A More Accurate View of the Scientific Method in the Physical Sciences and Implications for Learning and Research in the Social Sciences

The Chapter Four focuses on more accurate view of the scientific method in the physical sciences and implications for learning and research in the social sciences. The Authors perspective of the scientific method and its applicability to the social sciences and how is more in line with the actual practice of scientific inquiry in the physical sciences. Rather than a mechanistic conception of the scientific method, we describe a richer view where creativity and rigor have equal voice. Based on our experiences and perspectives, as teacher-educator and physicist, we think our interpretation of the scientific method more accurately illuminates what research is really about in both the physical sciences and the social sciences. It is therefore the Authors intention to help ameliorate this conflict for the purpose of moving forward with a more creative, integrative, and rigorous template for scholarly inquiry in the social sciences.