The scientific method is a body
of techniques for investigating phenomena,
acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous
knowledge. To be termed scientific, a method of inquiry must be based
on empirical and measurable evidence
subject to specific principles of reasoning.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines the scientific method as: "a method or procedure that has characterized natural science since the 17th century, consisting in systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses."
The Oxford English Dictionary defines the scientific method as: "a method or procedure that has characterized natural science since the 17th century, consisting in systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses."
The chief characteristic which distinguishes the scientific
method from other methods of acquiring knowledge is that scientists seek to let
reality speak for itself, supporting a theory when a theory's predictions
are confirmed and challenging a theory when its predictions prove false. Although procedures vary from one field of inquiry to another, identifiable features distinguish
scientific inquiry from other methods of obtaining knowledge.
Scientific
researchers propose hypotheses as explanations of phenomena, and design experimental studies to test these hypotheses via predictions which can be derived from them.
These
steps must be repeatable, to guard against mistake or confusion in any
particular experimenter.
Theories that
encompass wider domains of inquiry may bind many independently derived
hypotheses together in a coherent, supportive structure.
Theories, in turn, may
help form new hypotheses or place groups of hypotheses into context.
Scientific inquiry is generally intended to be as objective as possible in order to
reduce biased interpretations of results.
Another basic expectation is to
document, archive and share all data and methodology so
they are available for careful scrutiny by other scientists, giving them the
opportunity to verify results by attempting to reproduce them.
This
practice, called full disclosure, also allows statistical measures
of the reliability of these data to be
established (when data is sampled or compared to chance).
