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
• Qualitative methods
• Engineering design

The course provides an introduction to the theory and methodology of science and is intended for the beginning PhD student. One aim is to supply the basic concepts needed for placing the techniques and knowledge acquired in the student’s other courses or research in the wider context of the natural sciences. Another aim is to provide the basic intellectual tools that allow for a reasoned and critical assessment of results and methods from the wide variety of disciplines that the student is likely to encounter during his or her continued career in research and/or in professional life.

The course is mainly focused on the general theoretical and methodological issues that arise in the natural and technological sciences; but basic theoretical issues, techniques and problems from the social sciences are also covered to provide the student with a wider outlook. Emphasis is placed on the fundamental problems common to the natural sciences and on the general strategies, methods and concepts that modern science has developed to address these problems.

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.

Below follows an outline of the course learning activities. Detailed descriptions of the learning activities are found in later sections in this course memo. 

• One lecture on campus: Introduction and Scientific Knowledge.
• Eight pre-recorded video lectures. Each video lecture has an associated voluntary lecture quiz and a text transcription. Video lectures are included in the TimeEdit course schedule as a planning recommendation but can be viewed throughout the course. Video lecture quizzes however, have deadlines.
• Two flipped classroom sessions on campus related to a subset of the video lectures. Before each flipped classroom session, you post a question related to the relevant video lectures on a discussion board and upvote questions posted by other students that you wish to be discussed on the flipped classroom sessions. The lecturer selects among the questions and answers these during the flipped classroom sessions. 
• Three seminars on campus. Each seminar covers selected course contents from the video lectures and course readings. Before attending each seminar, you complete a mandatory seminar preparation quiz. On the seminar you work on group exercises and discussions. You take one seminar per seminar week.
• Three exercise sessions on campus. 

Lectures 

This course includes nine lectures. Lecture 1 is held on campus and lectures 2-9 are available as videos via Canvas and can be viewed at any time during the course. The placement of video lectures in the TimeEdit course schedule is a planning suggestion for when you might view them.  

Each of the video lectures has an associated lecture quiz with a deadline. If you complete lecture quizzes with passing score upon the deadline, you receive course bonus points for the exam (see section on Schedule and see Canvas for quiz deadlines). For more information on bonus points, see section on Bonus point system below. 

1. Introduction and scientific knowledge (campus lecture), course week 1
2. Scientific inferences (59 minutes) (flipped classroom 1), course week 1
3. Observation and measurement (76 minutes) (flipped classroom. 1), course week 2
4. Experiments (49 minutes) (flipped classroom 2), course week 2
5. Models (62 minutes) (flipped classroom 2), course week 3
6. Statistics (62 minutes), course week 3
7. Explanations and causes (81 minutes), course week 4
8. Engineering design (76 minutes), course week 5
9. Qualitative methods (93 minutes), course week 5

Flipped classrooms 

Flipped classroom sessions function as an opportunity for receiving clarification from the lecturer on lecture contents. The flipped classroom sessions are intended for addressing questions on course topics that students find unclear, challenging or otherwise interesting.  

There are two flipped classroom sessions on campus, each based on two video lectures. Flipped classroom 1 focuses on the lectures on scientific inferences (lecture 2), and on observation and measurement (lecture 3). Flipped classroom 2 focuses on the lectures on experiments (lecture 4) and on models (lecture 5).  

Each flipped classroom session has an associated discussion board. Before each flipped classroom session, you post a question for the lecturer on the board related to the relevant video lectures, and you upvote questions posted by other students that you would like the lecturer to address during the session. See section on Schedule and see Canvas for further instructions and deadlines. 

The lecturer selects a set of questions from the discussion board and devotes the flipped classroom sessions to answering these questions. During the sessions, you will also be invited to participate on voluntary exercise activities.  

If you complete the flipped classroom activities, you receive course bonus points for the exam. For more information on bonus points, see section on Bonus point system below.  

It is possible to attend flipped classroom sessions without having posted on the discussion board and without participating on exercises in the classroom, but this will yield no bonus points. 

The flipped classroom sessions are taken together with students from other, similar courses. 

Bonus point system 

Completing video lecture quizzes with a passing score, as well as posting on the flipped classroom discussion boards together with participating on the classroom activities, gives course bonus points for the exam. Bonus point activities are voluntary, optional activities intended at incentivising students to engage with the course contents continuously throughout the course. 

Each video lecture has an associated video lecture quiz, comprised of 15 questions. If you complete a quiz with a 14 point score or higher, you get 0.5 course bonus points. All video lecture quizzes have deadlines (See section on Schedule and see Canvas for deadlines). There is no limit on number of attempts up until the quiz deadlines. 

Course bonus points can also be awarded for the two flipped classrooms. Attending the flipped classroom session and carrying out tasks as per instructed by the lecturer results in 0.5 bonus points per each of the two flipped classrooms. 

In order to make the number of bonus points fit the exam format, course bonus points are scaled in the following way before the exam (C = course bonus points, E = exam bonus points): E = C * 4/5, rounded up to the closest .5-value. Example: 3 course bonus points will be scaled as 3 * 4/5 = 2.4, then rounded up to 2.5 exam points. You can maximally obtain 4 exam bonus points.  

Exam bonus points are added to part 1 of the exam. For example, if part 1 has a maximum score of 9 points, then 3.5 exam bonus points plus 5 points on part 1 results in a total score of 8.5 points on part 1 of the exam. 4 exam bonus points plus 8 points on part 1 results in a total score of 9 points on part 1 of the exam. 

Bonus points collected during one and the same course period are valid for, and only for, the scheduled exam and the corresponding re-exam for that period.

For more information about the exam, see section on Examination and completion. 

Seminars 

The course includes a mandatory seminar series comprised of three seminars. Each seminar covers selected course contents from the video lectures and course readings, and following the first seminar, each subsequent seminar connects to the previous seminars. Seminars are intended as a collaborative learning activity where you practice critically discussing course contents and practice applying course contents to cases, with instruction and support from teaching staff. The overall topics covered during the seminar series are as follows: 

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

Since completion of the seminar series yields course credits, the seminars feature mandatory activities: (1) preparing and passing a seminar quiz, and (2) actively participating on the seminar. Missing activities result in seminar incompletion and thus no seminar course credits. 

Before each seminar, you read the assigned readings (reading instructions available on Canvas). Before attending each seminar, you must also pass a mandatory seminar preparation quiz (See section on Schedule and see Canvas for deadlines). There is no limit on number of quiz attempts up until the quiz deadline. You must complete the quiz with a passing score of 14 points before the deadline (indicated in Canvas as “Passed”).  

The preparation quizzes are intended to ensure that all participants come prepared to the seminar for a more rewarding seminar learning experience. If you attend the seminar without completing the preparation quiz beforehand, you will not be marked as attending.  

On the seminar, you will be working together with other students on exercises as per instructed by the teacher. The exercises are formulated in such a way as to promote critical reflection and discussion, as well as to practice application of course concepts to case scenarios.  

You are expected to engage actively with the course contents and work on the exercises during the seminar. Passive attendance on the seminar will be marked as not attending. Active participation on the seminar does not mean that you are expected to demonstrate full proficiency of course contents. Rather, it means that you are expected to have properly engaged with the relevant course material beforehand and made an honest attempt at understanding it. Arisen questions and reflections can be addressed on the seminar. 

For information on what to do if you have not completed a preparation quiz or actively attended on a seminar, see the section on Examination and completion.  

Seminar contents and reading instructions. All the texts can be found on Canvas. 

Seminar 1 – Definitions, operationalizations and hypotheses. 

Texts: 

• Grüne-Yanoff, Till – Justified Method Choice, chapters 1, 2, 3, 13 
• Optional reading: Hansson, Sven Ove – Art of Doing Science: sections 2.2-2.8, 3.1-3.2, 5.0-5.1, and 5.8 

Topics relevant for the seminar: 

• Stipulative and lexical definitions 
• Narrowness and broadness (as applied to definitions) 
• Vagueness 
• Hypotheses (and their quality criteria)
• Direct, aided and indirect observation
• Operationalization
• Accuracy and precision (as qualities of observations and measurements)
• Measurement error (random and systematic error)
• Convergent validity and divergent validity 

Seminar 2 – Designing a scientific study. 

Texts: 

• Grüne-Yanoff, Till – Justified Method Choice, chapters 4, 5. 
• Optional reading: Hansson, Sven Ove – Art of Doing Science: sections 3.7, 4.2-4, and 5.1-3. 

Topics relevant for the seminar: 

• Experiment, observational studies and model studies 
• Mill’s method of difference 
• Internal validity and external validity 
• Experimental control 
• Constancy, elimination and effect separation
• Randomization
• Control group and treatment group
• Observer influence
• Confirmation bias
• Blinding
• Epistemic virtues of models (Parameter precision, Similarity, Robustness, Simplicity, Tractability, Transparency)
• Analogies (positive, negative, neutral) 

Seminar 3: Interpretation, analysis and evidence. 

Texts: 

• Grüne-Yanoff, Till – Justified Method Choice: chapters 2, 6, 7.
• Seminar 3 article(s) (provided on Canvas). 
• Optional reading: Hansson, Sven Ove – Art of Doing Science: sections 1.6-7, 3.7, 3.9, 5.3-5, 5.7, 7, 8 and the box on p. 24. 

Topics relevant for the seminar: 

• Repeatability, reproducibility and replicability 
• Statistical evaluationStatistical significance
• Correlation and causality
• Explanatory virtues (Accuracy [of explanations], Non-sensitivity, Precision in the explanans, Precision of the explanandum, Cognitive salience)
• Duhem-Quine thesis
• Ad-hoc hypothesis
• Falsificationism (Popper)
• Inductive and deductive inferences 

Exercise sessions 

The exercise sessions are extra opportunities to practice on the course content. They are held on campus and shared with other course codes. They are voluntary and have no associated submissions. The format is tested for the first time this semester. More information will follow on Canvas. 

Expected workload 

Expected workload is calculated based on number of course credits per period.  

FAK3014= 3 ECTS one period: 8 h / week 

The main text for the course is: 

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

Finally, there is one additional optional text, mainly targeting the same topics as the main course text: 

• The Art of Doing Science by Sven Ove Hansson. 

In addition to above mentioned readings, you may be asked to read short texts in preparation for some seminars. All course readings will be available in pdf file format on Canvas together with associated reading instructions. The readings cannot be bought as physical books, but you are welcome to print them. 

Students at KTH with a permanent disability can get support during studies from Funka:

Funka - compensatory support for students with disabilities

P, F

• SEM1 - Seminar, 1.0 credits, Grading scale: P, F
• TEN2 - Written exam, 2.0 credits, Grading scale: P, 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, if 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.

Seminars

There are three 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 

The seminar module is graded P/F. If you have passed all seminars, you get the grade P.

Examination

The examination is based on the lectures and the seminars, as well as the course literature. It is given on campus on the date and time indicated in the schedule. It consists of three parts. The first part is a multiple-choice part asking you to identify the definitions and applications of course concepts. The second part is an essay part where you are to submit essay answers to two problems. In this part you are asked to account for the course concepts. The third part is an essay part where you choose one out of a list of problems, which require you to account for, apply and discuss course concepts.

The exam is open-book, which means that one is allowed to bring printed copies of the course literature or any other literature as well as one’s own notes. A dictionary (published paper dictionary, such as Swedish-English) is also allowed. All such material must be printed or hand-written on paper. No electronic devices, such as computers or phones, are allowed during the exam. 

During the course there are quizzes and flipped classroom sessions where students can collect bonus points. The bonus points are scaled to fit the exam format: maximum four points. The points are then added to the part 1 exam score, capped at the maximum for that part. 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. 

Grade P. Studenten redogör korrekt och tydligt för kursbegrepp, teorier och problemområden samt gör rimliga tillämpningar av dessa begrepp och teorier på specifika fall. 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. (Official formulation)

Translation. 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. 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.

Grade F. Kriterierna för P är inte uppfyllda. (Official formulation)

Translation. The criteria for P are not fulfilled.

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. 

If you are unable to attend a seminar at a particular time and day, you might be able to join another seminar group during the same seminar week. Consult with your course coordinator before changing seminar group. If you fail or are unable to attend one or more of the seminars, you can sign up for a compensation seminar, offered towards the end of the course. See course schedule in TimeEdit for scheduling of the compensation seminars. Alternatively, you may re-register and attend remaining seminars during an ensuing course period, conditional on that the seminar is offered in that period. If you complete the seminar module over the course of more than one period, please inform the course coordinator that you have passed all seminars. 

If you miss or fail the exam, you may take the corresponding re-exam. It may also be possible to take the exam during another period. Note however that any bonus points collected during a course period are only valid for the exam and re-exam for that period. If you wish to take the exam after the designated exam or re-exam, check which periods the course is offered in and see corresponding examination dates. Note that you must register on the course and sign up for the exam in order to take the exam. 

Exam results will be communicated to students within 15 workdays following the day of the exam. This might not be met if there is a need to validate a submission or there is suspicion of cheating. 

• 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.