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<!--Please see talk page for discussion on why the word "the" is not used here-->'''Scientific method''' refers to a body of [[Scientific technique|techniques]] for investigating [[phenomenon|phenomena]], acquiring new [[knowledge]], or correcting and integrating previous knowledge.<ref name="Goldhaber 2010 page=940">{{harvnb|Goldhaber|Nieto|2010|page=940}}</ref> To be termed scientific, a method (contracted; show full)sequent actions which depend on those observations, in a [[self-fulfilling prophecy]]). This is one of the reasons (mistake, confusion, inadequate instruments, etc. are others) why scientific methodology directs that [[Hypothesis|hypotheses]] be tested in [[Scientific control|controlled]] conditions which can be [[Reproducibility|reproduced]] by others. The [[scientific community|scientific community's]] pursuit of experimental control and reproducibility, diminishes the effects of cognitive biases.


===Certainty and myth===
Any scientific theory is closely tied to [[empirical]] findings, and always remains subject to [[falsifiability|falsification]] if new experimental observation incompatible with it is found. That is, no theory can ever be seriously considered [[Certainty|certain]] as new evidence falsifying it can be discovered. Most scientific theories don't result in large changes in human understanding. Improvements in theoretical scientific understanding is usually the result of a gradual synthesis of the results of different experiments, by various researchers, across different domains of science.<ref>Stanovich, Keith E. (2007). ''How to Think Straight About Psychology''. Boston: Pearson Education. pg 123</ref> Theories vary in the extent to which they have been experimentally tested and for how long, and in their acceptance in the scientific community.

In contrast to the always-provisional status of scientific theory, a [[myth]] can be believed and acted upon, or depended upon, irrespective of its truth.<ref>"A myth is a belief given uncritical acceptance by members of a group ..." —Weiss, ''Business Ethics'' p. 15, as cited by Ronald R. Sims (2003) ''Ethics and corporate social responsibility: why giants fall'' p.21</ref> [[Imre Lakatos]] has noted that once a narrative is constructed its elements become easier to believe (this is called the [[narrative fallacy]]).<ref>[[Imre Lakatos]] (1976), ''[[Proofs and Refutations]]''. {{harvnb|Taleb|2007|p=72}} lists ways to avoid narrative fallacy and confirmation bias.</ref><ref>For more on the narrative fallacy, see also {{harvnb|Fleck|1979|p=27}}: "Words and ideas are originally phonetic and mental equivalences of the experiences coinciding with them. ... Such proto-ideas are at first always too broad and insufficiently specialized. ... Once a structurally complete and closed system of opinions consisting of many details and relations has been formed, it offers enduring resistance to anything that contradicts it."</ref> That is, theories become accepted by a scientific community as evidence for the theory is presented, and as presumptions that are inconsistent with the evidence are falsified. -- The difference between a theory and a myth reflects a preference for [[A priori and a posteriori|''a posteriori'' versus ''a priori'']] knowledge. --{{Citation needed|date=April 2011}}

Thomas Brody notes that confirmed theories are subject to subsumption by other theories, as special cases of a more general theory. For example, thousands of years of scientific observations of the planets were explained by Newton's laws. Thus the body of independent, unconnected, scientific observation can diminish.<ref>{{harvnb|Brody |1993|pp=44–45}}</ref> Yet there is a preference in the scientific community for new, surprising statements, and the search for evidence that the new is true.<ref name="Goldhaber 2010 page=940"></ref> {{harvnb|Goldhaber|Nieto|2010|page=941}} additionally state that "If many closely neighboring subjects are described by connecting theoretical concepts, then a theoretical structure acquires a robustness which makes it increasingly hard —though certainly never impossible— to overturn."⏎
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==Elements of scientific method==
There are different ways of outlining the basic method used for scientific inquiry. The [[scientific community]] and [[philosophers of science]] generally agree on the following classification of method components. These methodological elements and organization of procedures tend to be more characteristic of [[natural science]]s than [[social science]]s. Nonetheless, the cycle of formulating hypotheses, testing and analyzing the results, and formulating new hypotheses, will(contracted; show full)[[sv:Vetenskaplig metod]]
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