There is a paper by Halliday and Jaeger published in Herpetologica some years ago that is central to this discussion. It discusses the differences between explorative and confirmative research. Most scientists spend their time doing confirmative research, which is hypothesis testing. However, explorative research ends with the development of new hypotheses. When we examine much descriptive research it ends with proposed hypotheses in need of testing.
Jaeger, R.G., and T.R. Halliday. 1998. On confirmatory versus exploratory research. Herpetologica 54(Suppl): S64-S66. It discusses the question very thoroughly and effectively. Its a must read for new graduate students!!! Malcolm On Wed, Mar 2, 2011 at 11:39 AM, Jane Shevtsov <jane....@gmail.com> wrote: > Hi Matt, > > Since this conversation has gotten off to a solid start (but where's > Wirt Atmar? I expected to hear more from our resident ex-physicist), I > can now reveal more of my thoughts. Specifically, you've come near a > very important point. Even natural history requires what may be called > hypotheses or assumptions, but these are even more crucial in > hypothesis testing. We have to make all kinds of auxiliary hypotheses > (things like "I identified these plants correctly" or "these animals > move randomly over the landscape") in the course of testing a focal > hypothesis. If the prediction derived from this hypothesis fails to > come about, we have to figure out which hypothesis to blame. And > that's absolutely deadly for falsificationism. > > I recommend an excellent essay called "The 'Corroboration' of > Theories" by the philosopher Hilary Putnam. (Don't worry about the > fact that it's philosophy -- it's actually far more readable than the > average ecology paper.) It's not available online, but I'll be happy > to send a PDF to anyone who asks. > > Jane Shevtsov > > On Tue, Mar 1, 2011 at 8:50 AM, Matt Chew <anek...@gmail.com> wrote: >> Ecology without hypotheses has been dismissed (sometimes derided) as natural >> history, but even natural history requires one hypothesis. Reporting an >> observation requires >0 confidence that an observation is meaningful, can be >> communicated, and can be interpreted. There are also tacit hypotheses >> inherent in scale, including the duration, extent and complexity of natural >> history observations. >> >> Hypothesis testing is a particularly relevant topic in US ecology at the >> moment because choices made in establishing the NEON program involve >> numerous hypotheses about ecosystem identity, composition, extent and >> location, the relevance of potential instrumentation and particular scales. >> However, the term 'hypothesis' is absent from NEON's website ( >> http://www.neoninc.org ). Explicit hypothesis testing done under NEON >> auspices will be subject to an array of tacit hypotheses, none of which have >> been articulated (or, it seems, even considered) by NEON's creators and >> promoters. Any supposedly non-hypothetical work conducted under NEON will >> face the same challenge. >> >> Matthew K Chew >> Assistant Research Professor >> Arizona State University School of Life Sciences >> >> ASU Center for Biology & Society >> PO Box 873301 >> Tempe, AZ 85287-3301 USA >> Tel 480.965.8422 >> Fax 480.965.8330 >> mc...@asu.edu or anek...@gmail.com >> http://cbs.asu.edu/people/profiles/chew.php >> http://asu.academia.edu/MattChew >> > > > > -- > ------------- > Jane Shevtsov > Ecology Ph.D. candidate, University of Georgia > co-founder, <www.worldbeyondborders.org> > Check out my blog, <http://perceivingwholes.blogspot.com>Perceiving Wholes > > "In the long run, education intended to produce a molecular > geneticist, a systems ecologist, or an immunologist is inferior, both > for the individual and for society, than that intended to produce a > broadly educated person who has also written a dissertation." --John > Janovy, Jr., "On Becoming a Biologist" > -- Malcolm L. McCallum Managing Editor, Herpetological Conservation and Biology "Peer pressure is designed to contain anyone with a sense of drive" - Allan Nation 1880's: "There's lots of good fish in the sea" W.S. Gilbert 1990's: Many fish stocks depleted due to overfishing, habitat loss, and pollution. 2000: Marine reserves, ecosystem restoration, and pollution reduction MAY help restore populations. 2022: Soylent Green is People! Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message.
