The following considerations reflect on the operational side of methodology, i.e. the elaboration of concepts, methods, techniques and standard procedures.

The uppermost purpose of scientific methodology is to secure objectivity (~ intersubjectivity) of the findings. The idea is that others can trust the outcome of somebody's scientific investigation if he has arrived there following principles which the others know and approve of. If so, they can replicate what the first author has presented as the result of his research by taking the same point of departure (theory and/or data) and applying the same methods to it.

A methodological principle is a codified way of how to achieve a certain goal. As usual in life, there are often alternative ways of achieving a given goal. Methdological principles are typically the result of a longer time of trying them out and discarding some which have proved less useful or have been superseded by better ones.

There are also lower-level principles of methodology such as guidelines of how to represent data or how to compose a bibliographical reference. Some of these bear some direct relation to the truth of what is being presented. For instance, the use of a symbol defined in the International Phonetic Alphabet comes with a claim concerning the phonetic composition of the sound so represented. If the author does not use the appropriate symbol, he will be misleading the readership about a fact. Other principles of this lower level just create confusion or additional trouble if violated. For instance, if in a bibliographical reference I do not distinguish formally the title of a book from the series it appeared in, this does not actually amount to a false statement, but the reader will have more trouble in finding the book.

Whether or not a methodological principle bears a direct relation to objectivity and truth, it is always useful at some lower level: it frees the author of the necessity of finding the best way how to proceed, thus helping him to reach his goal more efficiently. And it releases the reader of the task of finding out which principles – if any – the author has followed to arrive at the conclusions that he presents. Both can process the scientific text with more ease, speed and certainty.

Methodological principles are codified in the form of rules, guidelines and instructions. Many people have problems with such things, be it that they do not care, be it that they categorize them as straightjackets imposed by others. Scientists are worse than other people in this respect since many of them are non-conformists; and to some extent they must be if they aspire to do original work. Given this, it is important to emphasize that science must be free if it is to serve its purpose. However, freedom does not mean arbitrariness. Codifying best practice and observing it should, at best, be a process of convergence of the members of the scientific community. If so, no power is involved.