The Scientific Method
1. Hypothesis Development
The first step in designing an experiment is to develop a scientific
hypothesis. The hypothesis should be a simple statement of what you
expect to be true, or what you expect to learn, about the particular
phenomena you are studying. That is, the hypothesis is your prediction
about what an experiment will teach us. In this particular exercise,
hypotheses will be provided for the first two investigations, but it will
be up to you to develop an appropriate hypothesis for the last one.
2. Protocol Development
Next, you should design the actual steps that you will use to determine
whether the hypothesis is true. The protocol is simply
the method used to obtain the measurements you will make. The protocol
should be written down in a step by-step fashion. In designing your
protocol, be aware of the need to make a set of measurements that
represents a normal condition with which you will compare other
measurements. Such normal measurements are known as the control
(baseline) set of measurements. It is from a comparison of your
experimental measurements with your control set of measurements that a
change can be detected and a conclusion can be reached.
3. Data Collection
By carrying out the protocol as you have defined it, you will make the
appropriate measurements. In other words, you will collect the data. You
should record this data in an organized fashion. Keeping track of the
data is one of the most important, and sometimes one of the most
difficult, parts of carrying out an experiment.Stay organized.
Again, remember to record a control set of measurements under normal
conditions before you begin making measurements of the altered condition
required by your protocol.
4. Data Analysis
Now, it is time to analyze the data. The objective of this step is to
take the data you have collected and put it in a form that ultimately
lets you draw a conclusion about the hypothesis you have selected. It may
be that you must use your measurements (raw data) in some kind of
mathematical equation to calculate the needed final data that supports or
refutes your hypothesis. It may be that you must prepare a graph of your
measurements to show certain relationships clearly or to exhibit trends
that are present in the data.
5. Data Interpretation
Finally, it is time to interpret the data. Does the data you obtained
support or refute your original hypothesis? This step is the telling
step. It seems that we would always want to have results that support our
hypothesis, but sometimes we obtain results that tell us that we are
completely wrong about our prediction or hypothesis. Having a hypothesis
that is not supported by the data can sometimes teach us more and help us
develop a better experiment for the next time.
Let's move on to the Student Investigations!
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