How did Imre Lakatos explain scientific progress through research programmes?

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Marble bust of Aristotle with a beard and draped robe, showing detailed facial features and wavy hair, set against a dark background. — Philosophy of science Aristotle, marble portrait bust, Roman copy (2nd century bce) of a Greek original (c. 325 bce); in the Museo Nazionale Romano, Rome.

Imre Lakatos, a Hungarian-born philosopher working within a Popperian framework, developed the "methodology of research programmes" to address challenges to the rationality and progress of science.1

Rather than viewing scientific change as a series of disconnected revolutions, Lakatos proposed that scientific progress should be understood through the lens of research programmes. He argued that progress occurs when these programmes increase their "truth content" over time. By focusing on the evolution and success of these programmes, Lakatos sought to defend the idea that science remains a rational and progressive endeavor, even when faced with the complexities of scientific history and the critiques regarding incommensurability.1