Examples of a research paper
examples of a research paper
One final dimension of the diagnosis problem emerges if it is assumed that the example occurred at a time when appendicitis was unknown-when all such cases were diagnosed as acute indigestion. If laxatives were prescribed each time those symptoms appeared, as would be the case under those conditions, some patients would be cured, and those with appendicitis would presumably be made worse and would ultimately die. Would those deaths be taken as a warning signal by the physicians of the time? Not at all. It would be nothing more than a normal result of "indigestion" as then understood. Death would be an expected effect of the disease and not a warning of inadequate diagnosis.
examples of a term paper
To extend the analogy between mapping and theorizing, theories, like maps, are not abandoned because of occasional failures. Instead, the areas of failure are noted and either the map is elaborated to deal with the problem or the use of the map is limited to avoid recurring failure. If a map intended for hikers does not include information about some danger points on a trail, for example, a note to that effect can be added to warn users of the omission. Otherwise, the map must be redrawn to include the omitted hazard. Finally, maps, like theories, vary greatly in range and application.
examples of a thesis
Unlike maps, the more broad and general a theory becomes, the more accurate and precise it can become as well. But eventually theories, like maps, become too large and complex to be applied and must be broken down. Maps begin with particular areas, as theories begin with specific cases. As additional areas are mapped, it is sometimes useful to join them together into integrated structures; as other information about an area is obtained, it is sometimes efficient to add it to an existing map. But that procedure has limits. Eventually, it may be easier and cheaper to prepare a new map for a limited purpose, probably by extracting information from existing structures and combining them, than to use a large, multipurpose structure for a limited problem.
examples of an expository essay
The price of a "weak" conception of theory is uncertainty with respect to quality. The worst effects of that uncertainty are avoided if the purposes for which the theory can be used are specified carefully, and the reliability of the theory in the pursuit of such purposes is stated as accurately as possible. Theories must be judged in the same way that judges score particular efforts in diving contests. There, evaluation is based on two factors: the difficulty of the dive, which is assigned an index number, and the quality of the execution, also assigned a number. In that system, the imperfect execution of a very difficult dive may count for more than the good execution of a much easier dive.
examples of argument essays
The concept of theory employed here is relatively weak, and such theories are more readily created than rigorously supported empirical laws of the kind preferred in philosophy of science. That weak definition is particularly important for the less developed disciplines, such as the social sciences, where very few structures of the precision and accuracy of the law of gravity or Ohm's law are available. Adding a Fudge Factor to a weak statement of relations allows the necessary logical calculations to be carried out without difficulty. Testing in use can produce an index of reliability that will inform the user how much confidence can be placed in the structure when it is applied.
examples of argumentative essays
In medicine, analogous procedures may place a higher value on a treatment program that works only part of the time, but is directed to very significant cases, than on a treatment that works invariably but applies only to trivial illnesses. If the purposes are important, weak theories are better than no theories. Since the theories produced by social science are a critical factor in the conduct of human affairs, individual and collective, it seems preferable to have weak theories--theories that perform imperfectly--than to have none. And the more powerful theories fit the same pattern, hence they can be handled using the same critical apparatus.
examples of compare and contrast essay
Inspection of the internal characteristics of a theory can often produce an estimate of overall quality, particularly where the theory is seriously flawed. The concepts or variables included in a theory must be well defined, for a theory that links X and Y is not very useful if the meaning of X and Y remains unclear. A theory is equally worthless if the rule linking the variables is stated in confusing or ambiguous terms, or if reliability, the influence of the Fudge Factor, is not known. The structure must contain at least two variables, for theories function by linking the values of two or more variables by rule. A single-variable theory, a "theory of X" that did not link X to any other variable, would be meaningless.
examples of compare and contrast essays
In most cases, the degree of correspondence between a proposed theory and the body of related knowledge currently accepted by informed persons in the field provides the major test of the theory. In physics, for example, a proposed theory that was inconsistent with the law of gravity would be rejected, or treated with great skepticism, even if the author claimed that experimental evidence had been obtained to support it. In general, the role of the experiment in theorizing has been greatly exaggerated, especially by media such as television or motion pictures.
examples of dissertation.
The variables or concepts incorporated into a theory are usually symbolized; even if they are not, the concepts must be linked to real-world observations by a set of what are called transformation rules, rules that specify the meaning of the concepts or symbols in operational or observational terms otherwise the theory remains unstable. Finally, the limiting conditions that control application of the theory must be specified. Otherwise, diagnosis may be impossible, or the theory will be applied improperly. When theories are well established and thoroughly incorporated into the training provided by those working in the area, there is a tendency to disregard or overlook some of the limits on application.
examples of dissertation topics
… In such highly technical and technological fields as rocketry, experimental success is truly cause for rejoicing because the experiment tests the reliability of the technology and not because it helps to establish the validity of the theories used to develop the rocket. In most cases, the theories involved were already well established before the first rocket was shot into space. In relatively new theoretical areas, where a solid body of well-established theory is not yet available, experimental results will play a larger role in justification. But in most of the older fields, experiments tend to validate expectations rather than produce new insights.