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scientific method

vr.tr.scientific-method · thing-q46857

Let an agent explain the scientific method by steps, variants, evidence quality and limits, and help evaluate claims.

Thing Registry Information and virtual systems INF.KNW
Bundle → Layer → Finding → QuestionsClassifiersWhat it isWhy it existsDistinguishing featuresWhat robots and AI may and may not doMoral aspectsOwnersLinks to other meta-modelsIdentity and identifiersDirect propertiesRecognitionCapabilities and actionsHazards and failure modesStandards and interfacesContext of useSources

Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled

4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions

Steps How it works.

Hypothesis

Testable claim.

Hypothesis

Hypothesis.

  1. Is the hypothesis testable and falsifiable? boundary
  2. What prediction follows? definition

Test

Experiment or observation.

Test

Testing.

  1. How is the prediction tested, with which controls? definition
  2. How large is the sample? measurement
Quality Evidence strength.

Design

Controls and blinding.

Design

Study design.

  1. Does the design control for bias, for example with randomisation or blinding? boundary
  2. Was it preregistered? provenance

Replication

Confirmation.

Replication

Replication.

  1. Has the result been replicated independently? provenance
  2. Is there a systematic review? provenance
Evaluation Claims.

Claims

Science or not.

Claims

Evaluating claims.

  1. Is a claim based on scientific method or on anecdote? boundary
  2. What evidence supports it? provenance

Uncertainty

Limits.

Uncertainty

Uncertainty.

  1. What are the limits and uncertainties? boundary
  2. Are they reported? provenance
Teaching Learning.

Fair test

Activities.

Fair test

Fair tests.

  1. How can a fair test be designed at school? action
  2. Which variables are controlled? definition

Variants

Across fields.

Variants

Field variants.

  1. How does the method differ across fields? definition
  2. Is there one scientific method? boundary

Classifiers Filled

Family
Thing Registry
Category
Information and virtual systems
Entry kind
thing
Plane
INF
Domain
INF.KNW
Other names and narrower kinds
sham comparator, Celsius temperature scale, research tool, health impact assessment, microscopic technique, hypothetico-deductive model, sequence analysis, medical method, materials testing, social science methodology, randomized experiment, diatom analysis

What it is Filled

A systematic approach to building knowledge through observation, forming hypotheses, making predictions, testing them by experiment or observation, and revising theories, with controls, replication and peer review.

Why it exists Filled

Let an agent explain the scientific method by steps, variants, evidence quality and limits, and help evaluate claims.

Distinguishing features Filled

  • Testable claims
  • Controls and replication
  • Open to revision
  • Not a single fixed recipe

What robots and AI may and may not do Filled

Must not

  • Fabricate, falsify or selectively report data.
  • Present a hypothesis or preliminary result as established fact.
  • Claim scientific backing for a statement that lacks evidence.
  • Run experiments on people or animals without ethical approval and consent.

Only with a human decision

  • Approving research involving human participants or animals.
  • Retracting or correcting published work.

May

  • Explain the scientific method and how it builds and corrects knowledge.
  • Help researchers design, document and check analyses.

Moral aspects Filled

  • Science depends on honesty; misconduct harms everyone who relies on the results.
  • Research subjects must be protected by consent and ethical review.

Who is affected

  • Research participants and animals
  • The public
  • Other scientists

Owners Filled

Steward

Nobody owns it; scientific communities, journals and research ethics bodies uphold its norms.

Links to other meta-models Filled

parent

  • Q133798571 - registry parent class
  • Q17079481 - registry parent class

related

  • scholarly method - category
  • science - practice
  • evidence - output
  • inference - reasoning

What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled

Identity and identifiers required Filled

  • Vercy registry: vr.tr.scientific-method
  • Wikidata: Q46857 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q46857)

Direct properties not applicable Not applicable

Not applicable

Plane INF: no invented physical properties.

Recognition optional Filled

  • Hypothesis, prediction, test, conclusion
  • Controls and blinding such as sham comparators
  • Methods vary by field
  • Hypotheses, experiments, data, analyses and publications.

Capabilities and actions required Filled

  • design a fair test
  • evaluate study quality
  • distinguish science from pseudoscience
  • teach scientific thinking

Hazards and failure modes required Filled

  • Confirmation bias
  • p-hacking and selective reporting
  • Overclaiming from single studies

Standards and interfaces required Filled

  • Research integrity codes
  • Reporting guidelines such as CONSORT and PRISMA
  • Research ethics review

Context of use required Filled

  • Producing reliable, testable knowledge.
  • hypothetico-deductive method
  • experimental method with controls
  • observational and field methods
  • computational and modelling methods
  • meta-analysis and systematic review

Sources Filled

  1. Wikidata item Q46857: scientific method - identity and sense of the item
  2. Wikipedia: Scientific method - general description of the item

Open questions

  • Should method variants be separate entries?
  • How should reporting guidelines be linked?
  • How should field differences be recorded?

Machine files

Card as JSON Specification Card backlog vercy.card/1

Provenance

thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed

Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q46857/spec.json