The development of research both in clinical and theoretical domains is indispensable if we want to pursue the goal that had also been Freud's: to build a science of the mind. The possibility of reaching this goal, however, requires that this development is consistent and based on a methodology. The question this paper is trying to address is: what are the conditions posed by the scientific method on the work of research? In the absence of proper criteria and the observance of those conditions, to talk about research becomes a simple operation of giving a different name to things we usually do. The first part of the paper is dedicated to illustrating the features of the method and the criteria that regulate the relations between observation and theory. In the second part I present a project of theoretical research currently underway: «An axiomatic comparison of psychoanalytical theories.»

KEYWORDS: Axiom, comparability, falsification, method, observation, pluralism, theory.