You may not know what the scientific method is in theory, but you’re bound to be applying it in your daily life without even realising it.
This approach to acquiring knowledge is typical of the more purely scientific disciplines, but it also has its place in the social sciences, as you will see below. Here, we explain what the scientific method is for and what its applications are.
What is the scientific method?
This system or set of guidelines is applied to works of an informative, academic or scientific nature. It can be defined as the series of steps carried out in a research project, aimed at formulating questions, establishing hypotheses, conducting experiments or practical tests, and objectively analysing the results obtained, in order to propose theories that validate those hypotheses.
Traditionally, the scientific method has been associated with disciplines such as physics, chemistry, meteorology, medicine and biology, but it is also applied in other fields of knowledge such as psychology, anthropology, linguistics, economics, criminology and sociology, amongst many others.
What are the stages of the scientific method?
Beyond the individual stages, you might be wondering why the scientific method is important, and here is a clear answer: it allows for a deep and genuine understanding of knowledge and enables us to make predictions, forecasts and scenarios across various fields of study. Of course, to apply it correctly, you need to follow its six stages in the right order.
Comment
This is the first stage of the scientific method. It involves identifying patterns, problems or situations that arouse curiosity in any field of knowledge, and which give rise to questions and curiosities to be resolved.
Statement of the problem
This step involves narrowing down that observation, attempting to organise the observed facts in order to steer the research in the right direction.
Formulation of hypotheses
Hypotheses are the initial, tentative answers given to the problems posed. They may or may not be correct, a fact that is later verified through experimentation.
Experimentation
It is not simply a matter of providing answers to the problem or the questions; rather, the exact same situations and conditions of the observed phenomena must be reproduced in order to verify that the hypotheses are correct. And this—reproducibility—is one of the essential characteristics of the scientific method.
Analysis
The analysis is based on determining whether these findings support the initial hypothesis. If they do, a theory can be put forward; if not, the analysis will still have served to confirm that the initial proposal does not provide an empirical explanation for a particular situation.
Conclusions and theories
The conclusion validates the hypotheses and serves as a starting point for future research. Theories must be concise, clear and supported by sound empirical evidence.
How the scientific method is applied in practice
There are countless examples and cases that demonstrate the effectiveness of the scientific method, ranging from the use of vaccines to Mendel’s experiments with peas and flowers, as well as weather forecasting and research into chronic diseases.
However, moving away from the more purely scientific disciplines for a moment, here is a theoretical example that can be applied to the social sciences.
Imagine you want to find out how unemployment and rising crime are linked in a deprived area of a city:
- Firstly, we should examine whether there is a higher incidence in areas with high unemployment rates.
- From there, we need to look for a causal link between those two situations. That would be the question to be answered – in other words, the hypothesis.
- The next step is to carry out experimental and empirical tests whilst controlling for a whole range of study variables.
- Next, carry out the relevant analyses to demonstrate that this hypothesis may be true and that it can be applied to other instances of violence and high unemployment rates.
- From there, statistical analyses are carried out which validate this hypothesis and may lead to a sound theory.
- Finally, the conclusion reaffirms the theory, which should lead to measures that tackle the problem of crime.
Now you know what the scientific method is and how it can be applied to any field of study. At tesisdoctoralesonline.com, we are very familiar with this set of guidelines, as many of our clients use this system to consolidate their knowledge and ensure the validity and quality of their work and research. Furthermore, on our website we offer solutions for all your printing needs.
