Scientific method steps – We often come across the word Scientific Method. In our mind, we picture a group of scientists conducting a secret experiment in a lab full of advanced military tech hidden on a secret island. And dramatic movies and television shows are to blame here, as no such thing happens in reality.
However, some scientists conduct various experiments and are often seen conducting trials on actual living organisms. The phrase Scientific method is so common nowadays that people often use it in their day-to-day life to convince someone and use it for their decision-making.
The scientific method, as the name suggests, is a list of scientific method steps that scientists use a process to conduct new theories and experiments. It’s like a list of things a scientist has to go through while experimenting. This sorted method helps scientists find the right facts and answers.
Since most of these experiments are conducted to enhance the life of human beings or to find a cure for the deadly virus, scientists take this very seriously, and to make sure they don’t go off course, they create a list of steps of a scientific method to experiment.
Now you must be wondering what this list of scientific method steps looks like, wonder no more. However, every experiment might have different steps according to the type of experiment. Still, to give a clear idea, we will now look at the steps of how a scientist studies a scientific problem using the scientific method:
Scientific Method Steps :
1 – Making an Observation
Finding a problem that you want to study and find an answer to. First things first, find a problem that in your mind needs a proper definition. Scientists often look for patterns and trends, basic day-to-day problems, and questions we don’t even notice around us.
Now to understand it better, let’s talk about an example; let’s say that you see a group of people wearing a clean air patch around their neck because they think it will make the air around their body clean but what is the truth behind that, no one knows, if it works or not.
2 – Ask yourself a Question:
All a scientist need is an interesting topic to study. The next thing they do is ask themselves the question that they want to look for an answer to.
Similarly, like in the first step, whether curiosity about a clean air patch works or if it benefits the person wearing it is a good start to start your case study to find its answer in a scientific method.
3 – Form A Research Pattern:
Now the next obvious step is to look for ways to find answers to your queries. But be sure to use a reliable source of information and not just use answers you find online as the base of your theory. Do thorough background research before jumping to any conclusions.
Now in your case of the patch, you could ask a medicine practitioner near you, or you can search online for an original article or scientists or doctors’ opinions on clean air patches and how it works for a person wearing it and their benefits.
4 – Forming a Conjecture:
A conjecture or hypothesis is a report of what, according to you, might be the answer to your query. Initially, the question you had in your mind might be different from what you have right now because of its more scientific approach. Also, a conjecture or hypothesis should not be the final verdict of your experiment. A hypothesis should be a falsifiable Judgment.
Like in our case, The Patch does not work. It is a hypothesis that can easily be wrong and should only be taken as a final verdict once we have enough proofs to base it on.
5 – Carry Out An Experiment:
How do you know If your Hypothesis is right or wrong? How do you come to the final verdict? Now comes the most important step; this step will be the final key to getting the answer you need. All you have to do is experiment with yourself. Make sure whatever you do is supervised by an expert or unhazardous.
The type of your experiments will decide the time needed for conducting the experiment. Some experiments are still going on, and some can be done in a jiff.
Now about our example, to come to the final verdict about our cleaner air patch, you can either try it yourself, or you can take two people for your experiment and have one of them try it and can compare the reviews of both of them to get the final result.
6 – Examine the Final Verdict:
Now comes the second last step of the scientific method steps. And in this step, you can finally conclude your study. After conducting the experiment, scientists examine the whole data and then draw their final verdict. A conclusion may be a simple Yes or No, but sometimes It can be a detailed statistical report or book-long log of what they have concluded from the study.
Let’s say you got the result from your experiment in which none of the persons felt any difference, which could mean that your original hypothesis was correct.
7 – Detailed Report of your Conclusion:
For a scientist generating a report and officiating the study they conducted is equally important as conducting the study itself. Since this study was one of its kind, this is the first time anyone has come up with this information. To get their due credit, scientists report this to their science journals, where this report is often checked and reviewed by other scientists. This process is called peer review.
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How do scientists use the scientific method in real life?
Anyone dedicated to finding a solution to any world or themselves may find this scientific method steps convincingly. Still, they may also be a hassle for people wanting an easy approach. Moreover, there is a scientific approach that doesn’t require experimentation and other hefty tasks. These include the classification of certain organisms and their behavioral study.
Scientific methods or approaches to life have given us such ease and an explanation of certain aspects of life. With the use of the scientific method, human knowledge has taken a vast step up and will continue to increase in life.
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