An alternative interpretation of the scientific method is as a
sequence of problems. The investigator asks questions that
seek to find what the result implies or suggests; how the result
could be corroborated independently, that is, by alterna-
tive procedures; whether the new result is more precise and
plausible than results obtained by alternative procedures; if so,
what that result implies or suggests; and, if not, what may have
to be altered in the preceding operations.
Whether the scientific method can legitimately and fruitfully
be used in the social sciences, such as economics, psychology,
and sociology, has been a subject of controversy. The history
of these sciences shows conclusively that the scientific method
has been fruitful wherever it has actually been employed.
Experimental methods
Often, the scientific method involves experimentation—that
is, deliberate, controlled modification of some properties (also
called factors or variables). Such experiments involve design
and operation of an investigational setup, which often includes
one or more measuring instruments. When the objects, or vari-
ables, of an experiment are similar, the investigator(s) compare
before and after the variable or variables in question have been
altered. When the objects of an experiment exhibit significant
variations, as is typically the case with living organisms, a large
collection or group must be studied. Scientists divide such col-
lections into two roughly equal parts: the experimental group
and the control group. To avoid bias, the members of each col-
lection are selected at random. In the case of humans, control
groups are given placebos. (In more refined experiments, the
control group is split into two, only one of which is given a
placebo, and the experimenter does not know beforehand who
will be given what. This is called a double-blind experiment.)
Only the members of experimental groups are subjected to the
stimulus whose effects the experimenter wishes to determine.
The simplest experimental design involves the variation of
one variable at a time. More complex experimental designs
allow for simultaneous variation of two or more variables.
After the stimulus has been applied, the variables of interest
are observed or measured in the two groups. If a difference is
observed, a statistical significance test is applied to find out
whether the difference is genuine or due to small individual dif-
ferences or to random errors. The procedure is usually repeated
by the same observer or by an independent investigator to
check for possible errors in design, execution, or interpretation.
Science versus nonscience
Because use of the scientific method is one characteristic of
scientific research, its absence is a sure indicator of nonscience
or pseudoscience. In other words, a discipline where the
scientific method plays no role is not a science. Thus, such fields
as theology, literary criticism, psychoanalysis, astrology, and
palmistry can hardly be regarded as scientific.
Scientific Methods (continued)
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