Re: why is observation important in scientific research

I am not sure about the second part of your question but I can give you 
an answer as to "why is observation so important". However, to do this we 
need to talk about what science is in the first place.

The word "science" comes from the Greek word "scientia" which means "to 
know". Science is about knowing. It is about discovering and 
understanding something. For example, "Political science" is about 
knowing and understanding politics; "social science" is about knowing and 
understanding the interactions in society and between members of that 
society.

Science is then something that we do. That is, it is an activity 
requiring us to do something. You can't just close your eyes and hope 
that science will somehow enlighten you. You must participate in the 
process.

This is where "observation" comes in. A long time ago, a philosopher by 
the name of Roger Bacon advocated that people should use a regular and 
structured approach to science. That is, they should not just read what 
the Greeks and Romans thought about the way the world works, but that 
they should go out and test their thoughts. For example, it is all well 
and good to think that the earth is a giant magnet that is holding us to 
its surface, but where is the proof? Where are the experiments? How do 
you know this? At the time, the answer would have been "Well, because the 
Greek philosopher so-and-so said it was so." And how did they know 
it? "Because some other Greek philosopher so-and-so told them!" Not a 
very scientific approach!

So, Bacon advocated the idea that scientific evidence had to 
be "empirical". That is, the scientific approach is based on experiment 
and evidence. And that all of the theories and laws that we make must be 
consistent with the evidence. A single piece of evidence that doesn't fit 
can invalidate a whole theory!

The idea, then, is to use something called the "scientific method". It is 
a fancy name for a simple idea. It goes something like this:

1) You observe something peculiar in the world around you.

2) You try to explain it by making a guess - a hypothesis - about why it 
is so.

3) You test your hypothesis by doing an experiment.

4) You observe the results of your experiment and see:
(a) if they agree with the observations that you made in the beginning 
and 
(b) if they confirm your hypothesis.

5) You come to a conclusion.

Typically, one experiment isn't enough and it needs to be replicated. 
Frequently, the first experiment leads to further questions and 
experiments. But all the time, you are observing the results of the 
experiments and testing them against your hypothesis.

Eventually, with enough experimental results - when enough observations 
are made - you have some confidence that your hypothesis is, in fact, 
correct (or incorrect!) and that you know something about the "why" 
behind your observations. This is when you can start formulating "Laws" 
(an explanation of what will be observed) and "Theories" (an explanation 
of why it observed).

But always, any approach to science - to knowing something - is tied to 
observations that you can make about it.

It is not really that hard and it something that we do every day. As an 
example, take pistachio ice cream. Now, I have never tried pistachio ice 
cream so I don't know if I will like it. What do I do? Well, I make up a 
hypothesis - "I might like pistachio ice cream". I then set up an 
experiment - "I take a scoop of pistachio ice cream and I taste it". I 
follow this with my observations - "creamy, smooth, cool - and a good 
flavour". And I follow this with a conclusion - "I like pistachio ice 
cream!". But to be certain, I do a lot of experiments - I eat the whole 
bowl! (By the way, this approach never works with eating liver!)

It is the approach that we take to many things in our lives. We determine 
how things are by making observations. And the scientific method - 
science as we know it - is based on the idea that by observing we can 
come to an understanding of the way the world around us works. It is that 
understanding - that "knowing" - that is at the very heart of what 
science is and what science does. Observation is our way of finding out 
about the world. This is why it is so important to scientific research.

Hope that answers your question.