Since time immemorial, science has been an integral part of our lives giving us a better understanding of the reality around us. With science, there have been many incredible changes with some being beneficial while others have been destructive. Nonetheless, it cannot be denied that science has been very instrumental in our everyday lives. There are other perspectives that also attempt to give explanations as to why certain phenomena exist. Perspectives such as religions and law have greatly shaped the understanding of a cross-section of the society but there is a major difference between these perspectives and science. The focus of this discussion is the major difference between science and other perspectives and also the purpose of the scientific theory.
A scientific theory is model or an explanation that is based experiments, observation and valid reasoning that must be evaluated, tested and gotten conformation as principle that can be said to aid in the explanation and subsequent prediction of occurrences of events of phenomena in the future (Whewell, 1968, p.234). For a scientific theory to be said to be valid, there must a through examination of facts that must be carried out carefully and rationally. It also becomes very important to separate facts and theories with facts being aspects that can either be measured or observed whole theories are explanations that help interpret particular facts.
Research and inquiry that is systematic and disciplined in terms of management and organization is characterized by the fact that there is always a need to come up with a theory which gives explanations that are based on observed evidence to ensure that there the information is credible, tangible and concrete (Larson, 2006, p.12). Any inquiry that is scientific in nature ought to revolve around logic.
A scientific theory is very much likened to there aspects such as models of maps. However, there is difference between other aspects and the theory due to the fact that a theory is always based on valid explanations. Scientific inquiry can be differentiated from naïve inquiry. As already mentioned a scientific inquiry is one that revolves around logic in its assumptions and conclusions. A naïve inquiry on the other hand is one that does not pay too much attention on logic and makes assumptions and conclusions based on other factors.
Usually, a naive inquiry may later be proven false when a physical experiment is conducted (Douglas, 2010, p.34). The major difference that exists between a scientific inquiry and a naïve inquiry is that is the manner in which data is collected and analyzed. Verification is a very important stage in any kind of inquiry. In a naïve inquiry, sufficient measures are not usually taken in verifying the information gathered (Morrison, 2000, p.21). This therefore means there are usually high possibilities of errors that could make the inferences invalid.
Before any inferences can be made in any inquiry, there must be supporting evidence and the manner in which the evidence is collected is crucial in determining the outcome (Suppe, 1977, p.34). Scientific inquiry always begins by ensuring that is sequence must always be logical especially in the definition and measurement all of phenomena that is observable. This is the only to evaluate the understanding that we have regarding certain aspects. Any abstract idea, proposition, concept and assumption are normally changed through research and either approve of disapprove any assumptions or hypotheses. Scientific inquiries also look at the relationship in terms of their measurement both quantitatively and qualitatively.
References
Douglas, L. (2010). Differentiated science inquiry. London: Corwin Press.
Larson, E. (2006). Evolution: The Remarkable History of a Scientific Theory. California: Random House Publishing Group.
Morrison, M. (2000). Unifying scientific theories: physical conceots and mathematical structures. London: Cambridge University Press.
Whewell, W. (1968). Theory of scientific method. London: Hackett Publishing.
Suppe, F. (1977). The structure of scientific theories. Illinois: University of Illinois Press.