Scientific Confirmation

CONFIRMATION - the process of attaining consistent and predictable results through investigation

There are two ways scientists pursue confirmation, REPETITION and REPLICATION

REPETITION - a scientists performs multiple trials during an investigation or repeats parts of an investigation multiple times to ensure consistent and predictable results

REPLICATION - a scientist duplicates (copies) an investigation to ensure they get similar results

Important Note: Confirmation does NOT mean to “prove” an idea or that the results of an investigation are “correct”. In fact, it is a common misconception that scientists prove anything. Science is a continuous process and its explanations are always open to change (This is known as the TENTATIVE nature of science). As a result, when scientists "confirm" results, it means that they get the same/similar results consistently.