Scientific Method

The scientific method is the disciplined process of forming a testable hypothesis, gathering evidence to test it, and revising or discarding the hypothesis based on the result.

The idea

Observation raises a question. A hypothesis proposes a possible explanation. Predictions follow from the hypothesis. Experiments or further observation test those predictions. The hypothesis is then revised, abandoned, or provisionally accepted. The cycle repeats. No hypothesis is ever finally “proven”. It survives repeated attempts to disprove it, or it does not.

When to use it

Testing whether a belief, product change, or business assumption actually holds up
Separating opinion or intuition from something that has been checked against evidence
Designing any experiment, however informal, where you want the result to actually change your mind

How to apply it

State the hypothesis precisely enough that it could be shown wrong.
Predict what you’d observe if the hypothesis is true, and what you’d observe if it’s false.
Run the experiment or gather the evidence, controlling for other explanations where possible.
Update the hypothesis based on the result, rather than the result based on the hypothesis.

Watch out for

Designing experiments that can only confirm the hypothesis, never disconfirm it
Treating a single result as final rather than provisional
Letting the desired outcome bias what counts as evidence

Falsifiability. The criterion a hypothesis must meet to be tested this way.
Controlled Experiment. The core tool for testing a hypothesis.
Probabilistic Thinking. Most results should update confidence, not deliver certainty.

Sources

Karl Popper, The Logic of Scientific Discovery (1934/1959); the scientific method as generally taught in the philosophy of science.