Pattern discovery, the process of discovering previously unrecognized patterns, is often performed as an ad-hoc process with little resulting certainty in the quality of the proposed patterns. Pattern validation, the process of validating the accuracy of proposed patterns, remains dominated by the simple heuristic of "the rule of three". This article shows how to use established scientific research methods for the purpose of pattern discovery and validation. We present a specific approach, called the handbook method, that uses the qualitative survey, action research, and case study research for pattern discovery and evaluation, and we discuss the underlying principle of using scientific methods in general. We evaluate the handbook method using three exploratory studies and demonstrate its usefulness.

翻译：范式发现过程,即发现以前未承认的模式的过程,往往作为一个临时过程来进行,对拟议模式的质量几乎没有确定性。模式验证,即验证拟议模式的准确性的过程,仍然以简单的“三法规则”为主。本条展示了如何利用公认的科学研究方法进行模式发现和验证。我们提出了一个称为手册方法的具体方法,即使用定性调查、行动研究和案例研究研究进行模式发现和评价,我们讨论了一般使用科学方法的基本原则。我们利用三项探索研究对手册方法进行评估,并展示其实用性。