SCIENTIFIC METHOD

SCIENTIFIC METHOD

1. The scientific method is a systematic way of learning about the world around us and answering questions. The key difference between the scientific method and other ways of acquiring knowledge are forming a hypothesis and then testing it with an experiment.

2. STEPS

   • Purpose/Question
     • Research
       • Hypothesis
         • Experiment
           • Data/Analysis
             • Conclusion
               • Conclude whether to accept or reject your hypothesis. There is no right or wrong outcome to an experiment, so either result is fine.Conclude whether to accept or reject your hypothesis. There is no right or wrong outcome to an experiment, so either result is fine.
             • Record observations and analyze the meaning of the data. Often, you'll prepare a table or graph of the data. Don't throw out data points you think are bad or that don't support your predictions. Once you have the data, you may need to perform a mathematical analysis to support or refute your hypothesis.
           • Design and perform an experiment to test your hypothesis. An experiment has an independent and dependent variable. You change or control the independent variable and record the effect it has on the dependent variable. It's important to change only one variable for an experiment rather than try to combine the effects of variables in an experiment.
         • Propose a hypothesis. This is a sort of educated guess about what you expect. It is a statement used to predict the outcome of an experiment. Usually, a hypothesis is written in terms of cause and effect. Alternatively, it may describe the relationship between two phenomena.In reality, you probably expect a change but rejecting a hypothesis may be more useful than accepting one
       • Conduct background research. Write down your sources so you can cite your references. In the modern era, a lot of your research may be conducted online. Scroll to the bottom of articles to check the references. Even if you can't access the full text of a published article, you can usually view the abstract to see the summary of other experiments. Interview experts on a topic. The more you know about a subject, the easier it will be to conduct your investigation.
     • Ask a question.
   • Conclusion