The Scientific Method and Touch Therapy
Biology is the study of living organisms. The scientific method help scientists to conduct their research an orderly manner. In this lab we will learn how to conduct research in biology employing the Scientific Method just as a Biologist would in their research. We will conduct research on the efficacy of Therapeutic Touch therapy as a technique administered to patients experiencing extreme pain during recovery from surgery. This lab is based on study by Rosa et al.
In this experiment we will work in pairs. Each member of the pair will test their lab partner's ability to detect energy fields during two trials. In the first trial, one student will be the subject. The other student will be the investigator. The first subject will put their hands, palms up, through the two openings in the experimental blind. They will close their eyes for a 20-30 second test and try to detect the energy field of the investigator. Meanwhile, on the other side of the experimental blind, the investigator will place a hand over one of the hands of the subject during the second test. At the end of the second test, the investigator will record a correct or incorrect detection by the subject. The investigator will flip a coin to decide which hand of the subject they will place their hand over for the 30-second test. If the coin is heads, then the investigator will place their right hand over the right hand of the subject. If the coin is tails then the investigator will place their right hand over the left hand of the subject.
This will be repeated 80 times and all the data recorded. After that, the data will analyzed through chi squares, unfortunately. Chi squares are a complex way of seeing the difference between the "should be" data and the "actual" data.
