Scientific Method
From SkepticWiki
[edit] Definition
The scientific method refers to the collective practices and methods used by scientists to investigate and to discover new knowledge.
[edit] Overview
In broad terms, the scientific method can be summed up as a repeated application of the following steps:
- Observation
- Hypothesis generation
- Prediction
- Testing
In the course of her work, then, a scientist will typically observe some regularity about the world, and attempt to generate a hypothesis that explains that regularity. She will then use her hypothesis to predict other aspects of the world that would be expected to display related regularities, and test those predictions by further experimentation or observations. If the results of the testing are compatible with her hypothesis, she will continue to make (and test) predictions based on that hypothesis, while if the testing results do not match her hypothesis, she will generate a new hypothesis incorporating the observations that resulted from her tests.
In theory, the primary limit on her scientific practices is the relationship of her testing to the "real world." In practice, two other key aspects of science are peer review and publication. Publication is the process by which she shares her results, including her initial observations, hypotheses, testing methods, and experimental findings, with the community of scientists and the world at large. This permits other scientists to comment upon her approaches and to suggest improvements and alternatives. The two most common methods of publication are through scientific journals such as Science, Nature, or The Lancet, or through presentation at conferences such as meetings of scientific societies such as the AAAS or the Royal Society.
Peer review refers strictly to the accepted practice of sending manuscripts (usually manuscripts submitted to journals or conferences prior to their actual publication) to a group of (usually anonymous) scientists with expertise in this particular field to comment upon her manuscript. These "peer reviewers" may or may not recommend publication, or they may recommend publication only after changes have been made to the manuscript, either in the presentation or sometimes in the research itself. This process helps prevent low-quality, flawed, or incorrect ideas from circulating.
Failure to follow these established norms is often a hallmark of pseudoscience.
