Difference between revisions of "Scientific method"

Revision as of 18:20, June 4, 2007

The goal of the scientific method is to test the truthfulness of a hypothesis. It is not a set of directions for making original discoveries and it does not set out the means that scientists must use in order for their research to succeed. The whole point is to compare the hypothesis with the facts.

Processes involved in the scientific method

• the identification of a problem or uncertainty about an area of knowledge
• the precise statement of that problem
• the examination of the existing knowledge to see what solutions it offers to the problem
• the statement of a hypothesis that looks as if it might answer the problem
• the testing of that hypothesis to see if it is compatible with the much of the existing knowledge about the problem
• the drawing of some consequences of the hypothesis that can be tested
• the design of an empirical test of the hypothesis or its consequence of it that can be tested by experiment or observation
• the carrying out of such tests of the hypothesis looking at all the evidence, whether it supports the hypothesis or not
• the examination of the data resulting from those tests, including statistical processing
• the evaluation of the hypothesis to see if it is still compatible with both existing knowledge and new experimental evidence
• the retesting of the hypothesis, possibly with new methods, if the results of experiments and observations are inconclusive
• the acceptance, change or rejection of the hypothesis if the results of experiments and observations are conclusive
• the checking of the existing body of knowledge to see if the acceptance of the hypothesis changes it in some way
• the identification and formulation of new problems raised by the confirmation of the hypothesis
• the repetition of the test and reexamination of its possible impact on existing knowledge

Conclusions drawn from the scientific method

The agreement of an observation or experiment with a hypothesis does not on its own prove the hypothesis correct. It merely makes its correctness more likely. The hypothesis must agree with other aspects of the scientific framework of knowledge, and survive the test of repeated experiments by other people working independently. Over time, the accumulation of data will tend to confirm or refute a hypothesis.

Scientists may be influenced by their world-views to look for certain results that fit a preconception. The test of objectivity and rigor imposed on their work by the need for other scientists to replicate it makes the truth-seeking facility of the scientific method prevail in the long run. ^[1]

Links

[1] [2]

References

1. ↑ http://teacher.pas.rochester.edu/phy_labs/AppendixE/AppendixE.html