Overview of the Scientific Method When scientists approach a question or a problem, they do it in a very simple and structured way

called the scientific method. Even though you're not a scientist, you probably use the steps of the scientific method frequently to solve problems that occur in your daily life. In general, the process that scientists (and everyday citizens) use to answer questions includes the following steps: Making observations If you go outside and your car won't start, that's an observation. You might make additional observations when you seek more information by checking the owner's manual or visiting the manufacturer's web site. Developing hypotheses A hypothesis is a probable explanation based on observations. A hypothesis should be based on evidence, even if that evidence is your own prior experience. It must be logical. A good hypothesis has two essential features: it's specific and it's testable. The more specifically the hypothesis is stated, the easier it is to develop a method to confirm or reject the hypothesis. Hypotheses are used to form predictions about the outcomes - the results that you would expect if your hypothesis is correct. Referring back to the car problem (your car won't start), you might hypothesize that the battery is dead or that the car doesn't have any gas. A hypothesis can lead you to make a prediction, similar to the following: "If the car battery is dead, charging the battery will allow the car to start." Testing hypotheses with experiments An experiment, in its simplest form, is a test that can confirm or falsify your hypothesis. What tests could be performed to determine whether your battery hypothesis is valid? One possibility is to test the charge with a battery tester or use jumper cables to provide a boost to start the car. Collect data and analyze results Based on the results of your experiments, you can determine whether the evidence supports your original hypothesis. Once a conclusion is reached, that's not the final answer. Conclusions are always subject to review and interpretation as more information is collected about the topic. If the results don't support the original hypothesis, scientists usually form new hypotheses and try again. For example, if you try to jump start your car but it doesn't work, you'll need to form a new hypothesis about the cause of the problem. This week, you're studying the scientific method. The science perspective on events may be very different from the way you're used to looking at the world. The basic goal of scientists is to understand nature through observation and experimentation. Only those questions that can be tested objectively can be answered by the scientific method. We hope, eventually, to acquire enough information to solve the problems we are investigating.

Only the results of experiments and observations can be used to determine whether a hypothesis can be supported. No matter what we think or how we feel about an experimental finding, the conclusion is based only on whether or not those results support or refute the hypothesis. Therefore, in science, you may discover the truth - but you don't have to like it! After experiments are completed, the next step is to examine the collected data. This usually involves one or more types of statistical analysis. To reach conclusions about broad-based questions, meta-analysis (evaluating the combined results of several studies) can be employed. Based on the results of your experiments, you can determine whether your original hypothesis is supported by the data - or whether you're back to the drawing board! Scientists follow these generalized procedures whenever they investigate a question or problem. The scientific method, however, is not only for scientific purposes. It is commonly applied to many other types of work, whether developing computer software, designing furniture, developing recipes, campaigning for office, or looking for a job. In fact, it can be used in almost every kind of problem-solving situation, including how we go about our daily work. Hypothesis or Theory? A hypothesis must be testable in different ways and by different people in order to correct for possible mistakes in experimental design or individual observation. The results must be verified by repeated tests before they will be accepted by scientists. If the hypothesis always proves true, then the results are added to other ideas, and eventually, a theory is developed. A theory is a general explanation for some process in nature that is supported by a number of tested hypotheses. Controls in an Experiment In many situations it would be difficult (if not impossible) to assess the validity of your results if you don't have a control to compare it with. For example, I look into my neighbor's yard and see that his rose bushes are big and bushy and covered with flowers. I say to him, how did your roses grow so big and he replies that he fertilized the bushes. I say great, so I can do the same to make my bushes as wonderful as yours, but, by the way, how can you be sure that the fertilizer was the cause of all this growth? And he says to me - gosh I really don't know for sure. I fertilizer them and they grew pretty well this year. I guess that the fertilizer caused this excellent growth. And I say, are you sure it wasn't because we had more rainfall this year? Or that the weather wasn't as hot as usual? etc, etc. So, we're really not sure the fertilizer WAS responsible for the excellent growth. How to make sure? Since there are many possible factors that could have affected the growth of the roses, it would be useful if we could compare my neighbor's results with a control group. A control is a group of test subjects (in this case rose bushes) that are the same species, living in the same conditions, that receive the same amount of sunlight, get the same amount of water, everything the same. The ONLY difference between the two groups is that one group gets fertilizer and the other doesn't. That way is there is a measurable growth difference between the two groups, I KNOW it was due to the fertilizer, because there was NO other difference between the two groups of rose bushes. The same thing would hold true if I was testing a new blood pressure medicine. You need a control

group as a standard for comparison to make sure that your results are due specifically to the factor you are trying to test for. The factor being investigated in a particular experiment is called an experimental variable. In the case of a medical experiment, it is really hard to make the control group exactly the same as the experimental group. For example, if you give the experimental group medication in pill form, the control group has to take an identical pill (without the medication). I was listening to an interesting program a couple of weeks ago about how difficult it was to design the fake medications (called placebos). For example, if the real medicine tastes bitter, the placebo pill has to be bitter also, so no one will know whether they are getting the real medicine or not. An interesting radio program recently discussed how difficult it is to design the fake medications (called placebos). For example, if the real medicine tastes bitter, the placebo pill has to be bitter also, so no one will know whether they're getting the real medicine or not.