I. AVOID FRUITLESS EXPERIMENTS 7 



factors are involved that there is no single well marked groove or 

 alley that can be followed blindly. A complete solution of a broad 

 problem may require step-by-step progress through the various stages 

 of what is often called the "scientific method." These stages have 

 been enumerated recently by Northrop {3, p. 28) as follows: 



(a) Discover the basic theoretical root of the problem. 



(b) Select the simplest phenomenon exhibiting the factors involved in the 

 difficulty. 



(c) Observe inductively these relevant factors, either by the method of ob- 

 servation, the method of description, or the method of classification. 



(d) Project the relevant hypotheses suggested by these relevant facts. 



(e) Deduce logical consequences from each hypothesis, thereby permitting 

 it to be put to an experimental test. 



(/) Clarify initial problem in the light of verified hypotheses. 



(g) Generalize solution to the problem by means of a pursuit of the 

 logical implications of the new concepts and theory with respect to other sub- 

 ject matter and applications. 



Individual investigators often pursue a very limited phase or 

 aspect of a broad problem; for example, a number of scientists have 

 devoted a lifetime of research to the purely descriptive phase of the 

 cancer problem. This is most essential, but it constitutes only one 

 part of the whole. In any event, an investigator should realize clearly 

 how his individual research may contribute toward a general solution 

 of the problem. The failure to view one's experimental work in the 

 light of the broad over-all situation may result in the prosecution of 

 numerous fruitless experiments. 



1. Look for Basic Difficulty 



You may wish to refer to the theoretical basis of a problem as its 

 heart, its core, or perhaps its quintessence. That a problem exists at 

 all would seem to indicate that a fundamental difficulty of some kind 

 is present. The object is to uncover it, to understand its nature, in 

 order that a solution may be obtained. No attempt will be made to 

 set forth rules as guideposts to the heart of a research problem. Even 

 hints as to how to grope for it cannot be given, but prolonged and 

 serious reflective thought about the nature of the difficulty is highly 

 recommended. A strictly armchair approach probably will not be 

 sufficient. Many problems cannot be analyzed adequately until after 

 extensive preliminary observations of a descriptive type are available. 

 Not infrequently, exploratory investigations of the experimental 



