I can see clearly now the rain has gone ....

I found a fascinating article called Induction, deduction, and the scientific method: An eclectic overview of the practice of science by one Irving Rothchild.

Now it sounds rather heavy stuff for the usually lighter tone of this blog!

But it is a good article that begin by examining the relationship between induction (often viewed as reasoning from the particular to the general) and deduction (reasoning from the general to the particular).

Towards the end he outlines in simple terms the keys steps in the scientific methods. The steps are applicable in part to any research project or indeed problem solving activity.



So I will list them here:

1. Making observations: "Whether in the field, the library, the laboratory". Rothchild goes on to say "how these observations are collected, classified, interpreted and used as a base for theorising is more or less what science is about".

2. Point of view: "In science, the importance of our point of view   when examining information of any kind cannot to be strongly emphasised, for how we look at things determines what we see."

3. Asking the right questions:  Rothchild reminds us that Alexander Fleming "did not look at his moldy cultures and ask, 'How can I get rid of these pesky molds?' Instead, he asked, 'why are there no bacteria near the molds?' and penicillin was conceived."

4. Theorizing: "It doesn't matter whether it comes as a question, a hunch, a hypothesis, or a theory .... Theory is more important than facts, Einstein told Heisenberg, because theory tells us what the facts mean."
Often theorising involves hunches and Eurekas (I have found it).

5. Experimentation: (Gathering more information).

6. Statistics: Now of course this in only relevant to a quantitative problem. You may be relieved to know that Rothchild suggests that "Statistical tests should only be used as aids in resolving uncertainty about whether a difference between one condition or another is important." I don't entirely argue with this especially in the case of exploratory statistics.

Irving Rothchild is Emeritus Professor of Reproductive Biology  at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine Cleveland, Ohio