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What is the scientific method?

We explain what the scientific method is and its steps. How scientific research is carried out step by step.

  1. What is the scientific method?

The scientific method is a process that aims to establish relationships between facts , to state laws that support the functioning of the world.

Since the human being is on the planet and uses reason to develop, he has needed the explanation of certain phenomena that govern the world. In Speech of the method , René Descartes began to arrange certain rules to guide the reason until being illuminated with the truth in the sciences. There came a moment in history in which an idea needed to be affirmed : knowledge and scientific discovery must be autonomous, they must not be subjected or conditioned by political or religious authorities.

The “how to discover” has had many interpretations of many thinkers, among which are John Locke, Isaac Newton, David Hume, Immanuel Kant and Karl Hegel.

  1. Why the scientific method?

Scientific method
The scientific method is verifiable and explanatory.

Depending on the field of action and the implications of the study, there are a number of methods that help discovery . The historical method will not be the same as the logical method, just as the inductive  or deductive will not be the same .

However, there is a predominant scientific method, which can be extrapolated to almost all sciences. Perhaps, the first characteristic that can be said of this method is that it is based on laws that man derived , so the effectiveness of the method is verifiable in the use itself.

It is a rational method, produces ideas that combine and can generate new ideas and concepts, even a change in the method itself. By these characteristics it can be said that the scientific method is verifiable and explanatory.

From these last two characteristics arise the two precepts that base the method,  falsifiability and reproducibility:

  • Falsifiability  It points out that the propositions that this method considers as true cannot cease to be subject to being reevaluated as false.
  • Reproducibility  It means that the veracity of a proposition can be replicated in other conditions, unless it had been clarified in the statement itself.
  1. Steps of the scientific method

After this brief introduction, we can explain the ordered steps of the scientific method:

  • Observation . Through sensitive activity, man naturally realizes phenomena that arise. With this first step, you must pay attention to how phenomena are shown in reality , and specifically record them correctly.
  • Induction . The phenomena that have been observed may have a regularity or a particularity that brings them all together. This step includes realizing what she is, and also the essential part of wondering why that happens.
  • Hypothesis .  Once the question is asked, the hypothesis is the possible explanation to the question. This step is quite autonomous and has a lot to do with the scientist, so if there are too many obstacles, many agree to indicate that the most sensible thing is to return to this step and raise another hypothesis.
  • Experimentation . The hypothesis is tested a sufficient number of times to establish a regularity.
  • Demonstration. With the previous two steps, it can be said whether the above was categorically true, false or irregular. As stated, you may eventually return to the third level and propose a new hypothesis.
  • Thesis .  If the previous level was reached effectively, conclusions are drawn and a scientific theoryis reached.

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