Method

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Method (Ancient Greek: μέθοδος, methodos, from μετά/meta "in pursuit or quest of" + ὁδός/hodos "a method, system; a way or manner" of doing, saying, etc.), literally means a pursuit of knowledge, investigation, mode of prosecuting such inquiry, or system. In recent centuries it more often means a prescribed process for completing a task.

It may refer to:

• Scientific method, a series of steps, or collection of methods, taken to acquire knowledge
• Method (computer programming), a piece of code associated with a class or object to perform a task
• Method (patent), under patent law, a protected series of steps or acts
• Methodism, a Christian religious movement
• Methodology, comparison or study and critique of individual methods that are used in a given discipline or field of inquiry
• Discourse on the Method, a philosophical and mathematical treatise by René Descartes
• Methods (journal), a scientific journal covering research on techniques in the experimental biological and medical sciences