The scientific method

How to Use the Scientific Method in Everyday Life

1. Locate or identify a problem to solve.
2. Describe the problem in detail.
3. Form a hypothesis about what the possible cause of the problem might be, or what a potential solution could be.

Advantages

• It is based on empirical evidence.
• It is proof and verification.
• Found by reasoning and observation.
• Reliable at finding the truth.
• Scientists are impartial.
• Cautious – with theories that are backed up.

• Make an observation.
• Ask a question.
• Form a hypothesis, or testable explanation.
• Make a prediction based on the hypothesis.
• Test the prediction.
• Iterate: use the results to make new hypotheses or predictions.

Test the hypothesis and collect data. Analyze data. Draw conclusion. Communicate results.

Michigan State University Extension recommends the following ideas to encourage the development of scientific thinking in young children.

1. Share in their wonder.
2. Ask open-ended questions and encourage questioning.
3. Document discoveries.
4. Provide materials that provoke new ideas and experimentation.

Scientific thinking refers to both thinking about the content of science and the set of reasoning processes that permeate the field of science: induction, deduction, experimental design, causal reasoning, concept formation, hypothesis testing, and so on.

Our goals for learning: In what ways do all humans employ scientific thinking? Scientific thinking is based on everyday ideas of observation and trial-and-error experiments.

A scientific way of thinking is something that anyone can use, at any time, whether or not they are in the process of developing new knowledge and explanations. Thinking scientifically involves asking questions that can be answered analytically by collecting data or creating a model and then testing one’s ideas.

The Three Central Components of Scientific and Critical Thinking

• Empiricism: The Use of Empirical Evidence.
• Rationalism: The Practice of Logical Reasoning.
• Skepticism: Possessing a Skeptical Attitude.

The process in the scientific method involves making conjectures (hypotheses), deriving predictions from them as logical consequences, and then carrying out experiments or empirical observations based on those predictions. A hypothesis is a conjecture, based on knowledge obtained while seeking answers to the question.

1. scientific discipline – a particular branch of scientific knowledge; “the science of genetics” science. natural history – the scientific study of plants or animals (more observational than experimental) usually published in popular magazines rather than in academic journals.