Empirical method is generally taken to mean the collection of data on which to base a theory or derive a conclusion in science. It is part of the scientific method, but is often mistakenly assumed to be synonymous with the experimental method.
The empirical method is not sharply defined and is often contrasted with the precision of the experimental method, where data are derived from the systematic manipulation of variables in an
experiment. Some of the difficulty in discussing the empirical method is from the ambiguity
of the meaning of its linguist root: empiric.
According to Oxford English Dictionary
According to the Oxford English Dictionary (2nd Edition, 1989), empiric is
derived from the ancient Greek for experience, έμπειρία, which is ultimately derived from έυ in + πεἳρα trial, experiment. Therefore, empirical data is information that is derived from the
trials and errors of experience. In this way, the empirical method is similar to the experimental method. However, an essential
difference is that in an experiment the different "trials" are strictly manipulated so that an inference can be made as to
causation of the observed change that results. This contrasts with the empirical method of aggregating naturally occurring
data.
Adding further confusion is another connotation of empiric. Strict empiricists are those who derive their rules of practice
entirely from experience, to the exclusion of philosophical theory.
The OED further states that an empiric is "one who, either in medicine or
in other branches of science, relies solely upon observation and experiment" [emphasis added]. In this case, an empiricist
can be someone who conducts an experiment but without using a hypothesis to guide the process, i.e., strictly by the
trial-and-error method. This is counter to one of the main tenets of the
scientific method, that of the hypothetico-deductive method, where the manipulation of the variable in an experiment is
dictated by the hypothesis being tested.
According to AccessScience@McGraw-Hill
The empirical method is generally characterized by the collection of a large amount of data before much speculation as to
their significance, or without much idea of what to expect, and is to be contrasted with more theoretical methods in which the
collection of empirical data is guided largely by preliminary theoretical exploration of what to expect. The empirical method is
necessary in entering hitherto completely unexplored fields, and becomes less purely empirical as the acquired mastery of the
field increases. Successful use of an exclusively empirical method demands a higher degree of intuitive ability in the
practitioner.[1]
See also
Notes
- ^ Percy W. Bridgman, Gerald Holton, "Empirical method", in
AccessScience@McGraw-Hill, http://www.accessscience.com, DOI 10.1036/1097-8542.231000, last modified: April 10, 2000
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