Skill 1.1. Question Formulation

Domain 1. Investigation and Experimentation Skill 1.1 Question Formulation 

The first step in scientific inquiry is posing a question to be answered. Next, one forms a hypothesis, and then conducts an experiment to test the hypothesis. Comparison between the predicted and observed results is the next step. Conclusions are then formed based on the analysis and it is determined whether the hypothesis is correct or incorrect. If incorrect, the next step is to form a new hypothesis and the process is repeated. 

Let s use the following everyday situation as an example. Through the course of making breakfast, you bring three eggs from the refrigerator over to the stove. Your hands are full and you accidentally drop an egg on the floor, which immediately shatters all over the tile floor. As you clean up the mess you wonder if you had carried the eggs in their cardboard container, would they have broken if dropped Similarly, if dropped would they have broken on a softer surface, for example linoleum  

Once the question is formulated take an educated guess about the answer to the problem or question. For our scientist above, a plausible hypothesis might be that even if dropped, the egg would not have broken if it had been enclosed in its protective cardboard box. 

The question stage of scientific inquiry involves repetition. By repeating the experiment you can discover whether or not you have reproducibility. 

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The formulation of a problem is often more essential than a solution, which may be merely a matter of mathematical or experimental skills. To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old questions from a new angle. re Mires creative imagination and marks real advances Albert Einstein... 

In definition, herbal remedies used as medicines may be traditionally or serendipitously derived, varying in formulation, preparation, and standardization, sometimes unreliable as to plant identification or to chemical composition, and depending on their cultural source, infrequently validated, in conventional ways, as to efficacy or safety. They may be prescribed by a healer of experience and training or of questionable skill, or they may be used in self-medication. As exemplified in American and African indigenous populations, prayers, mantras, or other forms of healing ceremonies may be used as an adjunct to phytotherapy. The applications of energy medicine to potentiate the curative process are still poorly understood (Elvin-Lewis, 2003, 2004). 

Skill 1.1 Formulating research questions and investigations in chemistry... 

The evaluation of clinical risk requires the careful application of judgement based on a sound knowledge of the system under consideration and the domain in which it is deployed. Similarly, the effective formulation and implementation of an SMS is a complex task which requires skill and expertise. It follows therefore that the accuracy of a CRM analysis is significantly dependent on the competency of the stakeholders involved. Those challenging the claims of a safety case might be quite justified in bringing into question its validity where the capabihties and proficiency of its authors is questionable. It is therefore wise for a rigorous CRM system to be backed up by pro-active evidence of a personnel competency assessment for project stakeholders. 

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