The Scientific Method

Introduction Science is often described as a way of knowing about the natural world (the word science has its origins in the Latin verb for knowing) and most dictionaries define science as a body of knowledge dealing with facts and/or truths about the natural world. The emphasis is on the body of knowledge and on facts, with the implication that absolute truth is involved. This is often how science is taught in schools, and how science is conveyed to the general public. Ask a scientist if these definitions are reasonable, however, and most would not agree with them. For scientists, science is a process. It involves gathering information that increases the collective knowledge and understanding of the facts, relationships and laws, of nature. At the same time, they recognize that this understanding is tentative, not absolute, and subject to change as new discoveries are made.