Characteristics of the Scientific Method

  1. Replicability: Others should be able to independently replicate or repeat a scientific study and obtain similar, if not identical, results.

  2. Precision: Theoretical concepts, which are often hard to measure, must be defined with such precision that others can use those definitions to measure those concepts and test that theory.

  3. Falsifiability: A theory must be stated in a way that it can be disproven. Theories that cannot be tested or falsified are not scientific theories and any such knowledge is not scientific knowledge. A theory that is specified in imprecise terms or whose concepts are not accurately measurable cannot be tested, and is therefore not scientific. 

  4. Parsimony: When there are multiple explanations of a phenomenon, scientists must always accept the simplest or logically most economical explanation. This concept is called parsimony. Parsimony prevents scientists from pursuing overly complex or outlandish theories with an endless number of concepts and relationships that may explain a little bit of everything but nothing in particular.

Source:  https://www.bdu.ac.in/cde/SLM/M.A.%20Journalism/M.A%20Journalism%20II%20Year/M.A%20Jourlisam%20Comm.Research%20Methods/LESSON%202.docx

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