Scientific Method (Meaning and Explanation)

We explain what the scientific method is, its steps and characteristics. Also, examples of its application step by step.

What is the Scientific Method?

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

It is a rigorous system that has a series of steps and whose purpose is to generate scientific knowledge through the empirical verification of phenomena and facts. In the scientific method, observation is used to propose a hypothesis that is then attempted to be verified through experimentation.

Many of the discoveries that we know today were based on a hypothesis that was proven through this method. It is used in most sciences such as chemistry, physics, psychology; and can be applied to explain everyday life phenomena.

Galileo Galilei was one of the pioneers in the use of the experimental scientific method. Over the years, its application has had multiple interpretations by many thinkers, including John Locke, Isaac Newton, David Hume, Immanuel Kant and Karl Hegel. In Discourse of the method (1637), René Descartes established certain rules to guide reason until he was enlightened with the truth in the sciences.

Why the scientific method?

Since human beings have used reason to develop, they have needed the explanation of certain phenomena that govern the world. Depending on the field of action and the implications of the study, there are a series of methods that help with discovery. The historical method is not the same as the logical method, just as the inductive or deductive method is not the same.

Characteristics of the scientific method

Rigorous. The researcher must follow the order of all the steps of the method, without altering any of them.
Aim. It is based on concrete and verifiable facts, and not on wishes, beliefs or opinions. It is the responsibility of the scientist or researcher to keep his or her subjective vision outside the research.
Progressive. The knowledge obtained is cumulative. They can reaffirm or complement existing research and discoveries, or even correct them.
Rational. It uses reason to make deductions and is based on logic and not on opinions or beliefs.
Verifiable. The proposed hypothesis must be able to be applied and tested empirically through experimentation.

Steps of the scientific method

Observation. Through sensitive activity, man accounts for phenomena that are presented to him. In this first step, reality phenomena are observed and recorded. It is important to take objective facts into account and leave aside subjective or personal opinions.
Induction and questions. The phenomena that have been observed may have a regularity or a particularity that brings them together. This observation raises questions and questions about some fact or phenomenon.
Hypothesis. Once the question is asked, the hypothesis is the possible explanation for the question asked. This hypothesis must be able to be tested empirically.
Experimentation. The hypothesis is tested a sufficient number of times to establish regularity.
Demonstration. With the two previous steps, it will be possible to determine whether the hypothesis proposed was true, false or irregular. In the event that the hypothesis cannot be proven, a new one can be formulated.
Thesis. If the hypothesis is not refuted, since it is proven in all cases, conclusions are drawn to dictate scientific laws and theories.

Examples of the scientific method

Polio vaccine – Jonas Salk (1955)

Observation. In 1947, polio was a very common disease in the United States and the world caused by the poliovirus.
Induction and questions. Previous studies had managed to grow the virus in the laboratory. Jonas Salk, with the support of the American National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, decided to develop a vaccine prototype.
Hypothesis. The development of the first polio vaccine can be obtained through a killed virus.
Experimentation. For eight years, Salk experimented in the laboratory. The first vaccine was tested by Salk, his relatives and a group of volunteers. After this first test, Salk began a clinical trial on two million children.
Demonstration. In 1955, after the results of the trial with children, it was detected that the vaccine was safe and effective in preventing poliomyelitis in 90% of cases.
Thesis. Salk developed an injectable vaccine based on the three varieties of the virus grown in monkey tissue and inactivated in formalin. Mass vaccination began immediately and polio cases began to decline considerably.

Polio vaccine – Albert Sabin (1962)

Observation. At the same time that Salk was researching his vaccine, Albert Sabin was attempting to develop a polio vaccine.
Induction and questions. How to develop a vaccine prototype?
Hypothesis. A vaccine developed from a live virus can guarantee patient immunity for an extended period.
Experimentation. Albert Sabin carried out the first tests of his vaccine with himself, his relatives, a group of researchers and prison inmates. Mass testing was carried out by the Ministry of Health of the Soviet Union in 1957.
Demonstration. In 1962, the US Public Health Service approved the vaccine designed by Sabin and the World Health Organization (WHO) began using it.
Thesis. A vaccine was developed in the form of a syrup that is administered orally. This vaccine not only managed to protect people against polio but also prevented them from being carriers of the disease and, therefore, not contagious (this is the main difference with the Salk vaccine). It is today the most used vaccine in the fight against this disease.

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References

“Scientific method” in Encyclopedia Britannica.
«Discourse on the method» in Wikipedia.
«History of the scientific method» in Wikipedia.
“What are the phases of the scientific method?” at International University of Valencia
«History of polio» in CAEME.
“This is how the polio vaccine was born” on RTVE.