Is Observation-Based Ecology Scientific?

Abstract

Questions and criticisms that arise around observational approaches boil down to one fundamental question: “Is this really science?” This question could be asked of any kind of research, but because observational approaches have been out of the scientific mainstream for a long time, and because they invite so many nonscientists as well as investigators from the so-called soft sciences to be part of the life sciences, it is frequently directed at observational studies. So now that these kinds of studies are being integrated into science, the natural follow-up to the fundamental question becomes “Are observational approaches scientific?”