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

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.

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 done through Zoom.

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 measurement (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 you 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. You are welcome to join a seminar group that is not in your own schedule, given that the group is not named “only for:…”.

There is more information about the seminars in the document “Seminar information”.

Schema HT-2021-PERIOD-1-2

There are two main course texts:

• Experiments, models and methodology by Till Grüne-Yanoff. Based on the video lectures. This text will be expanded throughout the course in period 4, 2021, to cover all topics in the course.
• The Art of Doing Science by Sven Ove Hansson.

In addition, there are three supplemental texts:

• 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 from the Canvas pages. They cannot be bought as physical books, but you are welcome to print them. On the Canvas page “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.

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

Funka - compensatory support for students with disabilities

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

• 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.

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 is 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 based on the 11 lectures and the 4 seminars, as well as the course literature. It is given in Canvas on the date and time indicated in the schedule. It consist 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 computer written answers to two problems. In this part you are asked to account for the course concepts, apply them to examples and discuss their definitions up to the skills required for the grade C. The third part is an optional essay part where you choose one out of three problems where you are asked to account for, apply and discuss course concepts to show skills equivalent to the grade levels B and A. This part is only corrected if the student achieves the grade C on parts 1&2. 

The exam is open-book, which means that one is allowed to use the course literature when answering the questions. Plagiarism is not allowed and any citations, even from the course literature, must be marked as such. Co-operation is not allowed.

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 part 1 exam score and capped at the maximum for that part. These 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.

Fulfilled seminar requirements and written exam.

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.

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.

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.

• 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.

• Editing of transcript of video lectures (in progress)