Lead to
Perceptions of patterns
(organization of numerous sets observations)[1]
Lead to
Rules or Hypotheses
(laws
or principles that are the reason for the organization of the patterns)[2]
Lead to
Theories
(general rules that can be used to predict future
organization of the observations)[3]
[1] The existence of the patterns is proven by statistical test
[2] The hypothesis must contain a postulated cause for the given effect. The ÒcauseÓ predicted ÒeffectÓ must be grounded in proven principles.
[3] To prove a hypothesis (i.e., develop a theory), it must be tested many times on independent sets of observations. The results have to be validated statistically to prove that the given events that appear to be cause and effect, are not occuring together by random chance alone. Eventually, a grand ÒtheoryÓ of everything might be developed, so another level could be put on this diagram.