1.
Explain in a careful, step-by-step way
the six-step model of the scientific method. Make sure to provide
illustrations. Also make sure to critique the model.
Finally, discuss the usefulness of the scientific method with
regard to your area of concentration and provide several examples of
how the scientific method could be used in your area of concentration.
3.
Francis Bacon’s
“knowledge is power” and Plato’s “knowledge is virtue” appear to
express antithetical conceptions of our chief reason
for pursuing knowledge. Where do you stand in terms of this contrast
and why do you think yours is the correct answer? In
your response to this question, draw on insights and knowledge that you
have gained through the 18 hours of your MLS concentration.
4. Presumably, there should be a clear
connection between one’s answer to the question “What is knowledge for?”
and the question “What is human life for?” How
do you conceive the central purpose(s) of human life? What
are the main characteristics of well-lived, fulfilling human lives?
Why, and in exactly what ways, is the pursuit of knowledge
important to attaining these purposes or producing these
characteristics? In your response to this question, draw on insights
and knowledge that you have gained through the 18 hours of your MLS
concentration.
5. What are the chief characteristics of the
knowledge/information society? How does it differ from its predecessors
(e.g., the agricultural and industrial societies)? What
challenges and opportunities does it face? Provide
several examples of how your area of concentration is part of the
knowledge/information society.
6.
Suppose you wanted
to do some research on the topic of immigration. Explain
and defend the strategy you would adopt to do the research; the tactics
you would use; how you would determine whether your sources were
reliable; and how you would decide when to bring your research to a
close.
(Posted January 28, 2008.)
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