2024年5月5日发(作者：)

(完整)Unit 3 The scientific method 科研方法

Unit 3

The scientific method

科研方法

Every scientist dreams of lighting up some dark corner of the natural world — or， almost as good,

of finding a dark corner where none had been suspected。 The most careful observations, the most

elaborate calculations will not be fruitful unless the right questions are asked. Here is where creative

imagination enters science, which is why some of the greatest scientific advances have been made by

young， nimble minds.

每一位科学家都渴望探明自然界未知领域的客观规律；或者说每一位科学家都渴望找到一处前人尚未耕耘

过的研究园地。在科学研究中，如果不能提出恰当的问题，再细致的观察和周密的计算，也不会有什么成果。

这是一个有创造性想象力的科学领域，这就是为什么一些最伟大的科学进步是由敏锐的年轻人做出的.

Scientists study nature in a variety of ways。 Some approaches are quite direct: a geologist takes

a rock sample to a laboratory and, by inspection and analysis, finds out what it is made of and how

and when it was probably formed。 Other approaches are indirect: nobody has ever visited the center

of the earth or ever will， but by combining a lot of thought with clues from different sources, a

geologist can say with near certainty that the earth has a core of molten iron。 No matter what the

approaches to particular problems may be, however, the work scientists do always fits into a certain

pattern of steps。 This pattern, a general scheme for looking at the universe, has become known as

the scientific method。

科学家以各种方式研究自然。一些方法是非常直接的: 地质学家把一个岩石样本带到实验室,通过检验和分

析，发现它的构造是什么样的、它可能是如何形成、何时形成的。其他方法是间接的:迄今为止,尚未有人访问过

(完整)Unit 3 The scientific method 科研方法

地球中心,将来也不会有，但是通过综合分析以及从各种途径得来的数据，一位地理学家几乎可以肯定地说地球

核是由熔铁组成的。然而，不管科学家们可能用什么方法解决特定的问题，他们的工作总是遵从一定的模式进

行着。用一个普遍的解决方法来研究宇宙,这种模式，被称为科研方法。

We can think of the scientific method in terms of four steps: (1） formulating a problem, （2）

observation and experiment， （3) interpreting the data， and （4） testing the interpretation by further

observation and experiment。 Examining the natural world is at the heart of the scientific method,

since the results of observation and experiment serve not only as the foundations on which scientists

build their ideas but also as the means by which these ideas are checked。

我们认为的科研方法是根据四个步骤进行的：（1）研究问题的确定，（2)观察和实验，（3）解释数据，（4）

进一步观察和实验来验证解释。科研方法的核心是研究自然世界,因为观察和实验的结果不仅为科学家形成他们

的想法打基础也为检测他们的想法提供了途径。

①. Formulating a problem may mean no more than choosing a certain field to work in， but

more often a scientist has in mind some specific idea he or she wishes to investigate. In many cases

formulating a problem and interpreting the data overlap。 The scientist has a speculation, perhaps

only a hunch, perhaps a fully developed concept， about some aspect of nature but can not come to

a definite conclusion without further study.

①。系统阐述一个问题可能意味着仅仅是选择某个领域来工作，但在大多数情况下一个科学家心理想着他

或她希望去调查的某些特殊观点。在某些情形中,阐述一个问题和解释数据会重叠。关于自然界某方面，科学家

有一个明确地表达，或许仅仅一个预感，或许一个全面发展的概念，但还不能形成确定的结论没做进一步研究。

②。 Observation and experiment are carried out with great care。 Facts about nature are the

building blocks of science and the ultimate proof of its results。 This insistence on the primacy of

accurate， objective data is what sets science apart from other modes of intellectual endeavor。