KNOWLEDGE
SCIENCE:
ANY SYSTEM OF KNOWLEDGE THAT IS CONCERNED WITH THE PHYSICAL WORLD AND ITS PHENOMENA AND THAT ENTAILS UNBIASED OBSERVATIONS AND SYSTEMATIC EXPERIMENTATION. IN GENERAL, A SCIENCE INVOLVES A PURSUIT OF KNOWLEDGE COVERING GENERAL TRUTHS OR THE OPERATIONS OF FUNDAMENTAL LAWS.
THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD:
1) IDENTIFICATION OF A KNOWLEDGE PROBLEM;
2) PRECISE FORMULATION OR REFORMULATION OF THE PROBLEM;
3) EXAMINATION OF THE BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE IN A SERCH FOR ITEMS THAT MIGHT HELP SOLVE THE PROBLEM;
4) CHOICE OR INVENTION OF A TENTATIVE HYPOTHESIS, THAT LOOKS PROMISING;
5) CONCEPTUAL TEST OF THE HYPOTESIS, THAT IS, CHECKING WHETHER IT IS COMPATIBLE WITH THE BULK OF THE EXISTING KNOWLEDGE ON THE MATTER (FOR IT MIGHT BE A WILD CONJECTURE NOT WORTH PURSUING);
6) DRAWING SOME TESTABLE CONSEQUENCES OF THE HYPOTESIS;
7) DESIGN OF AN EMPIRICAL (OBSERVATIONAL OR EXPERIMENTAL) TEST OF THE HYPOTESIS OR A CONSEQUENCE OF IT;
8) ACTUAL EMPIRICAL TEST OF THE HYPOTESIS, INVOLVING A SERCH FOR BOTH FAVORABLE AND UNFAVORABLE EVIDENCE (EXAMPLE AND COUNTEREXAMPLE);
9) CRITICAL EXAMINATION AND STATISTICAL PROCESSING OF THE DATA ( FOR EXAMPLE, CALCULATION OF AVERAGE ERROR AND ELIMINATION OF OUTLYING DATA);
10) EVALUATION OF THE HYPOTESIS IN THE LIGHT OF ITS COMPATIBILITY WITH BOTH THE BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE AND THE FRESH EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE;
11) IF THE TEST RESULTS ARE INCONCLUSIVE, DESIGN AND PERFORMANCE OF NEW TESTS, POSSIBLY USING DIFFERENT SPECIAL METHODS;;
12) IF THE TEST RESULTS ARE CONCLUSIVE, ACCEPTANCE, MODIFICATION OR REJECTION OF THE HYPOTESIS;
13) IF THE HYPOTESIS IS ACCEPTABLE, CHECKING WHETHER ITS ACCEPTANCE FORCES SOME CHANGE (ENRICHMENT OR CORRECTION) IN THE BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE;
14) IDENTIFYING AND TACKLING NEW PLOBLEMS RAISED BY THE CONFIRMED HYPOTESIS;
15) AND REPETITION OF THE TEST AND REEXAMINATION OF ITS POSSIBLE IMPACT ON EXISTING KNOWLEDGE.
[MARIO BURGE, (MCGILL UNIVERSITY, MONTREAL CANADA), EPISTEMOLOGY AND METHODOLOGY I & II 1983].
{BIBLIOGRAPHIC NOTE: Harry M. Collins, Trevor Pinch: The Golem
What You Should Know about Science. CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS.}
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