Final answer:
To determine if a claim is scientifically valid or pseudoscience, follow these ordered steps: hypothesis clarification, observability, experimental design, peer review, logical conclusion, and testability.
Step-by-step explanation:
To evaluate if a scientific claim is authentic or pseudoscience, the following steps should be taken in order:
- Is the hypothesis clearly stated, measurable, and aligned with current scientific facts and theories?
- Are the study's claims observable and quantifiable?
- Is the experimental design and analysis well described, well designed, reproducible, and conducted with a large sample size?
- Has the study been reviewed by practicing scientists and published in an established scientific journal?
- Are the study conclusions logical, based on evidence, and justified, given the study results?
- Are the predictions specific, testable, and falsifiable?
A scientific claim is considered credible if it follows the logical steps of the scientific method, thus ensuring that the evidence generated is reliable. Fundamental characteristics of scientific inquiries include falsifiability, reproducibility, and empirical quantification. When addressing pseudoscience, the lack of these elements often serves as the differentiating factor. Scientific claims must be exposed to rigorous scrutiny, peer review, and empirical testing to be validated, making the order of these questions crucial for determining their scientific integrity.