Scientific methods

Construct a Hypothesis:

A hypothesis is an educated guess about how things work. It is an attempt to answer your question with an explanation that can be tested. A good hypothesis allows you to then make a prediction: "If _____[I do this] _____, then _____[this]_____ will happen." State both your hypothesis and the resulting prediction you will be testing. Predictions must be easy to measure.

Why do scientists bother with all these steps in the scientific method?

By using a standardized approach in their investigations, scientists are more likely to stick to the facts and come to a relatively unbiased conclusion. The scientific method helps reduce the influence of personal preconceived notions.

What are the five basic steps of the scientific method?

Make observations, formulate a hypothesis, devise a testable prediction, conduct an experiment, draw conclusions/make revisions

Analyze Your Data and Draw a Conclusion:

Once your experiment is complete, you collect your measurements and analyze them to see if they support your hypothesis or not. Scientists often find that their predictions were not accurate and their hypothesis was not supported, and in such cases they will communicate the results of their experiment and then go back and construct a new hypothesis and prediction based on the information they learned during their experiment. This starts much of the process of the scientific method over again. Even if they find that their hypothesis was supported, they may want to test it again in a new way.

Do Background Research

Rather than starting from scratch in putting together a plan for answering your question, you want to be a savvy scientist using library and Internet research to help you find the best way to do things and insure that you don't repeat mistakes from the past.

What is the Scientific Method?

The scientific method is a process for experimentation that is used to explore observations and answer questions.

Ask a question

The scientific method starts when you ask a question about something that you observe: How, What, When, Who, Which, Why, or Where?

Communicate Your Results:

To complete your science fair project you will communicate your results to others in a final report and/or a display board. Professional scientists do almost exactly the same thing by publishing their final report in a scientific journal or by presenting their results on a poster or during a talk at a scientific meeting. In a science fair, judges are interested in your findings regardless of whether or not they support your original hypothesis.

Test Your Hypothesis by Doing an Experiment:

Your experiment tests whether your prediction is accurate and thus your hypothesis is supported or not. It is important for your experiment to be a fair test. You conduct a fair test by making sure that you change only one factor at a time while keeping all other conditions the same. You should also repeat your experiments several times to make sure that the first results weren't just an accident.

Why do scientists commonly repeat the same experiment over and over again?

to ensure reliable results, to make sure the same conclusion occurs every time