be entirely discarded.  However no experiment is capible of
proving a theory.  On the other hand, if a theory is supported by
many convincing arguements it may be accepted as scientific "truth".
In light of this, it is clearly an advantage to entertain several
hypotheses at one time.  It allows for variation, and more importantly, 
for multiple hypotheses that collectively operate simultainously.  It
is also advantageous in that one does not become attached to any one 
hypothesis and then create tests to confirm its vality, rather than
an objective test.

In Gilbert's