94799 - Introduction to the Scientific Method in the Experimental Field

Learning outcomes

At the end of the 4 classes (8 hours) students will be

• able to recognize the architecture of scientific method and of the basic phiosophical issues arising with respect to science and method
• familiar with the basics of research planning and with knds of study designi in medical research
• aware of ethical questions about medical research

Course contents

Basic philosophical and conceptual issues. What is science. Laws, systematicity, theories. Demarcation between science and non-science. Medicine as a science. The logical architecture of scientific method: observation, hypothesis, control. Kinds of scientific reasoning: deduction, induction, abduction.

Research in medicine. Kinds of research (basic, applied, qualitative and quantitative). The research problem, role of publication databases, kinds of experimental design, observational studies and the problem of correlation-causation, RCT and clinical trials, meta analyses, presentation of the hierarchy of evidence (Evidence-based medicine).

Research ethics. The role of ethical committees. Research with human subjects. Controversial cases. Objectivity in research: replicabiliy, intersubjectivity, the role of values.

Readings/Bibliography

Slides uploaded after each class are the main text.

Further reading: Lalumera, E. (2021) Medicina e metodo sperimentale. Un'introduzione filosofica. Esculapio, Bologna

Teaching methods

Traditional in-presence lectures with discussion.

Assessment methods

Oral test. 2 or 3 questions aimed at verifying that the course material has been read and understood.

Teaching tools

Lecture notes in pdf or ppt. Additional optional articles and resources uploaded on Virtuale.

Office hours

See the website of Elisabetta Lalumera