Editing Scientific method (section)

=== <span class="anchor" id="DNA-characterizations"></span> Characterizations===

The basic elements of the scientific method are illustrated by the following example (which occurred from 1944 to 1953) from the discovery of the structure of DNA (marked with [[File:DNA icon.svg|frameless|22x22px|link=|alt=DNA label]] and indented).

<blockquote>[[File:DNA icon.svg|frameless|22x22px|link=|alt=DNA label]] In 1950, it was known that [[genetic inheritance]] had a mathematical description, starting with the studies of [[Gregor Mendel]], and that DNA contained genetic information (Oswald Avery's ''transforming principle'').{{sfnp|McCarty|1985|page=252}} But the mechanism of storing genetic information (i.e., genes) in DNA was unclear. Researchers in [[William Lawrence Bragg|Bragg's]] laboratory at [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge University]] made [[X-ray]] [[diffraction]] pictures of various [[molecule]]s, starting with [[crystal]]s of [[salt]], and proceeding to more complicated substances. Using clues painstakingly assembled over decades, beginning with its chemical composition, it was determined that it should be possible to characterize the physical structure of DNA, and the X-ray images would be the vehicle.{{sfnp|McElheny|2004|p=34}}</blockquote>

The scientific method depends upon increasingly sophisticated characterizations of the subjects of investigation. (The ''subjects'' can also be called [[:Category:Lists of unsolved problems|''unsolved problems'']] or the ''unknowns''.){{efn-ua|name= aQuestion}} For example, [[Benjamin Franklin]] conjectured, correctly, that [[St. Elmo's fire]] was [[electrical]] in [[nature]], but it has taken a long series of experiments and theoretical changes to establish this. While seeking the pertinent properties of the subjects, careful thought may also [[logical consequence|entail]] some definitions and [[observations]]; these observations often demand careful [[measurements]] and/or counting can take the form of expansive [[empirical research]].

A [[Research question|scientific question]] can refer to the explanation of a specific [[observation]],{{efn-ua|name= aQuestion}} as in "Why is the sky blue?" but can also be open-ended, as in "How can I [[Drug design|design a drug]] to cure this particular disease?" This stage frequently involves finding and evaluating evidence from previous experiments, personal scientific observations or assertions, as well as the work of other scientists. If the answer is already known, a different question that builds on the evidence can be posed. When applying the scientific method to research, determining a good question can be very difficult and it will affect the outcome of the investigation.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C7pZftbI0ZMC |title=Translational and Experimental Clinical Research |publisher=Lippincott Williams & Wilkins |year=2005 |isbn=9780781755658 |editor-last1=Schuster |editor-first1=Daniel P. |chapter=Ch. 1 |access-date=2021-11-27 |editor-last2=Powers |editor-first2=William J. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231129112636/https://books.google.com/books?id=C7pZftbI0ZMC |archive-date=2023-11-29 |url-status=live}} This chapter also discusses the different types of research questions and how they are produced.</ref>

The systematic, careful collection of measurements or counts of relevant quantities is often the critical difference between [[Pseudoscience|pseudo-sciences]], such as alchemy, and science, such as chemistry or biology. Scientific measurements are usually tabulated, graphed, or mapped, and statistical manipulations, such as [[correlation]] and [[regression analysis|regression]], performed on them. The measurements might be made in a controlled setting, such as a laboratory, or made on more or less inaccessible or unmanipulatable objects such as stars or human populations. The measurements often require specialized [[scientific instrument]]s such as [[thermometer]]s, [[Spectrometer|spectroscopes]], [[particle accelerator]]s, or [[voltmeter]]s, and the progress of a scientific field is usually intimately tied to their invention and improvement.

{{Blockquote|text=I am not accustomed to saying anything with certainty after only one or two observations.|author=[[Andreas Vesalius]] (1546)<ref>Andreas Vesalius, ''Epistola, Rationem, Modumque Propinandi Radicis Chynae Decocti'' (1546), p. 141. Quoted and translated in C.D. O'Malley, ''Andreas Vesalius of Brussels'', (1964), p. 116. As quoted by {{harvp|Bynum|Porter|2005|p=597}}: "Andreas Vesalius"</ref>}}

====Definition====
The scientific definition of a term sometimes differs substantially from its [[natural language]] usage. For example, [[mass]] and [[weight]] overlap in meaning in common discourse, but have distinct meanings in [[mechanics]]. Scientific quantities are often characterized by their [[units of measurement|units of measure]] which can later be described in terms of conventional physical units when communicating the work.

New theories are sometimes developed after realizing certain terms have not previously been sufficiently clearly defined. For example, [[Albert Einstein]]'s first paper on [[Special relativity|relativity]] begins by defining [[Relativity of simultaneity|simultaneity]] and the means for determining [[length]]. These ideas were skipped over by [[Isaac Newton]] with, "I do not define [[time in physics#Galileo: the flow of time|time]], space, place and [[motion (physics)|motion]], as being well known to all." Einstein's paper then demonstrates that they (viz., absolute time and length independent of motion) were approximations. [[Francis Crick]] cautions us that when characterizing a subject, however, it can be premature to define something when it remains ill-understood.<ref>Crick, Francis (1994), ''The Astonishing Hypothesis'' {{ISBN|0-684-19431-7}} p. 20
</ref> In Crick's study of [[consciousness]], he actually found it easier to study [[awareness]] in the [[visual system]], rather than to study [[free will]], for example. His cautionary example was the gene; the gene was much more poorly understood before Watson and Crick's pioneering discovery of the structure of DNA; it would have been counterproductive to spend much time on the definition of the gene, before them.