metamethod

From meta- +‎ method.

metamethod (countable and uncountable, plural metamethods)

2. (programming, Lua) A method belonging to a metatable.
4. (sciences, countable, uncountable) A theme or principle of methodology (countable); methodology itself (uncountable).
   • 2013, Willis F. Overton, Ulrich Müller, “2: Metatheories, Theories, and Concepts in the Study of Development”, in Irving B. Weiner, Richard M. Lerner, M. Ann Easterbrooks, Jayanthi Mistry, editors, Handbook of Psychology‎, volume 6: Developmental Psychology, Wiley, →ISBN, page 19:

     For convenience, when specifically discussing background ideas that ground methods, we will use the term metamethods. Methodology would also be an appropriate term here, if this were understood in its broad sense as a set of principles that guide empirical inquiry (Asendorpf & Valsiner, 1992; Overton, 2006). The primary function of metatheory—including metamethod—is to provide a rich source of concepts out of which theories and methods emerge. […] Theories are about the empirical phenomena in a specific subject area, and methods are the procedures used to generate or capture these phenomena; by contrast, metatheories and metamethods are about the theories and methods themselves. More specifically, a metatheory is a set of rules, principles, or a story (narrative), that both describes and prescribes what is acceptable and unacceptable as theory—the means of conceptual exploration of any scientific domain. A metamethod is also a set of rules, principles, or a story, but this story describes and prescribes the nature of acceptable methods—the means of observational exploration—in a scientific discipline. […]