Key Terms - Science - Key Terms - LibGuides at Saint Patrick's College, Campbelltown

Library Help - Referencing

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Research Database

DOAJ is a community-curated online directory that indexes and provides access to high quality, open access, peer-reviewed journals. DOAJ is independent. All DOAJ services are free of charge including being indexed in DOAJ. All data is freely available.

The Scientific Method

The Scientific Method
The scientific method is the process scientists follow to solve problems. Scientists spend much of their time conducting experiments and carefully recording, analyzing, and evaluating the data from experiments. If the data does not support a hypothesis, scientists must form a new hypothesis and conduct new experiments. When the data supports a hypothesis, scientists share their results with other scientists.

Research Database

Science Reference Center This link opens in a new window
Contains full text for hundreds of science encyclopedias, reference books, periodicals and other sources. Topics covered include biology, chemistry, earth & space science, environmental science, health & medicine, history of science, life science, physics, science & society, science as inquiry, scientists, technology and wildlife.

Research Database

JSTOR This link opens in a new window
JSTOR provides access to more than 12 million academic journal articles, books, and primary sources in 75 disciplines.

Terminology

Primary Data
Primary Data is information that you collect yourself, rather than obtaining from somewhere else.
Qualitative Data
Qualitative data is information that cannot be counted, measured or easily expressed using numbers. It is collected from text, audio and images and shared through data visualization tools, such as word clouds, concept maps, graph databases, timelines and infographics.
Quantitative Data
Quantitative data is statistical and is typically structured in nature – meaning it is more rigid and defined. This data type is measured using numbers and values, making it a more suitable candidate for data analysis.
Scientific Investigations
At the heart of science is the scientific investigation, which is done by following the scientific method. A scientific investigation is a plan for asking questions and testing possible answers.
Scientific Knowledge
Knowledge accumulated by systematic study and organized by general principles
Scientific Observation
Observation consists of receiving knowledge of the outside world through our senses, or recording information using scientific tools and instruments. Any data recorded during an experiment can be called an observation.
Secondary Data
Secondary data is the data that has already been collected through primary sources and made readily available for researchers to use for their own research. It is a type of data that has already been collected in the past.

Science - Key Terms: Key Terms

Library Help - Referencing

Research Database

The Scientific Method

Research Database

Research Database

Terminology