Problem stating - Notation of discrepancies helps to form a basis for the statement of problems. Hypothesis and prediction - Inductive reasoning Based on well established facts, testable hypotheses are formed. As part of a conclusion the researcher will suggest a means of verification, that is checking the predictions against further observations. This allows the scientific method to be self-correcting. Facts are the world's data.
Theories are structures of ideas.
It is the result of careful reasoning from these observations and has survived the critical study of scientists generally. For more about Scientific Theories go to Asimov's Relativity of Wrong . Science cannot lead us to absolute truth, since facts are even subject to interpretation. Truth is interpretation of fact, and part of the scientific attitude is that any such interpretation is subject to correction. Although the scientific method has been established and dutifully followed, does it improve critical thinking and discovery.