"Arny Krueger" wrote in news:3sOdnQFe5ZDqYTzcRVn-
:

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Traditional Scientific Method

1. State the question or problem clearly

http://www.provide.net/~djcarlst/abx_p9.htm

2. Study all available data to see how they relate to the problem.

http://www.provide.net/~djcarlst/abx_data.htm

3. Formulate various hypotheses to explain all of the known facts.

All is a big word, but here are a few places that cover some of the more
important relevant facts:

http://www.provide.net/~djcarlst/abx_crit.htm

http://www.pcabx.com/

4. Design an experiment to test the validity of the hypotheses,
starting from the most general.

http://www.provide.net/~djcarlst/abx_p9.htm

http://www.provide.net/~djcarlst/abx_book.htm

5. Conduct the experiment, using a control if practical.

http://www.pcabx.com/

6. Evaluate the results to determine whether the hypothesis under
test was supported or invalidated.

http://www.provide.net/~djcarlst/abx_bino.htm

7. Repeat these steps for all hypotheses until only one is still
valid.

Left as an exercise for the reader.




I feel there is one important step missing and that is the duplication of
the experiment by others. In many circles this is called a peer review.
Remember cold fusion from the late 80's? Everything was going well until
other tried to duplicate the experiment. Then it all fell apart. You can
have all of the consistent results you want but until it can be verified
by others, it is just another experiment. There are many other cases
illustrating the point. There are even a few cases where the original
author so strongly believed in his results, that he dismissed the results
of others and continued to believe his results. He would loudly proclaim
that the others were incompetent, conspiring against him, or any other
number of unsubstantiated claims. At that point, the original author is
usually dismissed by the community as a mentally ill and for good reason.
As a result, he and any further ideas he may have are usually ignored.

r


r

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