Research The Scientific Method And Its Importance (Essay Sample)

The Scientific Method
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The Scientific Method
The scientific method is an encompassing technique for experimentally gathering and adding knowledge or querying phenomena. The method requires an empirically provable or measurable evidence. Scientific studies and research typically involves the use of the scientific method in evoking their findings. Understanding the scientific method is, therefore, essential for any scholar.
The scientific method is important because it helps eliminate potential researcher bias towards any criterion of the study. Since scientists are human beings, they are always susceptible to bias and prejudice, based on any prior knowledge they may hold. This knowledge or information may emanate from cultural and personal beliefs. The scientific method helps minimize the influence of this bias due to its requirement for a standardized, procedural way of conducting the inquiry. This helps the researcher concentrate only on the facts emerging from the experimental data. The scientific method is further important as it is useful in querying knowledge held to determine its truthfulness.[Henry Gauch. 2003. Scientific Method in Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.]
One of the foremost proponent scientists who advocated for the scientific method was Galileo Galilei. Galilei advocated for experiential knowledge, calling for proof for every scientific finding. The methods he developed and followed have led to his consideration as the father of modern science. Galileo famously used the scientific method to disprove Aristotle’s physics of falling bodies. Galileo developed a series of thought experiments designed to question the knowledge held philosophically and logically. Galilei used his newly invented telescope and queried the nature of the universe. With the scientific method, he proved the Copernicus’s theory of the solar system, which was heliocentric rather than geocentric, disproving centuries held Aristotelian knowledge of space.[Ibid. 2.]
The scientific method helps us understand the natural world. Through the scientific method, we can make inquiries into the non-understood phenomena around us. For example, were one to encounter a strange animal, one can follow the steps prescribed under the scientific method, to come to a conclusion on whether the animal is a previously unknown species or if it is known. This way, we avoid many pitfalls that lead to false data, hence false knowledge. The scientific method further assists us in querying the knowledge we possess, to identify whether it is true or false. Thus, through the scientific method, we eliminate much of the apparent mysticism that may occur. For example, one can directly use the scientific method to identify the truth behind a seemingly naturally impossible magic trick.[Peter Godfrey-Smith.2003. Theory and Reality: An introduction to the philosophy of science, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.] [Isaac Newton. 1999. Natural Principles and Philosophies of Mathematics. LA: University of California Press.]
The scientific research processes frequently applies the scientific method, producing significant finings. For instance, the scientific method led to the discovery of the DNA structure. This structure details the genetic makeup of all living things. The scientists questioned the make-up of the DNA, developed a hypothesis for a helical structure, predicted a mathematical model for its x-ray scattering pattern, experimented on developing a diffraction crystallization, and performed an analysis of the structural data obtained. Their results are continuously peer reviewed and updated whenever new information emerges. The discovery of the DNA structure led to the discovery of many cures of life-threatening diseases and conditions. This contributed greatly in improving the health and quality of life of people all around the world, myself included. The discovery of the structure further means that it is now possible to us...