This paper is the second in our series on
scientific method for the social sciences, and is presented
in relation to what we call the “Globalization of science”.
It is like our earlier works, designed to provide multivocality and multi-polarity to the sciences, and
discourage Eurocentrism or any other form of ideology
or centrism. It uses existing theories on uncertainty and
incompleteness as a starting point and further utilizes
them to construct an approach that can be used chiefly
in the social sciences, but also in the other sciences, albeit
to a smaller extent and degree. Our first paper on
scientific method delineated “the sociological ninety-ten
rule”, and the principle of what we called exceptionism,
while this paper weighs the twin concepts of certainty
and uncertainty in relation to each other, to evaluate
hypothesis and paradigms in science. The papers also
discusses various avenues for the misuse of science, with
data and evidence culled from various disciplines, and
contexts, and suggests various methods to curb, and
mitigate unwanted tendencies, and proposes concepts
such as ‘cross-cultural research design’, which are in
keeping with the ideals accumulated in our previous
papers. Our paper also discusses and revisits other
concepts such as the idea of “fuzzy logic” as can be
applied to the social sciences, besides the philosophy of
neo-centrism and the theory of paradoxes. All these ideas
and ideals, we fervently hope will serve the cause of
science well, by leading to better quality of scientific
endeavour developed with data collected from diverse
social and cultural contexts all over the world, and serve
the cause of society much better.