The scientific method as understood by the average student
appears to be a rigid structure that is the absolute be all and end all of
research and experimentation. However, the design is more flexible than it
initially seems. The steps of the scientific method are as follows:
1. Pose a Question
2. Do Research
3. Construct a Hypothesis
4. Test Your Hypothesis by Performing
an Experiment
5. Analyze Data and Draw a Conclusion
6. Communicate Your Results
As a student, I was
never allowed to pick my own question to work through the scientific method in order
to answer. It was always assigned to me, so I never had the chance to choose a topic that fascinated me. For scientists such as Dr. Burns or Dr. Bulinski,
the initial asking of a question comes from an area of personal interest. Dr.
Burns, for example, is studying the amount of arsenic in food that we as humans
consume because it is a topic that caught her eye and interested her. Dr. Bulinski,
being a paleontologist, poses an entirely different type of question about fossil
records.
Both scientists research the topic their question is based
on in order to gather knowledge and also to make sure they won’t accidentally
repeat another scientist’s research. Dr. Burns uses the research to help hone a
specific question to experiment on, but she does not call it a hypothesis. Dr.
Bulinski ultimately uses her original question as a type of hypothesis, as she
says, “a potential explanation that I have about why I observed what I did in
my field work, or a potential explanation for a phenomenon that other
scientists observed but could not explain.” (Bulinski)
The next step is a bit different for Dr. Burns and Dr.
Bulinski. Dr. Burns can use resources in the lab to test her topic, while Dr.
Bulinski has to do a bit more field work to test her hypothesis. The latter of
the two typically gathers rocks and fossils from various layers, so she has a
wide variety of data to later analyze. Both scientists use the data gathered
from their experiments to draw a conclusion. For Dr. Burns, this will provide
an answer for her question. For Dr. Bulinski, she will compare her conclusion
to her hypothesis and see if her explanation works or needs to be reworked.
While I’m sure Dr. Burns will ultimately share her results
on arsenic in food, she did not share with me where she typically publishes her
research. Dr. Bulinski publishes her results in a peer-reviewed journal in
order to share her work with other scientists with the ultimate goal of
publishing it for the general public to read and learn from.
Overall, the scientific method is actually used by scientists,
but in different ways. The type of science that the scientist specializes in,
whether it is Chemistry, Physics, Geology, or any other branch, determines how
closely the method is followed. While some scientists like Dr. Burns choose to
not make an official, outright hypothesis to guide her experiment in the lab,
others like Dr. Bulinski make a hypothesis but can’t do laboratory research or
perform what the average person may consider to be an experiment. The
scientific method, while flexible, is a good guideline for everyone in the
scientific community to follow and use to achieve successful experimentation,
research, and publication.
