Outline of scientific method
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the scientific method:
Scientific method – body of techniques for investigating phenomena and acquiring new knowledge, as well as for correcting and integrating previous knowledge. It is based on observable, empirical, reproducible, measurable evidence, and subject to the laws of reasoning.
Nature of scientific method
[edit]| Scientific method |
|---|
| Background |
| Scientific community |
| Characterization |
Elements of scientific method
[edit]Observation
[edit]Hypothesis
[edit]Experiment
[edit]- Laboratory
- Laboratory techniques
- Design of experiments
- Scientific control
- Natural experiment
- Observational study
- Field experiment
- Self-experimentation
- Placebo effect
Theory
[edit]Prediction
[edit]- Prediction
- Bayesian inference – subjective use of statistical reasoning
- Deductive reasoning
- Retrodiction
Evaluation by scientific community
[edit]Scientific method concepts
[edit]Empirical methods
[edit]Use of statistics
[edit]- Uncomfortable science — Inference from a limited sample of data
- Exploratory data analysis
- Confirmatory data analysis
Paradigm change
[edit]Problem of induction
[edit]The problem of induction questions the logical basis of scientific statements.
- Inductive reasoning appears to lie at the core of the scientific method, yet also appears to be invalid.
- David Hume was the person who first pointed out the problem of induction.
- Karl Popper offered one solution, Falsifiability
Scientific creativity
[edit]Deviations from the scientific method
[edit]Critique of scientific method
[edit]- Paul Feyerabend argued that the search for a definitive scientific method was misplaced and even counterproductive.
- Imre Lakatos attempted to bridge the gap between Popper and Kuhn.
- Sociology of scientific knowledge
- Scientism
Relationship of scientific method to technology
[edit]Aesthetics in the scientific method
[edit]History of scientific method
[edit]| Background |  | |
|---|---|---|
| By era | ||
| By culture | ||
| Natural sciences | ||
| Mathematics | ||
| Social sciences | ||
| Technology | ||
| Medicine | ||
Publications
[edit]- Ibn al-Haytham's Book of Optics
- Avicenna's The Canon of Medicine
- Roger Bacon's Opus Majus
- Francis Bacon's Novum Organum
Persons influential in the development of scientific method
[edit]See also
[edit]- Bayesian probability
- Epistemology
- Post-processual archaeology is a methodological curiosity from Archaeology.
- Structuralism
- Physical law
External links
[edit]
Scientific method at Wikipedia's sister projects
Definitions from Wiktionary
Media from Commons
News from Wikinews
Quotations from Wikiquote
Texts from Wikisource
Textbooks from Wikibooks
Resources from Wikiversity
