Section 1. The Scientific Method: How Do You Do Science?

Section 1. The Scientific Method: How Do You Do Science?

1. Doing science involves a combination of thinking and making observations of the real world. Today's science assumes someone who just thinks about something will be led astray, and therefore one must compare her/his ideas to reality through experimentation; only then can s/he see if her/his ideas are based in reality. This process is known as the scientific method. Simply put, the scientific method is a set of techniques for investigating the universe. It is the process by which scientists attempt to construct an accurate (i.e., reliable, consistent, and logical) representation of the world.

2. Why do we need a set methodology?

   • Because personal and cultural beliefs influence both our perceptions and our interpretations of natural phenomena, we need to follow a set of standard procedures and criteria in order to minimize the effects of our biases and prejudices when testing a hypothesis and developing a theory.

3. hypothetico-deductive approach. This method is a standardized and accepted way of doing science, expanding current scientific knowledge, and developing new theories about the world that surrounds us. It is based on the belief in cause and effect: for any given observation or phenomenon (e.g. adult female elephants live in herds, yet adult males don�t; species richness of plants decreases the further up a mountain you walk; smoke rises but cannonballs fall; giraffes eat plants but not animals; you are a different height, weight, shape, and/or colour than the person sitting next to you) there is a cause. Where feasible, these causes can be determined and verified by testing hypotheses and predictions through experimentation or further observation.

   • The initial starting point of a scientific study using this approach is an observation in need of an explanation or a question in need of an answer. To progress from an observation to an explanation or from a question to an answer, one goes through a rigid series of steps � observation or question, hypothesis, predictions, data collection to test hypothesis and predictions, more observations (from data collection), data analysis, and conclusion � and employs different types of reasoning � induction and deduction.

4. Step 1: Make Observations and Ask Questions