What is a possible explanation for a scientific problem?

Answer 1

You put your finger on important part of a scientific investigation. How widely should we search for an explanation?

A couple of important assumptions are that

a) the rules (of physics, chemistry, ...) remain constant over a long time; and

b) that cause and effect follow in that order.

One useful approach is to examine the counter argument - to put the proposition in the reverse. In math, this is often done by the reducto ad absurdum method - to show that the counter assumption leads by logic to an absurd conclusion.

Always an early effort is to determine that the observation is correct, and that it may be observed repeatably.

Hope that helps.