The Scientific Method

Did you know that all NASA astronauts are scientists?  Even astronauts who are trained as pilots contribute to the scientific research done in space.  Scientists use the scientific method in their research.  The scientific method is a process for experimentation that is used to explore observations and answer questions.  While not every area of science follows the scientific method exactly (because some areas of science are more easily tested than others), understanding the steps of the scientific method helps scientists to focus their questions and work through their observations and data.

Steps of the Scientific Method
1. Ask a question
The scientific method starts when you ask a question about something you observe.

2. Do background research
Chances are you don't have to start all the way from scratch to find an answer to your question.  Get online or to the library and search for what other people have learned about your question.

3. Construct a hypothesis
A hypothesis is an educated guess about how things work.  For this step, use what you already know to answer your question with an explanation that can be tested.  A good hypothesis allows you to make a prediction.

4. Test your hypothesis
Your experiment tests whether or not your hypothesis is correct.  It is important that your experiment be a fair test.  You conduct a fair test by only changing one factor at a time while keeping all the other factors the same.  You should repeat experiments several times to make sure your results are consistent.

5. Analyze your data and draw a conclusion
Once your experiment is complete, collect your data and see if it supports your hypothesis.  Often, scientists find that their hypothesis was not correct.  This is still valuable data!  When this happens, they communicate their results and then construct a new hypothesis and start the process over again.

6. Communicate your results
If you are working on a science project for school, you communicate your results with a display at the science fair or by submitting a final report to your teacher.  Professional scientists publish their results in scientific journals or present their findings at scientific meetings.  Sharing the results of your experiments helps other scientists who are interested in finding answers to their questions!