Method
The procedure used to generate evidence or conclusions
A method is the procedure by which evidence is gathered or a conclusion is derived: the experimental design, measurement protocol, statistical analysis, or logical derivation. Claims inherit the strengths and weaknesses of their methods.
Method matters because the same conclusion can rest on very different grounds. Two studies that agree on results may both be wrong if they share a methodological flaw. This is why exploration strategies include method–conclusion coupling: clustering claims by method rather than by conclusion to detect shared vulnerabilities.
In a Dialectical Graph, methods are nodes connected to claims and evidence. An undercut can target the method, arguing that the procedure was flawed even if the data were accurately reported.