The Scientific Process: An Example from Biology
Summary
This video provides a brief, factual account of the groundbreaking work of Robin Warren and Barry Marshall and their discovery of the bacterial cause of peptic ulcer disease. Their story is a concrete example of the “Scientific Process” in practice. It illustrates that although the scientific method is often presented as a didactic list of steps, there is no one fixed sequence of events that occurs in order for important scientific discoveries to be made.
Learning Objectives
After watching this video students will be able to:
- Describe the general steps of the scientific method.
- Recognize the complex and multi-faceted nature of the scientific process.
- Explain how the discovery of Helicobacter pylori and its connection to peptic ulcer disease exemplifies key aspects of the scientific process.
Funding provided by the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD)
Developed by the Teaching and Learning Laboratory (TLL) at MIT for SUTD
MIT © 2012
It is highly recommended that the video is paused when prompted so that students are able to attempt the activities on their own and then check their solutions against the video.
During the video, students will learn about the iterative nature of scientific investigation by “dissecting” an important concrete medical example.
