scientific method

American  

[sahy-uhn-tif-ik meth-uhd] / ˈsaɪ ənˌtɪf ɪk ˈmɛθ əd /

noun

1. Often the scientific method the method of discovery used by scientists from the Enlightenment onward, in which a question is identified, data are gathered through observation and research, a hypothesis is formulated and then tested through experimentation, and the results are analyzed to draw a conclusion: usually followed, in the scientific community, by sharing the results so that others can attempt to replicate and confirm them independently.

2. any process followed systematically to arrive at knowledge of the universe, especially in premodern times.

   In developing his systematic reflection, Thomas Aquinas followed Aristotle's scientific method as far as possible.

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scientific method British  

noun

1. a method of investigation in which a problem is first identified and observations, experiments, or other relevant data are then used to construct or test hypotheses that purport to solve it

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scientific method Cultural  

1. An orderly technique of investigation that is supposed to account for scientific progress. The method consists of the following steps: (1) Careful observations of nature. (2) Deduction of natural laws. (3) Formation of hypotheses — generalizations of those laws to previously unobserved phenomena. (4) Experimental or observational testing of the validity of the predictions thus made. Actually, scientific discoveries rarely occur in this idealized, wholly rational, and orderly fashion.

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Etymology

Origin of scientific method

First recorded in 1850–55

Example Sentences

Journalism requires thought, patience, critical thinking and the application of the scientific method to mass communication.

From Salon • Feb. 6, 2026

Yet anthropomorphism was increasingly seen as a form of bias that did not align with the scientific method emerging in the 19th century.

From Salon • May 12, 2025

Lest you require a reminder, most modern scientific experiments are constructed using the scientific method.

From Slate • Nov. 14, 2024

As I’ve written, to advance this campaign the subcommittee has placed respected scientists in the dock and showered them with public vituperation, misrepresented their research and ridiculed the scientific method.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 6, 2024

The three people who between them established both the scientific method itself and the pre-eminence of British science at the end of the seventeenth century were Robert Hooke, Edmond Halley and Isaac Newton.

From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin