The scientific method is a technique of investigation that is devised in order to attain new or unknown knowledge. The procedures may vary from different field of science to another but the general idea can be divided into five steps. We shall try to identify and discuss each step of the process for further information.

Problem Identification

Identifying is the main key in understanding and solving any science problem. After all, you cannot come up with a scientific solution unless you know what scientific problem you are trying to solve. Since a scientific process can be a cycle, it is to your advantage to pin-point a the main problem to avoid spending time with unnecessary experiments. It is a question of what question or questions do you want to answer, or what problem would you like to solve? It is a question not just answerable by yes or no but more likely by means of a scientific experiment or observation. For example, how do ants warn their neighbors of danger? Can a certain type of insect be used to control a particular insect pest?

Hypothesis

A hypothesis is an educated guess based on your literature search, that offers a possible answer to the questions posed. It is not necessarily a correct answer but you will try to prove or disprove these hypotheses. For example, you might hypothesize that sound, sight, or chemicals are used by ants to warn their neighbors of danger or that a certain type of parasite can control a particular insect pest.

Experimentation

An experiment is designed to determine whether the hypothesis or hypotheses are correct or not. Even if the hypothesis isn’t correct, a well designed experiment helps determine why it isn’t or if it has a slight possibility.

There are two major parts to an experiment. The first part involves designing and setting up the experiment. You should ask such questions as: What preparations and procedures must be followed to test the hypothesis? What materials will be needed? What live organisms, if any, are needed? What step-by-step procedures must be followed during the experiment? What observations and data must be made and collected while the experiment is running? Where should I conduct the experiment? When these questions have been answered, the actual experiment can be performed.

The second part involves performing the experiment, making observations, and collecting data. The results must be documented for study and analysis. The more details, the better. There are three important things to remember when performing research: Take notes, take notes and take notes. The most common mistake that new scientists make is thinking that they will remember some minute observation. If you always carry a notebook and pencil when working on your project, remembering won’t be a problem. Some science fairs require that the project notebook be submitted along with a brief abstract of the project. Some fairs require or encourage a full-length report of the project as well.

Make a list of all the materials that will be needed in conducting your experiment. It will be to your advantage in order for you to avoid unnecessary delays. You must also provide the list of the step-by-step procedures to be done. You can ask for suggestions from other researchers about what procedures you must do.

Another vital aspect of experimentation is replication. For any project to be considered valid scientific work, the experiments in each group should be replicated or repeated as many times as possible. The groups of replicated experiments can then be averaged together or, better yet, statistically analyzed. For example, if you are collecting samples from a site, collect three times in the general area, or if you are culturing organism, establish three of such cultures. Replication reduces the chances of collecting spurious data, which will result in erroneous analysis and conclusions.

Analysis

By the time you have completed the experiment and have collected enough data, you must analyze the results and draw conclusions from it in order to determine whether your hypothesis is correct or not. You may create tables, charts, or graphs to help analyze the data. There is a great chance that you will likely to have come up with a mixture of positive and negative results so always try to take notes and base your conclusions on statistical analysis. It may not give you the perfect answer but nevertheless it will give you an estimation to base the validity of your hypothesis.

The conclusions should be based upon your original hypothesis. Was it correct? Even if it was incorrect, what did you learn from the experiment? What new hypothesis can you create and test? Something is always learned while performing an experiment, even if it’s how not to perform the next experiment.