Nature, Experiment, and the Sciences
Title | Nature, Experiment, and the Sciences PDF eBook |
Author | Trevor H. Levere |
Publisher | Springer Science & Business Media |
Pages | 356 |
Release | 2012-12-06 |
Genre | Science |
ISBN | 940091878X |
This collection of essays is a tribute to Stillman Drake by some of his friends and colleagues, and by others on whom his work has had a formative influence. It is difficult to know him without succumbing to his combination of discipline and enthusiasm, even in fields remote from Renaissance physics and natural philosophy; and so he should not be surprised in this volume to see emphases and methods congenial to him, even on topics as remote as Darwin or the chemical revolution. Therein lies whatever unity the discerning reader may find in this book, beyond the natural focus and coherence of the largest section, on Galileo, and the final section on Drake's collection of books, a major and now accessible resource for research in the field that he has made his own. We have chosen, as the occasion for presenting the volume to Stillman Drake, Galileo's birthday; Galileo has had more than one birthday party in Toronto since Drake came to the University of Toronto. As for the title, it reflects a shared conviction that experiment is the key to science; it is what scientists do. Drake has already asserted that emphasis in the title of his magisterial Galileo at Work, and we echo it here. Those who have had the privilege and pleasure of working and arguing with Stillman over the years know his tenacity, penetration, and vigour. They also know his generosity and humility. We owe him much.
Natural Experiments in the Social Sciences
Title | Natural Experiments in the Social Sciences PDF eBook |
Author | Thad Dunning |
Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
Pages | 379 |
Release | 2012-09-06 |
Genre | Business & Economics |
ISBN | 1107017661 |
The first comprehensive guide to natural experiments, providing an ideal introduction for scholars and students.
Advances in Experimental Political Science
Title | Advances in Experimental Political Science PDF eBook |
Author | James N. Druckman |
Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
Pages | 671 |
Release | 2021-04 |
Genre | Political Science |
ISBN | 1108478506 |
Novel collection of essays addressing contemporary trends in political science, covering a broad array of methodological and substantive topics.
The Laboratory of the Mind
Title | The Laboratory of the Mind PDF eBook |
Author | James Robert Brown |
Publisher | Routledge |
Pages | 196 |
Release | 2005-09-26 |
Genre | Philosophy |
ISBN | 1134865791 |
Thought experiments are performed in the laboratory of the mind. Beyond this metaphor it is difficult to say just what these remarkable devices for investigating nature are or how they work. Though most scientists and philosophers would admit their great importance, there has been very little serious study of them. This volume is the first book-length investigation of thought experiments. Starting with Galileo's argument on falling bodies, Brown describes numerous examples of the most influential thought experiments from the history of science. Following this introduction to the subject, some substantial and provocative claims are made, the principle being that some thought experiments should be understood in the same way that platonists understand mathematical activity: as an intellectual grasp of an independently existing abstract realm. With its clarity of style and structure, The Laboratory of the Mind will find readers among all philosophers of science as well as scientists who have puzzled over how thought experiments work.
The Uses of Experiment
Title | The Uses of Experiment PDF eBook |
Author | David Gooding |
Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
Pages | 506 |
Release | 1989-05-18 |
Genre | Technology & Engineering |
ISBN | 9780521331852 |
Experiment is widely regarded as the most distinctive feature of natural science and essential to the way scientists find out about the world. Yet there has been little study of the way scientists actually make and use experiments. The Uses of Experiment fills this gap in our knowledge about how science is practised. Presenting 14 original case studies of important and often famous experiments, the book asks the questions: What tools do experimenters use? How do scientists argue from experiments? What happens when an experiment is challenged? How do scientists check that their experiments are working? Are there differences between experiments in the physical sciences and technology? Leading scholars in the fields of history, sociology and philosophy of science consider topics such as the interaction of experiment; instruments and theory; accuracy and reliability as hallmarks of experiment in science and technology; realising new phenomena; the believability of experiments and the sort of knowledge they produce; and the wider contexts on which experimentalists draw to develop and win support for their work. Drawing on examples as diverse as Galilean mechanics, Victorian experiments on electricity, experiments on cloud formation, and testing of nuclear missiles, a new view of experiment emerges. This view emphasises that experiments always involve choice, tactics and strategy in persuading audiences that Nature resembles the picture experimenters create.
Experimental Political Science and the Study of Causality
Title | Experimental Political Science and the Study of Causality PDF eBook |
Author | Rebecca B. Morton |
Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
Pages | 607 |
Release | 2010-08-06 |
Genre | Political Science |
ISBN | 1139490532 |
Increasingly, political scientists use the term 'experiment' or 'experimental' to describe their empirical research. One of the primary reasons for doing so is the advantage of experiments in establishing causal inferences. In this book, Rebecca B. Morton and Kenneth C. Williams discuss in detail how experiments and experimental reasoning with observational data can help researchers determine causality. They explore how control and random assignment mechanisms work, examining both the Rubin causal model and the formal theory approaches to causality. They also cover general topics in experimentation such as the history of experimentation in political science; internal and external validity of experimental research; types of experiments - field, laboratory, virtual, and survey - and how to choose, recruit, and motivate subjects in experiments. They investigate ethical issues in experimentation, the process of securing approval from institutional review boards for human subject research, and the use of deception in experimentation.
First Science Experiments with Nature, Senses, Weather & Machines
Title | First Science Experiments with Nature, Senses, Weather & Machines PDF eBook |
Author | Shar Levine |
Publisher | Main Street Press |
Pages | 196 |
Release | 2005 |
Genre | Juvenile Nonfiction |
ISBN | 9781402729225 |
Learning about nature, senses, weather and machines.