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AK2030 Theory and Methodology of Science (Natural and Technological Science) 4,5 hp

Course memo Autumn 2021-50076

Version 2 – 10/27/2021, 12:06:02 PM

Course offering

Period 2 (Start date 01/11/2021, English)

Language Of Instruction

English

Offered By

ABE/Philosophy

Course memo Autumn 2021

Course presentation

The aim of the course is to provide a deeper understanding of the methodological and underlying philosophical issues that arise in science, and inspire to reflection on such issues within the student’s own area of study. After having taken the course the student should have acquired basic knowledge of the foundational issues in the methodology and philosophy of science, specially as regards the natural and technological sciences.

Headings denoted with an asterisk ( * ) is retrieved from the course syllabus version Autumn 2019

Content and learning outcomes

Course contents

The following is an incomplete list of topics covered in the course.

  • Scientific knowledge
  • Hypothesis testing
  • Observations and measurements
  • Experiments
  • Models
  • Statistical reasoning
  • Causes and explanations
  • Philosophy of social science
  • Philosophy of technology
  • Risk and risk assessment
  • Research ethics

Intended learning outcomes

After having completed the course, the student should, with regards to the theory and methodology of science, both orally as well as in writing, be able to:

  • Identify definitions and descriptions of concepts, theories and problem areas, as well as identify the correct application of these concepts and theories.
  • Account for concepts, theories and general problem areas, as well as apply concepts and theories to specific cases.
  • Critically discuss the definitions and applications of concepts and theories as they applies to specific cases of scientific research.

Learning activities

11 pre-recorded video lectures. For each lecture, except lecture 1, there is a non-mandatory quiz and a text transcription. The videos are included in the schedule but can be watched at another date or time.

4 seminars.  Each seminar is about the contents of some of the video lectures and some course texts. Before each seminar there is a mandatory quiz. The seminar consists of instruction and group discussions. The seminars start course week 3, one seminar each week. There are several groups to choose from. Group choice is done in Canvas when the course starts. The seminars are primarily held on campus.

Detailed plan

This course includes the following eleven lectures. They are all available as videos on Canvas to watch whenever you want. Their place in the schedule is a suggestion of when you might view it.

  1. Introduction and scientific knowledge (26 minutes)
  2. Scientific inferences (59 minutes)
  3. Observation and measurements (76 minutes)
  4. Experiments (49 minutes)
  5. Models (62 minutes)
  6. Statistics (62 minutes)
  7. Explanations and causes (81 minutes)
  8. Engineering design (76 minutes)
  9. Qualitative methods (93 minutes)
  10. Research ethics (103 minutes)
  11. Anticipating risk in science and engineering (85 minutes)

From the second lecture onward, there is an associated quiz of 15 questions. If you complete the quiz with at least 14 points, you will get 0,5 bonus points for the exam. You can attempt to complete the quiz as many times as you like until it closes. Each quiz closes at the end of the week where the lecture is scheduled (Sunday, 23:59, of each week). This is to incentivise studying throughout the course, rather than only at the end. Bonus points collected during this period are valid for the exam and the re-exam belonging to this period.

This course includes these four mandatory seminars.

  1. Definitions, operationalizations and hypotheses (course week 3)
  2. Designing a scientific study (course week 4)
  3. Interpretation, analysis, and evidence (course week 6)
  4. Research ethics (course week 7)

For each seminar, there are texts to read and a quiz to complete before you take the seminar. You need 14 points on the quiz before attending. If you attend without having scored 14 points on the quiz, you are not sufficiently prepared and will not be marked as attending. You can take the quiz as many times as you want before your seminar.

You will take one seminar each seminar week. You join a seminar group on Canvas, under the heading “People”. If you cannot see the heading, make sure you have registered. You will then take the rest of the seminars with this group, the same day of the week and the same time of day each week.

There is more information about the seminars in the document “Seminar information”, accessible in the Canvas course room.

Preparations before course start

Literature

There is one main course text:

  • Justified Method Choice - Methodology for Scientists and Engineers by Till Grüne-Yanoff. Based on the video lectures.

In addition, there are four supplemental texts:

  • The Art of Doing Science by Sven Ove Hansson, which covers the same topics as the main course text and is intended as optional extra reading.
  • Some Issues in the Philosophy of Technology, by Sven Ove Hansson.
  • On Being a Scientist: Responsible Conduct in Research, which is an excerpt from a text by the National Academy of Sciences.
  • Ethical Thinking by Jesper Ahlin.

All are available in the file format pdf in the Canvas course room. They cannot be bought as physical books, but you are welcome to print them. In the Canvas course room, under “Reading instructions”, you can see which sections to read for the lectures. There are also texts for the seminars, see the document “Seminar information” on Canvas.

Advice from previous students

In course evaluations for previous periods, students wanted to pass on the following advice.

  • This course is different from many other courses in an engineering degree, and often requires a slightly different approach.
  • It is a good idea to follow along with the course structure, such as watching lectures when they are scheduled and completing the quizzes.
  • It is useful to take careful notes during the lectures. However, this increases the viewing time of the videos, so you need to plan for that.
  • Taking time to prepare for the seminars and actively engaging in the seminars makes it much easier to understand the course concepts and pass the exam.

Examination and completion

Grading scale

A, B, C, D, E, FX, F

Examination

  • SEM1 - Seminars, 1.5 credits, Grading scale: P, F
  • TENA - Examination, 3.0 credits, Grading scale: A, B, C, D, E, FX, F

Based on recommendation from KTH’s coordinator for disabilities, the examiner will decide how to adapt an examination for students with documented disability.

The examiner may apply another examination format when re-examining individual students.

A student may request a home exam, with the maximum grade of E, if two requirements are fulfilled: (1) This is the last remaining exam left before graduation. (2) It is not possible for the student to attend the written exam because the student is, at the point of the request, residing outside of Sweden and will be residing outside of Sweden for at least twelve months following the request. The examiner approves or denies these requests.

The section below is not retrieved from the course syllabus:

Seminars (SEM1)

There are four seminars, all mandatory. To pass a seminar you need to:

  • read the required material
  • watch the required videos
  • pass a seminar quiz
  • actively participate in the seminar

During a seminar you should be able to explain the course concepts for that seminar and use them correctly as well as discuss their definitions and uses with peers. The seminars are  learning activities and thus it is acceptable to, for example, have misunderstood a concept when preparing for the seminar. The teachers are there to help. However, it is not acceptable to attend the seminar without proper preparation or to remain quiet during the entire seminar.

Examination (TENA)

The examination is a written exam based on the 11 lectures and the 4 seminars, as well as the course literature.

During the course there are 10 non-mandatory quizzes, one for each video lecture. These quizzes tests the students ability to identify the correct definition and application of the course concepts. Passing these quizzes awards bonus points, 0,5 point per lecture. These points are added to the exam score and capped at the maximum for that part. The bonus points are valid for the exam and re-exam belonging to the period and year when they were collected. One may collect points valid for another exam by re-registering for that period and re-taking the quizzes.

Other requirements for final grade

Fulfilled seminar requirements and written exam.

Grading criteria/assessment criteria

 

Lärandemål 1:

Identifiera definitioner och beskrivningar av begrepp, teorier och problemområden, samt identifiera den korrekta applikationen av dessa begrepp och teorier.

Learning outcome 1:

Identify definitions and descriptions of concepts, theories and problem areas, as well as identify the correct application of these concepts and theories.

Lärandemål 2:

Redogöra för begrepp, teorier och generella problemområden, samt tillämpa begrepp och teorier på specifika fall.

Learning outcome 2:

Account for concepts, theories and general problem areas, as well as apply concepts and theories to specific cases

Lärandemål 3:

Kritiskt diskutera definitionerna och tillämpningarna av begrepp och teorier med avseende på specifika fall av vetenskaplig forskning.

Learning outcome 3:

Critically discuss the definitions and applications of concepts and theories as they apply to specific cases of scientific research.

A

Studenten identifierar ett flertal av definitioner och beskrivningar av begrepp, teorier och problemområden korrekt samt identifierar den korrekta tillämpningen av dessa begrepp och teorier.

The student identifies multiple definitions and descriptions of concepts, theories and problem areas, and identifies the correct application of these concepts and theories.

Studenten redogör korrekt, samt med stor utförlighet och precision för kursbegrepp, teorier och problemområden samt gör rimliga tillämpningar av dessa begrepp och teorier på ett mycket övertygande sätt.

The student provides correct, extensive and precise accounts for concepts, theories and general problem areas, and provides very convincing applications of those concepts and theories to specific cases.

Studenten framställer en välargumenterad diskussion av definitionerna och tillämpningarna av begrepp och teorier med avseende på vetenskaplig forskning på ett utförligt, självständigt och mycket precist sätt.

The student presents a well-argued, independent, extensive and very precise discussion of the definitions and applications of concepts and theories as they apply to specific cases of scientific research.

B

Studenten redogör korrekt och med precision för kursbegrepp, teorier och problemområden samt gör rimliga tillämpningar av dessa begrepp och teorier på ett övertygande sätt.

The student provides correct and precise accounts for concepts, theories and general problem areas, and provides convincing applications of those concepts and theories to specific cases.

Studenten framställer en huvudsakligen välargumenterad diskussion av definitionerna och tillämpningarna av begrepp och teorier med avseende på vetenskaplig forskning på ett utförligt och precist sätt samt med viss självständighet i framställningen.

The student presents an extensive, precise, mostly well-argued, and somewhat independent discussion of the definitions and applications of concepts and theories as they apply to specific cases of scientific research.

C

Studenten redogör korrekt och tydligt för kursbegrepp, teorier och problemområden samt gör rimliga tillämpningar av dessa begrepp och teorier på specifika fall.

The student accounts, correctly and clearly for concepts, theories and general problem areas, and provides reasonable applications of these concepts and theories to specific cases.

Studenten framställer en diskussion av definitionerna och tillämpningar av begrepp och teorier med avseende på vetenskaplig forskning på ett precist sätt med ansats till argumentation och självständighet.

The student presents a discussion of the definitions and applications of concepts and theories as they apply to specific cases of scientific research in a precise way with an attempt at independent and argumentative reasoning.

D

Studenten redogör i huvudsak korrekt och med tillräckliga beskrivningar av kursbegrepp, teorier och problemområden och gör acceptabla tillämpningar av dessa begrepp och teorier på specifika fall.

The student provides mostly correct and sufficiently satisfactory accounts of concepts, theories and general problem areas, and provides acceptable applications of these concepts and theories to specific cases.

Studenten framställer en diskussion av definitionerna och tillämpningarna av begrepp och teorier med avseende på vetenskaplig forskning utan större felaktigheter eller motsägelser.

The student presents a discussion of the definitions and applications of concepts and theories as they apply to specific cases of scientific research without substantial errors or contradictions.

E

Studenten redogör med knapphändiga beskrivningar i huvudsak korrekt för kursbegrepp, teorier och problemområden och gör acceptabla tillämpningar av begrepp och teorier på specifika fall.

 

The student provides sparse, but mostly correct accounts of concepts, theories and general problem areas and provides acceptable applications of those concepts and theories to specific cases.

Studenten framställer en diskussion av definitionerna och tillämpningarna av begrepp och teorier med avseende på vetenskaplig forskning som knapphändig, eller i enstaka fall felaktig eller motsägelsefull.

 

The student presents a sparse discussion of the definitions and applications of concepts and theories, as they apply to specific cases of scientific research, with some notable errors or contradictions.

FX

Studentens redogörelser av kursbegrepp, teorier och problemområden är markant inkorrekta eller mycket knapphändiga. Studentens tillämpningar av begrepp och teorier på specifika fall är delvis inkorrekta.

The student’s accounts of concepts, theories and general problem areas are very sparse or contains substantial errors. The student’s applications of those concepts and theories are partially incorrect.

Studenten gör en ansats till att diskutera definitionerna och tillämpningarna av begrepp och teorier med avseende på vetenskaplig forskning, men framställningen är markant otydlig, felaktig eller motsägelsefull.

The student presents an attempt at a discussion of the definitions and applications of concepts and theories as they apply to specific cases of scientific research, but the discussion is substantially unclear, wrong or contradictory.

F

Studenten identifierar som mest enstaka definitioner och beskrivningar av begrepp, teorier och problemområden korrekt eller identifierar inte den korrekta tillämpningen av dessa begrepp och teorier.

The student identifies at most a few definitions and descriptions of concepts, theories and problem areas, or does not identify the correct application of these concepts and theories.

Studentens redogörelser av kursbegrepp, teorier och problemområden saknas eller är (mestadels eller helt) inkorrekta och tillämpningarna av begrepp och teorier på specifika fall saknas eller är i stor utsträckning felaktiga.

The student’s accounts of concepts, theories and general problem areas are (substantially or completely) incorrect or missing. The student’s applications of those concepts and theories are largely incorrect or missing.

Studenten genomför inte en diskussion av definitionerna eller inte av tillämpningen av kursbegreppen, eller så är dennes diskussion otydlig, felaktig eller motsägelsefull.

The student does not present a discussion of the definitions and applications of concepts and theories as they apply to specific cases of scientific research, or their discussion is unclear, wrong or contradictory.

Opportunity to complete the requirements via supplementary examination

A student may request a home exam, with the maximum grade of E, if two requirements are fulfilled: (1) This is the last remaining exam left before graduation. (2) It is not possible for the student to attend the written exam because the student is, at the point of the request, residing outside of Sweden and will be residing outside of Sweden for at least twelve months following the request. The examiner approves or denies these requests.

Opportunity to raise an approved grade via renewed examination

There is an opportunity to raise an approved grade via renewed examination at the re-exams. These are marked as such in the schedule at www.kth.se/schema. Apply by e-mail to fatemeht@kth.se. Include your personal number and course code, as well as the date when you wish to take the re-exam.

Alternatives to missed activities or tasks

If you are unable to attend one or more of the seminars, there are compensation seminars towards the end of the course. Alternatively you may re-register and attend the remaining seminars at a later date. Please inform the course administration when you have passed all seminars.

If you miss or fail the exam, you may take a re-exam.

Ethical approach

  • All members of a group are responsible for the group's work.
  • In any assessment, every student shall honestly disclose any help received and sources used.
  • In an oral assessment, every student shall be able to present and answer questions about the entire assignment and solution.

Further information

No information inserted

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Round Facts

Start date

1 Nov 2021

Course offering

  • Period 2 Autumn 2021-50076

Language Of Instruction

English

Offered By

ABE/Philosophy

Contacts

Communication during course

Contact adress for all issues: adamlr@kth.se

This includes administrative issues and course content-questions. You may communicate in either Swedish or English.

Do not use the messaging system in Canvas.

Please state your course code in the email since we handle several different courses.

Course Coordinator

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