73,002 research outputs found
No wisdom in the crowd: genome annotation at the time of big data - current status and future prospects
Science and engineering rely on the accumulation
and dissemination of knowledge to make discoveries
and create new designs. Discovery-driven genome
research rests on knowledge passed on via gene
annotations. In response to the deluge of sequencing
big data, standard annotation practice employs automated
procedures that rely on majority rules. We
argue this hinders progress through the generation
and propagation of errors, leading investigators into
blind alleys. More subtly, this inductive process discourages
the discovery of novelty, which remains
essential in biological research and reflects the nature
of biology itself. Annotation systems, rather than
being repositories of facts, should be tools that support
multiple modes of inference. By combining
deduction, induction and abduction, investigators can
generate hypotheses when accurate knowledge is
extracted from model databases. A key stance is to
depart from âthe sequence tells the structure tells the
functionâ fallacy, placing function first. We illustrate
our approach with examples of critical or unexpected
pathways, using MicroScope to demonstrate how
tools can be implemented following the principles we
advocate. We end with a challenge to the reader
THOUGHTS ON BUILDING AN ACADEMIC CAREER
We have many routes to success in agricultural economics: extension education, resident teaching, advising, research, and public service. In selecting problems to study we must be sensitive to needs of all our clientele. Several production economics concepts are relevant to allocating our own efforts. Noticing, recognizing, and experiencing surprise aid scientific discovery. We need to use heuristics, intuition, deduction, and induction, though consideration of science's ideal and real types shows that all these mental processes are fallible. We need special theories that have broad application. Replication deserves high priority. A few thoughts on the manuscript review process are presented.Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,
Closure Failure and Scientific Inquiry
Deduction is important to scientific inquiry because it can extend knowledge efficiently, bypassing the need to investigate everything directly. The existence of closure failureâwhere one knows the premises and that the premises imply the conclusion but nevertheless does not know the conclusionâis a problem because it threatens this usage. It means that we cannot trust deduction for gaining new knowledge unless we can identify such cases ahead of time so as to avoid them. For philosophically engineered examples we have âinner alarm bellsâ to detect closure failure, but in scientific investigation we would want to use deduction for extension of our knowledge to matters we donât already know that we couldnât know. Through a quantitative treatment of how fast probabilistic sensitivity is lost over steps of deduction, I identify a condition that guarantees that the growth of potential error will be gradual; thus, dramatic closure failure is avoided. Whether the condition is fulfilled is often obvious, but sometimes it requires substantive investigation. I illustrate that not only safe deduction but the discovery of dramatic closure failures can lead to scientific advances
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A comparative survey of integrated learning systems
This paper presents the duction framework for unifying the three basic forms of inference - deduction, abduction, and induction - by specifying the possible relationships and influences among them in the context of integrated learning. Special assumptive forms of inference are defined that extend the use of these inference methods, and the properties of these forms are explored. A comparison to a related inference-based learning frame work is made. Finally several existing integrated learning programs are examined in the perspective of the duction framework
Automatic Deduction in Dynamic Geometry using Sage
We present a symbolic tool that provides robust algebraic methods to handle
automatic deduction tasks for a dynamic geometry construction. The main
prototype has been developed as two different worksheets for the open source
computer algebra system Sage, corresponding to two different ways of coding a
geometric construction. In one worksheet, diagrams constructed with the open
source dynamic geometry system GeoGebra are accepted. In this worksheet,
Groebner bases are used to either compute the equation of a geometric locus in
the case of a locus construction or to determine the truth of a general
geometric statement included in the GeoGebra construction as a boolean
variable. In the second worksheet, locus constructions coded using the common
file format for dynamic geometry developed by the Intergeo project are accepted
for computation. The prototype and several examples are provided for testing.
Moreover, a third Sage worksheet is presented in which a novel algorithm to
eliminate extraneous parts in symbolically computed loci has been implemented.
The algorithm, based on a recent work on the Groebner cover of parametric
systems, identifies degenerate components and extraneous adherence points in
loci, both natural byproducts of general polynomial algebraic methods. Detailed
examples are discussed.Comment: In Proceedings THedu'11, arXiv:1202.453
The role of philosophical context in the development of research methodology and theory
The research strategy dictates the major direction of the research and constitutes one of the important decisions made by the researcher. However, researchersâ understanding on theory at the outset of the research guides the design of the research. The paper presents an overview of the involvement of theory within different research philosophies, approaches and methods. The relationship between data and theory is an issue that has been long debated. Moving from data to theory is commonly discussed in social constructionism with inductive approach and ideographic methods. However, within positivism philosophy with deductive approach and nomothetic methods, moving from theory to data is common. However, the growing concept of philosophical pluralism and methodological pluralism challenges the polarised views on philosophies and approaches, which suggests that methodologies are best used in complementary way.
Keywords â Research Philosophy, Research Methods, Induction, Deduction, Theory, Pluralis
The role of philosophical context in the development of theory: Towards methodological pluralism
The research strategy dictates the major direction of the research and constitutes one of the important decisions made by the researcher. However, researchersâ understanding on theory at the outset of the research guides the design of the research. The paper presents an overview of the involvement of theory within different research philosophies, approaches and methods. The relationship between data and theory is an issue that has been long debated. Moving from data to theory is commonly discussed in social constructionism with inductive approach and ideographic methods. However, within positivism philosophy with deductive approach and nomothetic methods, moving from theory to data is common. However, the growing concept of philosophical pluralism and methodological pluralism challenges the polarised views on philosophies and approaches, which suggests that methodologies are best used in complementary way
What is abductive inference?
Abductive reasoning: constitutes according to Peirce the "first stage" of scientific inquiries (CP 6.469) and of any interpretive processes. "Abduction" is the process of adopting an explanatory hypothesis (CP 5.145) and covers two operations: the selection and the formation of plausible hypotheses. As process of finding premisses, it is the basis of interpretive reconstruction of causes and intentions, as well as of inventive construction of theories
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