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{{Short description|1=Overview of and topical guide to scientific method}}
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The following [[Outline (list)|outline]] is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the scientific method:

'''[[Scientific method]]''' &ndash; body of techniques for investigating [[phenomenon|phenomena]] and acquiring new [[knowledge]], as well as for correcting and integrating previous knowledge. It is based on [[observable]], [[empirical]], [[Reproducibility|reproducible]], [[Measurement|measurable]] [[Scientific evidence|evidence]], and subject to the [[logical reasoning|laws of reasoning]].

{{TOC limit|limit=2}}

== Nature of scientific method ==
{{History of scientific method}}

[[Scientific method]]
* [[Science]]
* [[Philosophy of science]]
* [[Sociology of knowledge]]
* [[Process (science)|Process of science]]
* [[Knowledge]]

== Elements of scientific method ==

[[Research]]
* [[Basic research]]

=== Observation ===

[[Observation]]
* [[Scientific method]]
* [[Causality|Causation]]
* [[Discovery (observation)|Investigation]]
* [[Measurement]] ([[Outline of metrology and measurement]])

=== Hypothesis ===

[[Hypothesis]]
* pro:[[Karl Popper]] 
**[[Falsifiability]]
* con:[[Paul Feyerabend]]
* [[Statistical hypothesis testing]]

=== Experiment ===

[[Experiment]]
* [[Laboratory]]
* [[Laboratory techniques]]
* [[Design of experiments]]
* [[Scientific control]]
* [[Natural experiment]]
* [[Observational study]]
* [[Field experiment]]
* [[Self-experimentation]]
** [[Self-experimentation in medicine]]
* [[Placebo|Placebo effect]]

===Theory===
* [[Scientific theory]]

==== Prediction ====
* [[Prediction]] 
**[[Bayesian inference]] &ndash; subjective use of [[statistical reasoning]]
** [[Deductive reasoning]]
** [[Retrodiction]]

=== Evaluation by scientific community===

* [[Peer review]] 
* [[Medical peer review]]

== Scientific method concepts ==
=== Empirical methods ===

[[Empirical methods]]
* [[Empiricism]]
* [[Robert Grosseteste]]
* [[Peter Parker (physician)|Peter Parker]]
* [[Empirical validation]]
* [[Operationalization]]

=== Use of statistics ===
* ''[[Uncomfortable science]]'' — [[statistical inference|Inference]] from a limited [[sampling (statistics)|sample]] of [[data]]
* [[Exploratory data analysis]] 
* [[Confirmatory data analysis]]

=== Paradigm change ===
*[[Thomas Kuhn]]
** [[The Structure of Scientific Revolutions]] 
** [[Paradigm]]
** [[Paradigm shift]]

=== Problem of induction ===
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 ===
* [[Tacit knowledge]]

=== Deviations from the scientific method ===
* [[Junk science]]
* [[Pseudoscience]]
* [[Pathological science]]
* [[Fringe science]]

=== Critique of scientific method ===
* [[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 ===

* [[Science and technology studies]]
* [[Theories of technology]]

===Aesthetics in the scientific method ===
* [[Elegance]]
* [[Occam's razor]]

== History of scientific method ==
{{histOfScience}}
{{main article|History of scientific method|Timeline of the history of scientific method|History of science}}

===Publications===
* [[Ibn al-Haytham]]'s ''[[Book of Optics]]''
* [[Avicenna]]'s ''[[The Canon of Medicine]]''
* [[Roger Bacon]]'s ''[[Opus Majus]]''
* [[Francis Bacon]]'s ''[[Novum Organum]]''
* [[Isaac Newton]]'s ''[[Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica]]''

=== Persons influential in the development of scientific method ===

* [[Alhazen]]
* [[Francis Bacon]]
* [[Galileo Galilei]]
* [[Isaac Newton]]
* [[René Descartes]]
* [[Charles Sanders Peirce]]

== See also ==
<!-- these need annotations and placement/removal -->
* [[Bayesian probability]]
** [[Quasi-empirical method]]s
** [[Foundation ontology]]
** [[Ontology]]
** [[Philosophy of mathematics]]
** [[Mathematics]]
* [[Epistemology]]
** [[Post-processual archaeology]] is a methodological curiosity from Archaeology.
** [[Structuralism]]
***  [[Post-structuralism]]
*** [[Deconstruction]]
*** [[Postmodernism]]
*** [[Bruno Latour|Latour, Bruno]]
*** [[Secularism]]-
* [[Physical law]]
** [[Science policy]]
** [[Scientific Revolution]]
** [[Sociology of knowledge]]
** [[Science studies]]

==External links==
{{Sister project links|Scientific method}}

{{outline footer}}

[[Category:Scientific method]]
[[Category:Science-related lists|Scientific method]]
[[Category:Outlines of sciences|*]]
[[Category:Outlines|Scientific method topicsut]]