THE SCOPE OF ZOOLOGY 



digestion in an amoeba, for instance, will make you better able to under- 

 stand this process in the human body when we come to that part of our 

 study. If you will keep this in mind, the study of some of the simpler 

 forms of life will be much more meaningful and valuable to you. 



The Nature of Science 



Zoology comes under that broad classification of learning which is 

 known as science, and we will be better prepared for a study of zoology 

 after we have learned something about the nature of science and its 

 methods. It is often said that we are living in an age of science. Cer- 

 tainly there has never been a time in man's existence when his life has 

 been so greatly influenced by science. As a matter of fact, the continu- 

 ation of our present civilization on the face of the earth is dependent to 

 a great extent upon our achievements in the field of science. With 

 these facts in mind it certainly behooves all of us to know something 

 about the nature of science and the way it develops. 



Traditionally, science has been defined as an organized body of 

 knowledge, and this definition is accurate as far as it goes. However, 

 some critics have raised the objection that this implies that science 

 is something static — as if all of the discoveries of science have already 

 been made and it is our task only to organize this knowledge, utilize it 

 as needed, and pass it to future generations. As a matter of fact, how- 

 ever, science is a dynamic thing — ever expanding as new discoveries 

 pour in from research centers all over the world. It might be better, 

 therefore, to expand our concept of science to include the process of in- 

 vestigation and discovery which is the active, dynamic phase of science. 

 As these discoveries are made they must be organized and integrated 

 with the great body of knowledge which already exists. 



The Scientific Method 



The process of scientific investigation or research is sometimes called 

 the scientific method. Regardless of the topic under investigation, there 

 are certain procedures that lead to an orderly, criticial method of study 

 which will very likely lead to reliable results. This is the aim of scien- 

 tific research — truth. 



To begin with, there must be a realization of a problem before any 

 investigation can be undertaken. Hence, we might consider a clear-cut 

 statement of a problem as a beginning point for the scientific method. 

 It is important that a problem be chosen that is rather narrow in range. 

 An untrained investigator is very likely to select a problem which is so 



