The Scientific Method

1. The ScientificMethod Also Known as: “The Complete Method of Creative Problem Solving” Created March 2009 By Margaret E. Rousset

2. Missouri ABE/ASE Content Standards • Adult Education Content Standards for Roles in the Family, the Workplace, and the Community Science and Technology GOAL 1: Understand and use basic concepts of science to achieve personal, family, workplace and community goals. Standard 2: Solve problems in multiple contexts using the scientific method of inquiry. • Use scientific principles to formulate hypotheses concerning outcomes of scientific investigations. • Design, conduct, and evaluate scientific investigations of everyday situations. • Observe and record data for analysis. • Describe possible explanations for the results of scientific investigations. • Design new investigations to clarify results of previous outcomes. • Explain how scientific knowledge, thinking processes, and skills can be used to solve family, workplace, and community problems. • Use the scientific method to design and test a solution to a personal or societal need.

3. Those Trained in the Scientific Method will have a Higher Degree of: • 1. Confidence; know quickly how to proceed. • 2. Coping with novelty; are trained for complex problems. • 3. Curiosity; perceptual sensitivity increases value of observations. • 4. Believe in theory; accumulate tentative hypotheses. • 5. Ability to define and redefine problem: do so frequently.

4. Those Trained in the Scientific Method will have a Higher Degree of: • 6. Ability to set goals & plans; ensure maximum results for efforts. • 7. Creativity; trained and encouraged in creativity. • 8. Finding ideas through recognition of patterns and irregularities. • 9. Arriving at final conclusion that is correct. • 10. Suspending judgment throughout work and on final conclusion.

5. Those Trained in the Scientific Method will have a Higher Degree of: • 11. Training in communication skills, report writing & related skills • 12. Familiarity with creative, logical, and technical methods. • 13. Independence of judgment, reject conformity, and group pressure. • 14. Ability to abstract concepts and basic principles from material. • 15. Awareness of danger of bias and prejudices in analysis.

6. Those NOT Trained in The Scientific Method Are More Apt to: • 1. Always puzzle about how to proceed. • 2. Be frustrated by complexity; untrained in investigation methods. • 3. Overlook opportunities, discoveries, data, solutions, etc. • 4. Turn up multitude of irrelevant data, conduct unfocused searches. • 5. Often work on wrong problem.

7. Those NOT Trained in The Scientific Method Are More Apt to: • 6. Waste time and energy jumping around aimlessly. • 7. Not recognize need for or reason to learn methods of creativity. • 8. Make fewer discoveries and solve fewer problems. • 9. Arrive at conclusion with only 50-50 chance of correctness. • 10. Be over-confident of untested ideas and concepts.

8. Those NOT Trained in The Scientific Method Are More Apt to: • 11. Be untrained in preparation of professional-grade reporting. • 12. Have little knowledge of these methods. • 13. Flow with tide of authoritative opinions; lose chance to progress. • 14. Be poor at abstracting meat from material read. • 15. Reach false conclusions; accept biased, prejudiced reasoning.

9. STEPS of the SCIENTIFIC METHOD STEP 1: ASK a QUESTION: The scientific method starts when you ask a question about something that your observe: How, What, When, Who, Which, Why, or Where? • And, in order for the Scientific Method to answer the question, it must be about something that you can measure, preferably with a number.

10. STEPS of the SCIENTIFIC METHOD • STEP 2: DO BACKGROUND RESEARCH: Rather than starting from scratch in putting together a plan for answering your question, you want to be a savvy scientist using library and Internet research to help you find the best way to do things and ensure that you don’t repeat mistakes from the past.

11. STEPS of the SCIENTIFIC METHOD • STEP 3: CONSTRUCT a HYPOTHESIS: A hypothesis is an educated guess about how things work: “if ______(I do this)____, then ____(this) will happen.” You must state your hypothesis in a way that you can easily measure, and of course, your hypothesis should be constructed in a way to help you answer your original question.

12. STEPS of the SCIENTIFIC METHOD • STEP 4: TEST YOUR HYPOTHESIS BY DOING AN EXPERIMENT: Your experiment tests whether your hypothesis is true or false. It is important for your experiment to be a fair test. You conduct a fair test by making sure that you change only one factor at a time while keeping all other conditions the same. You should also repeat your experiments several times to make sure that the first results weren’t just an accident.

13. STEPS of the SCIENTIFIC METHOD • STEP 5: ANALYZE YOUR DATA AND DRAW A CONCLUSION: Once your experiment is complete, you collect your measurements and analyze them to see if your hypothesis is true or false. Scientists often find that their hypothesis was false, and in such cases they will construct a new hypothesis starting the entire process of the scientific method over again. Even if they find that their hypothesis was true, they may want to test in again in a new way.

14. STEPS of the SCIENTIFIC METHOD • STEP 6: COMMUNICATE YOUR RESULTS: Lastly, communicate your results to others in a final report. Professional scientists do this by publishing their final report in a scientific journal or by presenting their results on a poster at a scientific meeting.

15. Scientific Method Reviewed • ASK Question • Do Background Research • Construct Hypothesis • Test with an Experiment • Analyze Results and Draw Conclusions • Hypothesis is True If: Hypothesis is False (Go back to Step 3) • Report Results

16. The Scientific Method Explained • http://www.brainpop.com/science/scientificinquiry/scientificmethod/

17. Scientific Method Definitions • Analysis– The breakdown of something that is complex into smaller parts in such a way that leads to a better understanding of the whole. • Classify– Grouping things together based on specific characteristics. • Compare– To examine the different and/or similar characteristics of things or events. • Control– The group or subject that is used as a standard for comparison in an experiment. • Critical thinking– Thinking that uses specific sets of skills to carefully analyze problems step-by-step; scientific methods are one type of critical thinking.

18. More Definitions • Data– Information, measurements and materials gathered from observations that are used to help answer questions. • Dependent Variable - a variable whose value depends on that of the independent variable. • Experimental error– Incorrect data in an experiment that may result from a variety of causes. • Experiment– A test using observations and controlled variables to discover answers to questions, and/or to check a hypothesis.

19. More Definitions • Hypothesis– A testable explanation for observations and questions about the physical universe. (Note: “hypothesis” is very similar to “prediction,” and the two words are often used interchangeably.) • Independent Variable - The variable that is a part of the experiment that is being tested or the part that is changed by the person doing the experiment. • Inference– A logical explanation or conclusion based on observations and/or facts. • Measure– To compare the characteristics of something (such as mass, length, volume) with a standard (such as grams, meters, liters).

20. More …. • Methods– An ordered series of steps followed to help answer a question. • Nature– The entire physical universe. • Observation– (1) Noticing objects or events using the five senses. (2) The data collected by using the five senses to learn about objects and events. • Prediction– A statement made about the future outcome of an experiment based on past experiences or observations.

21. And finally…. • Procedure– An ordered series of steps followed to help answer a question. • Qualitative data– Data that is based on observable characteristics of things or events that can be collected using the five senses. Example: “The juice tastes sweet to me.” • Quantitative data– Data that is based on measurable characteristics of things or events such as mass, volume, length, and quantity. Example: “There is one liter of juice in the carton.”

22. Crossword Puzzle • http://sciencespot.net/Media/scimethodpuzzle.pdf

23. Scientific Method Encore • http://www.chariho.k12.ri.us/faculty/kkvre/smethorg.htm