From Non-Experimental to Experimental: A Discussion on Semantics Research Method: Scientific Discussion Paper

Though having a substantial foot hold on the present-day understanding of meaning in language, semantic theory founded upon the Conceptual Metaphor paradigm has been frequently criticized as not having proper empirical grounding. The current paper shows that the flaw lies in not being in compliance with the epistemological principle of falsification. For contrast, several experimental-based works are reviewed, demonstrating how semantics research can be carried out with adequate scientific rigor. The paper concludes that student researchers in the graduate as well as the post graduate level should depart from customary practices of intuitive-based analysis and resort to experimentation in order to arrive at notions that can be proven either accurate or inaccurate.