The scientific method is the backbone of all rigorous scientific research. A collection of techniques and principles designed to advance scientific research and increase knowledge, the scientific method has been slowly developed and practiced by everyone from ancient Greek philosophers to scientists today. Although there is some variation in the method and disagreements about how to use it, the basic steps are easy to understand and very valuable, not only for scientific research, but also for solving everyday problems.
Step
Step 1. Observing
Curiosity produces new knowledge. The process of observing, sometimes called defining the question, is very simple. You observe something that you are not ready to explain with the knowledge you already have, or you observe a phenomenon that has already been explained with your existing knowledge, but may have another explanation. Then, the question is how do you explain this phenomenon – what causes it to happen?
Step 2. Do research on existing knowledge about the question
Suppose you observe that your car will not start. Your question is, why won't the car start? You probably have some knowledge of cars, so you'll use that to try to figure it out. You may also check your ownership manual or search online for information on the matter. If you are a scientist trying to figure out a strange phenomenon, you can check scientific journals, which publish research that has been done by other experts. You will want to read as much as you can about your question, because it may already be answered, or you may find information that will help you form your hypothesis.
Step 3. Develop your hypothesis
A hypothesis is a possible explanation for the phenomenon you are observing. However, the hypothesis is only an estimate, because the hypothesis is based on an in-depth review of existing knowledge about the subject. Basically, a hypothesis is an estimate that has a basis. Hypotheses should have a cause-and-effect relationship. For example, My car won't start because I ran out of gas. It states one possible cause for an effect, and should be something you can test and use to make predictions. You can put gasoline in your car to test the out of gas hypothesis, and you can predict that if this hypothesis is true, then the car will start after you add gas. Stating the result like a fact, seems more like a real hypothesis. For those who are still confused, use if and then statements: If i tried to start my car and it won't start, so my car ran out of gas.
Step 4. List your equipment
Make sure that all the tools you need to do this project are listed. If other people want to do your idea, they have to know ALL of your tools.
Step 5. List your procedures
As noted above, we don't want anyone to complain about how their experiment didn't work! Oops!
Step 6. Test your hypothesis
Design an experiment that can confirm or fail to confirm the hypothesis. Experiments should be designed to try to isolate the proposed phenomenon and causes. In other words, it must be controlled. Going back to our simple car question, we can test our hypothesis by putting gasoline in the car, but if we put gasoline in the car and change the fuel filter, we will not know for sure if the problem is a lack of gasoline or the filter. For complex questions, there may be hundreds or thousands of possible causes, and it would be difficult or impossible to isolate them in a single experiment.
Keep perfect records. The experiment must be repeatable. That is, someone else should be able to set up a test the same way you would and get the same result. As such, it's important to keep accurate records of everything you do in your tests, and it's very important that you keep all your data. Today, there are archives created, which store the raw data collected in the process of scientific research. If other scientists want to find out about your research, they can check these archives or ask you for data. It is very important that you can provide all the details
Step 7. Analyze your results and draw conclusions
Hypothesis testing is simply a way of gathering data that will help you confirm or fail to confirm your hypothesis. If your car starts when you add gas, your analysis is pretty simple-your hypothesis has been confirmed. However, in more complex tests, you may not be able to find out if your hypothesis can be confirmed without previously spending a fair amount of time looking at the data you have collected in testing your hypothesis. Moreover, whether the data confirms or fails to confirm the hypothesis, you should always pay attention to other things, called scoping or outside variables, that might influence the results. Suppose your car starts when you add gas, but at the same time, the weather changes and the temperature rises from below zero to above zero. Can you be sure that gasoline, and not temperature changes, caused the car to start? You may also find that your test is inconclusive. Maybe the car starts for a few seconds when you add gas, but then turns off again.
Step 8. Report your findings
Scientists usually report the results of their research in scientific journals or in papers at conferences. They report not only the results, but also their methodology and any problems or questions that arose during the testing of their hypotheses. Report your findings, allowing others to build hypotheses from the results.
Step 9. Do more research
If the data fail to confirm your original hypothesis, it's time to come up with a new hypothesis and test it. The good news is, your first experiment may provide you with valuable information to help you develop a new hypothesis. Even if a hypothesis has been confirmed, further research is needed to ensure that the results are repeatable and not just a one-time coincidence. This research is often carried out by other scientists, but you may also wish to investigate the phenomenon further yourself.
Tips
- Understand the difference between correlation and causal relationships. If you confirm your hypothesis, you have found a correlation (the relationship between two variables). If other people also confirm the hypothesis, the correlation gets stronger. However, just because there is a correlation, does not mean that one variable causes another. In fact, you have to use all these procedures to have a good project.
- There are many ways to test a hypothesis, and the type of experiment described above is just one of them. Hypothesis testing may also take the form of double-blind studies, statistical data collection, or other methods. The linking factor is that all methods collect data or information that can be used to test hypotheses.
- Please note that you are not proving or proving a hypothesis, but simply confirming or failing to confirm it. If the question is why your car won't start, confirming the hypothesis (that you ran out of gas) and proving it is the same thing, but for a more complicated question, which may have many possible explanations, an experiment or two can't prove it or not. prove a hypothesis.
Warning
- Be careful with outside variables. Even in the simplest of experiments, environmental factors can sneak in and affect your results.
- Always let the data speak for itself. Scientists must always be careful that their assumptions, mistakes, and egos do not give misleading results. Always report your experiments honestly and in detail.
