• Question: How do we know that anything scientists say isn't false? Scientists collect evidence and analyse it and come to a conclusion but how to we know that the evidence given actually means what we think it means?

    Asked by sophiecastillo123 to Adam, Joanna on 23 Nov 2012.
    • Photo: Joanna Giles

      Joanna Giles answered on 23 Nov 2012:

      Wow! Don’t you trust me?

      Well, actually you bring up a very good point. A lot of science is based on trust, and when anyone (including myself) does an experiment – a lot of people need to look at the data and check it is OK before it gets published in journals and accepted anywhere.

      So when I do an experiment, I need to ask my supervisors and co-workers if they think that my data is accurate and reliable and whether they think that the conclusion I make are reasonable.

      Then, when my co-workers agree on the data it gets checked again by other labs – so it is reviewed by an external group of scientists that look at your work and “Judge” whether it is acceptable before it is made public and gets “published”.

      Sometimes somewhere along the line someone will say – NO! I don’t believe it! Do it again – but hopefully if it gets to a stage where it is published, it should be good quality and reliable 🙂

    • Photo: Adam Paige

      Adam Paige answered on 23 Nov 2012:

      You shouldn’t just accept it. You should be free to look at the data yourself and if they were correct, you should be able to reach the same conclusions. Rigorous science should mean that the data collected is good quality, and the analysis is carefully considered and checked many times with several different types of experiment.

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