How to Know the Steps of the Scientific Method

The scientific method refers to a series of standardized steps scientists, scholars and other researchers take to study a particular problem. The method helps ensure that researchers don't allow their personal and cultural biases to color their work, leading to an incorrect hypothesis about natural phenomena. You can keep your investigations and observations objective by memorizing the steps prescribed in the scientific method.

Instructions

1. Develop a question you would like to resolve through scientific research.

2. Make observations by gathering information through background research and describing the phenomenon you're investigating.

3. Form a hypothesis. This is an explanation of how the phenomenon operates. It can be used to predict future observations.

4. Test your hypothesis by performing experiments and collecting data.

5. Analyze your data to see if it confirms your prediction.

6. Interpret the data and draw conclusions that may serve as a starting point for a new hypothesis. You should be able to confirm whether or not your original hypothesis was correct.

7. Publish and communicate your results.

Tips & Warnings

• Provide all the necessary information that will allow independent scientists to repeat your experiments and confirm your conclusions.

• The scientific method may sometimes be modified by different scholars or researchers to fit the particular research needs of their specific fields of inquiry. For example, some problems in social science require different research methods than problems in the physical sciences.

References

• Science Buddies: Steps of the Scientific Method
• University of Rochester Physics Department: Introduction to the Scientific Method