Making the case for case studies

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Notes

1. Qigong is a technique, associated with some martial arts, for coordinating different breathing patterns with various physical postures and motions of the body in order to achieve and maintain good health and enhance mobility and stamina.

2. In an exercise designed by John Somerville (1941) to focus attention on demarcation criteria, students are invited to consider whether umbrellaology (dealing with colour and weight of umbrellas, number of umbrellas per household, age and sex of owners, and making extensive use of statistical data) qualifies as a science.

3. No particular literature sources were recommended. Students chose to consult sources ranging from high-status publications such as Scientific American, Discovery, The New York Times and Newsday to supermarket tabloids like The National Enquirer and The Globe.