Research methods

Knowledge is gained through reasoning, through intuition, but most importantly, through the use of appropriate methods. This is known as the scientific method.

Scientific method

Some of the basic elements of the scientific method are:

• Empiricism

  Inquiry is conducted through observation and knowledge is verified through (empirical) evidence)

• Determinism

  Events occur according to regular laws and causes, i.e., there exist relationship between cause and effect. The goal of science is to discover these relationships.

• Skepticism

  Any proposition should be open to analysis and reevaluation

7 main steps:

1. Choose a question to investigate
2. Identify a hypothesis related to the investigated question
3. Construct testable predictions related to the hypothesis
4. Design experiments to test the hypothesis
5. Colllect data for the experiment
6. Determine the results and asses their validity
7. Determine if the results can refute the hypothesis

Data science experiments

Scientific method in data science — typically we have: