Scientific method
The scientific method describes the methodology employed by scientists to study science.
History
Origin
The origin of modern scientific methods can be traced back to ancient Greece, where scholars studied the physical world "either from the bottom up or top down" (Hewitt, 2020).[1]
Modern scientific method
Italian physicist Galileo and British philosopher Francis Bacon were among the first to elaborate the modern scientific method in the 16th century CE.[1] According to them, the study of science must be "bottom up": one first observe how the world functions, then establish models and theories to explain the observed phenomenons.[1]
Descriptions
There are many descriptions of the scientific method.[1].
Most commonly, scientific methods follow the following general steps[1]:
1. Identify a question: a phenomenon that was not previously explained 2. Provide a logical hypothesis 3. Predict the consequences of the hypothesis 4. Design and perform experiments, observations, and calculations to verify the predictions. 5. Formulate the most general and simple conclusion to be drawn from the experimental results