This term has a number of meanings (e.g., brain storming, heuristics), but here it refers to the scientific method. This means having procedures for the systematic pursuit of knowledge involving the recognition and formulation of a problem, the collection of data through observation and experiment, and the formulation and testing of hypotheses. The term is usually qualified to indicate a particular method (e.g., the hypothetico-deductive method, which some consider to be the scientific method). Methods do not exist in a vacuum, but are dictated by the contents and focus of the theory being tested. Finally, method is not the same as a procedure or a technique.
See Hypothetico-deductive method, Paradigm, Procedure, Technique, Theory