The Scientific Method: Reflections from a Practitioner - Softcover

Science students should read this book early in their studies and learn to apply it to their coursework. It is short enough to use as a companion book and should lead to useful discussions about the nature of science and its practice. This work would also complement a course in the philosophy of science or even the history of science... Summing Up: Highly Recommended. (CHOICE)

The author explores the role of observation and experimentation, hypothesis, theory, and competing theories in the scientific process. Science students should read this book early in their studies and learn to apply it to their coursework. This work would also complement a course in the philosophy of science or even the history of science. (Professor Devon B. Mason, Albright College)

This is a timely book in an era of fake news and pseudoscience. (Nature Astronomy)

Such a short book, with its clear takeaway messages, is needed. (John R. Helliwell, Journal of Applied Crystallography)

This book looks at how science investigates the natural world around us. It is an examination of the scientific method, the foundation of science, and basis on which our scientific knowledge is built on. Written in a clear, concise, and colloquial style, the book addresses all concepts pertaining to the scientific method. It includes discussions on objective reality, hypotheses and theory, and the fundamental and inalienable role of experimental evidence in scientific knowledge.

This collection of personal reflections on the scientific methodology shows the observations and daily uses of an experienced practitioner. Massimiliano Di Ventra also examines the limits of science and the errors we make when abusing its method in contexts that are not scientific, for example, in policymaking. By reflecting on the general method, the reader can critically sort through other types of scientific claims, and judge their ability to apply it in study and in practice.