Evaluating Scientific Research: Separating Fact from Fiction

Acknowledging the profound role science plays in our lives, this book uses a non-technical vocabulary to explain the research process and discuss many controversial issues. It emphasizes creative and critical thinking, challenging many traditional ways of doing research and covering six major problem areas—limitaions of science, preparing for research, measurement, research designs, data analysis, and philosophical issues. Chapter topics include reading and reviewing scientific literature; conflicts of interest and bias; variations on the simple experiment; case studies; using existing data; using animals in research; and philosophical challenges. For anyone who wants to do more than simply accept scientific research at face value.