Writing Exercise #13

Can experiments detect differences that matter?

Does the study show causation or correlation?

What is the mechanism?

How much do experiments reflect reality?

Could anything else explain the results?

Explain the significance that each of these questions have on interpreting scientific literature. Which is most helpful when discussing controversy, and why?

The research questions provided in this prompt help researchers interpret scientific data by separating and determining different factors that influence the results. By critically questioning the experiment design and results, the data can be thoroughly explained to show data importance. Causation and correlation is an important question as it lets researchers determine if the study or certain variable was the cause of such a result. This is important in determining the cause effect relationship and observations of the study. Out of the questions provided, I believe this to be the most significant question to ask and it lets scientists determine how to use these results. If the results are causation or correlation, different actions can be done as result of these findings.