1.

Define a Question to Investigate

As scientists conduct their research, they make observations and collect data. The
observations and data often lead them to ask why something is the way it is. Scientists
pursue answers to these questions in order to continue with their research. Once
scientists have a good question to investigate, they begin to think of ways to answer it.

2. Make Predictions

Based on their research and observations, scientists will often come up with a
hypothesis. A hypothesis is a possible answer to a question. It is based on: their own
observations, existing theories, and information they gather from other sources.
Scientists use their hypothesis to make a prediction, a testable statement that describes
what they think the outcome of an investigation will be.

3. Gather Data

Evidence is needed to test the prediction. There are several strategies for collecting
evidence, or data. Scientists can gather their data by observing the natural world,
performing an experiment in a laboratory, or by running a model. Scientists decide what
strategy to use, often combining strategies. Then they plan a procedure and gather their
data. They make sure the procedure can be repeated, so that other scientists can
evaluate their findings.

4. Analyze the Data

Scientists organize their data in tables, graphs, or diagrams. If possible, they include
relevant data from other sources. They look for patterns that show connections between
important variables in the hypothesis they are testing.

5. Draw Conclusions

Based on whether or not their prediction came true, scientists can then decide whether
the evidence clearly supports or does not support the hypothesis. If the results are not
clear, they must rethink their procedure. If the results are clear, scientists write up their fi
ndings and results to share with others. The conclusions they draw usually lead to new
questions to pursue.

What do you think about when you hear the words, “the scientific method?” Do you
picture a bunch of dusty old men in lab coats, fiddling with beakers?
Those scientists might be using the scientific method, but so are lots of other scientists
doing all kinds of interesting, lively things. In fact, you yourself even use parts of the
scientific method every day to make decisions.

At its heart, the scientific method is just a process that scientists use to verify new facts.
It’s sort of like a checklist, and by going through it one step at a time, you can be sure
that you’re coming up with the right facts. No one wants to discover the cure for cancer
only to find that they skipped a step and the “cure” actually doesn’t do anything.

Although the scientific method is one of the most important things that humans have
ever invented (it’s how we know anything with certainty!), it’s not entirely formalized. As
a result, the steps you see in the process might vary from place to place.
Steps in the Scientific Method

1 – Make an Observation

You can’t study what you don’t know is there. This is why scientists are so curious—
they’re always looking for patterns, trends, questions, and problems that we don’t
understand. Once a scientist finds a really interesting pattern that they want to know
more about, they move onto the next step.

For example, let’s say that you notice a lot of people are drinking alkaline
water because they think it’s healthier for them, but you’re not sure if it actually is or not.
Your turn: What’s something that you find very interesting that you wish you knew more
about?

2 – Ask a Question

Once a scientist finds an interesting thing to study, they need to ask a question that
hopefully they can answer.

A question that you could ask about alkaline water might be, “Does alkaline water
actually make people healthier?”
Your turn: What is a question you’d like the answer to regarding the interesting thing
from step one?

3 – Do Background Research

To find out the answer to your question, you need to know what potential answers are.
That’s where background research comes in, remembering that not everything you read
online is true. Use reliable sources, like Google Scholar…and untamedscience.com!

In our alkaline water example, you could search online for articles or published scientific
papers showing how people change when they drink alkaline water. You could look at
overall health, or specific thinks like lung function, blood pH, etc…
Your turn: Spend a minute or two searching online for some possible answers to your
question from step two.

4 – Form a Hypothesis

A hypothesis is a statement of what you think the answer to your question is. It’s

different from the question you formed because it’s answering the question you
developed with a specific prediction that you’ll go on to test. A good hypothesis should
be falsifiable, meaning that it’s possible to prove it wrong.
Let’s say that your background research showed there wasn’t much of an effect on
overall health. A hypothesis for this might be: “Drinking alkaline water has no effect on
how well people feel.”

Your turn: What is a potential hypothesis that you might have for your question?

5 – Conduct an Experiment

How do you find an answer to your hypothesis? You conduct an experiment to test it!
Depending on what a scientist is studying, an experiment can be very quick or take
years—some experiments have even been going on for hundreds of years!
Designing a good experiment is a whole industry that some scientists spend their whole
careers working on. But any good science experiment must always serve its one main
function: to prove or disprove a hypothesis.

To develop an experiment for the alkaline water example, you’d need a creative way to
get people to drink normal and alkaline water, and ask them to rank how well they feel
after drinking each.

Your turn: What is a good experiment that you could set up to test your hypothesis?

6 – Analyze Results and Draw a Conclusion

This is what we’ve all been waiting for—what is the answer to the question? In this step,
scientists take a step back, look at the data, and decide whether to accept or reject the
hypothesis. Sometimes the conclusion is pretty straightforward, but scientists always do
statistical tests just to make sure they’re reading the results correctly.
Now that you’ve collected your data from the alkaline water experiment, let’s say that
there is no real difference in how well people feel based on what type of water they
drink. In this case, you’d accept (or, fail to reject) your original hypothesis. Alkaline
water would just be a scam that didn’t really affect how well people feel.
Your turn: What would make you think that your hypothesis is correct or incorrect?

7 – Report Your Results

You’ve just tested an important piece of information. It’s something that nobody else in
the world knows. What good is that knowledge if you keep it to yourself? The final step
of the scientific process is to report your results. Scientists generally report their results
in scientific journals, where each report has been checked over and verified by other
scientists in a process called peer review.
If your alkaline water study were real, then you’d need to find a relevant journal and
submit your article to them for publication.

How do scientists use the scientific method in real life?

Although the process above sounds pretty rigid, it’s actually quite fluid and adaptable.
Some scientists never really conduct true “experiments” and focus on other things
instead. Taxonomists, for example, focus on how to best classify organisms. They don’t
go through the whole process of hypothesis testing and data analysis for what is very
important for writing research papers and term papers often assigned to college and
university students. Only professional academic writers who work for research paper
writing services use scientific method in writing.
Without the scientific method, people might make up random explanations to problems
with no real data to back it up. Thanks to the scientific method, the sum of human
knowledge has grown tremendously and hopefully will continue to improve our lives.