Hypothetico-Deductive Method in Science
Approach to the Problem
Hypothetico-deductive departure: The said problem to be raised in a rigorous and precise manner, as much as possible. Contributing to this end are: observation, analysis, etc. The problems are not a naive or spontaneous observation, but necessarily arise from a prior theoretical framework.
Hypothesis Formulation
The proposed hypotheses, that is, a supposition, is adopted as a possible explanation or solution to the problem. This hypothesis shows how a universal statement should meet requirements: explanatory character, consistency with scientific data, rigor, etc. There is no mechanical application procedure that provides a reasonable hypothesis to a problem; the formulation is a creative question of imagination and intuition. Popper calls the process by which we gestate and deduct the hypotheses.
Deduction of Consequences from the Hypothesis
Extraction of consequences from the hypothesis will allow us to test the solution provided by the hypothesis. These consequences commonly present as predictions; that is, statements on how things will happen if certain conditions are met. From the previous consequences, auxiliary assumptions are extracted; these hypotheses serve as a complement for the extraction of consequences.
Hypothesis Testing
A process in which the hypothesis is tested. It implies the checking of the previous consequences through contrast, either experimental (reproducible voluntarily by the investigator) or non-experimental. What matters is whether it is intersubjective (that it can be considered and repeated critically by other members).
- Poor outcome: The hypothesis is not confirmed and is rejected as a solution to the problem, although failure and rejection do not imply its abandonment.
- Positive outcome: The hypothesis is confirmed and incorporated into the acceptable scientific body, although such acceptance is interim, as the possibility of rebuttal, and therefore, substitution, is always open.
Method: Hypothetico-Deductive
Designation of methodology to all methods characteristic of science.
Hypothesis, Scientific Law, and Theory
When a hypothesis is sufficiently confirmed by varied and repeated testing, it becomes approved knowledge. Sometimes, the hypothesis, after confirmation, can lead to a new scientific law. A scientific law is a statement that expresses a constant or invariable relation between phenomena, which contains some type and is sufficiently confirmed. Its characteristics are:
- Universal character: Each law covers all cases of the phenomenon to which it refers.
- Empirical: They are confirmed, discovered, and applied in relation to the phenomena of sensible experience.
- Sometimes associated with a formula.
- Often presents as isolated statements, but theories are integrated into and supported by different scientific theories.
A theory is a complex construction explaining some area of reality. Its characteristics are:
- Systemic character: Its components are related to each other, forming a system where we can infer about some components from others.
- Explanatory and predictive capacity.