Explain the numerous varieties of scientific approach.

The first 200 words of this essay...

To tackle the question above the essay will first explain what science is using a concise definition. It will then go onto explain the numerous varieties of scientific approach. After which the question of human geography and how scientific it is, will be addressed. This will lead onto the problems of science within the discipline. Finally the essay will conclude with a summary of the argument.

What is Science?

Physical sciences are used in many disciplines. Its use spans a lengthy gestation over hundreds of years, and as a result methods employed and the philosophical frameworks underpinning them have changed in response to emerging understandings. Thus there is a rich source for geography of methods drawing on observation, measurement, various forms of experimentation, theory development and testing. These various practices of science are incorporated in geography, and as a result geography contributes as well as draws from the methods. What 'science' actually is, is not as straightforward a question as would first appear. Firstly, the language the word is defined in changes the definitions implications. Holloway et al (2003) notes, in the English language the word is commonly assumed to refer to the physical sciences "(leading a