Physical Anthropology and the Scientific Method

Science is a process of understanding phenomena through observation, generalization and verification. By this it means that there is an empirical approach to gaining information through the use of systematic and explicit techniques.

Because biological anthropologists are engaged in scientific pursuits, they adhere to the principles of the scientific method, whereby a research problem is identified and information is then gathered in order to solve it.

The gathering of information is referred to as data collection. And when scientists use rigorously controlled approach, they are able to describe precisely their techniques and results in a manner that facilitates comparisons with the work of others.

Once facts have been established, scientists try to explain them. First, a hypothesis, a provisional explanation of phenomenon, is developed.

But before hypothesis can be accepted, it must be tested by means of data collection and analysis. Indeed, the testing of hypotheses with the possibility of proving them false in the very basis of the scientific method.

Scientific testing of hypothesis may take several years and may involve researchers who were not involved with the original work. In subsequent studies, other investigators may attempts to obtain the original results, but that may no happen.

If a hypothesis cannot be falsified, it is accepted as a theory. There is a popular misconception that theories are nothing more than hunches or unfounded beliefs.

But in scientific terms, a theory is much more that mere speculation because it has been repeatedly tested and scientists have not been able to disprove it. As such theories not only help organize current knowledge, but also predict how new facts may fit into established pattern.

Use of the scientific method not only allows for the development and testing of hypotheses, but also permits various types of bias to be addressed and controlled. It is important to realize that bias occurs in all studies.

Sources of bias include how investigator was trained and by whom, what particular questions interest the researcher; what specific skills and talents he or she possesses; what earlier results have been established in this realm of study and by whom; and what sources of data are available and thus what samples can be collected.
Physical Anthropology and the Scientific Method