Assessment in basic science instruction: directions for practice and research

D B Swanson1, S M Case

  • 1National Board of Medical Examiners, 3750 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19081, USA.

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The Scientific Method

The scientific method is a detailed, empirical problem-solving process used by biologists and other scientists. This iterative approach involves formulating a question based on observation, developing a testable potential explanation for the observation (called a hypothesis), making and testing predictions based on the hypothesis, and using the findings to create new hypotheses and predictions.Generally, predictions are tested using carefully-designed experiments. Based on the outcome of these...
The Scientific Method03:50

The Scientific Method

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Assessment of Respiration

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Psychology as a Science

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Methods to Assess Microbial Populations

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Methods to Assess Microbial Communities

Microbial communities, comprising bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotic microorganisms, inhabit diverse ecosystems and play crucial roles in environmental and biological processes. Their diversity is defined by three main parameters: species richness (the number of distinct species), species abundance (the relative quantity of each species), and species evenness (how uniformly individual species are distributed in various locations). These factors together shape the structure and ecological balance...