proto-science

Noun

protoscience (countable and uncountable, plural protosciences)

1. An unscientific or pseudoscientific field of study which later becomes or spawns a science (e.g., astrology led to astronomy, alchemy led to chemistry, and, most generally, natural philosophy led to science).
2. A field of study at the initial phase of the scientific method, involving information gathering and hypothesis formulation, but is not yet falsifiable, or if it is, its predictions have not yet been observed.
   • However, observation alone is not "modern" science; simple observation leads to "proto-science." Proto-science accepts observations without question or verification.2008, Donald M. Hassler, Clyde Wilcox, New Boundaries in Political Science Fiction - Page 8