Designing Experiments Using the Scientific Method

1. Observations: These observations should be objective, not subjective. In other

words, the observations should be capable of verification by other scientists.
Subjective observations, which are based on personal opinions and beliefs, are not
in the realm of science. Heres an objective statement: It is 58 F in this room.
Heres a subjective statement: It is cool in this room. The first step in the Scientific
Method is to make objective observations. These observations are based on specific
events that have already happened and can be verified by others as true or false.
2. Hypothesis: Scientists use their knowledge of past events to develop a general
principle or explanation to help predict future events. A tentative explanation for an
observation, phenomenon or scientific problem that can be tested is a
hypothesis. The type of reasoning involved is called inductive
reasoning (deriving a generalization from specific details). It should be testable
and potentially falsifiable, meaning there should be a way to show the
hypothesis is false. Ifthen format.
When a hypothesis involves a cause-and-effect relationship, we state our hypothesis
to indicate there is no effect. A hypothesis, which asserts no effect, is called a null
hypothesis, H0. For instance, there is no difference in growth rate between plants
that receive fertilizer and plants that do not.
An alternative hypothesis (Ha) states the exact opposite of the null hypothesis.
There is a difference in the growth rate between plants that receive fertilizer and
plants that do not.
3. Designing an experiment: Scientists use experiments to search for cause and
effect relationships in nature; they design experiments so that changes to one item
cause something else to vary in a predictable way. These changing quantities are
called variables: any trait, factor, or condition that can exist in different types. An
experiment usually has 4 types of variables: independent, dependent, control, and
constant.

Independent variable: one that is changed by the scientist. A good

experiment has only one independent variable.
Dependent variable: outcome or response, what you measure in the
experiment, responds to the independent variable.
Control group: baseline for comparison, the group not receiving the
treatment. The only difference between the treatment group and the control
group is the presence of absence of a single variable.
Constant: conditions that are kept the same for each experiment (time of
day, experimental procedure, study subjects, etc.)

4. Results. The results are where you state what happened in your experiment,
including detailed observations and data collection. This will include creating tables
to summarize data (averages, standard deviation) and graphs to more easily
visualize patterns and relationships between two variables. In a lab report, results
are reported without any analysis or interpretation, referencing specific numbers.

Graphs:
Calculate an average for the different trials of your experiment, if
appropriate.
Make sure to clearly label all tables and graphs. And, include the units of
measurement (volts, inches, grams, etc.).
Place your independent variable on the x-axis of your graph and the
dependent variable on the y-axis.
What is the pattern that this graph shows?

5. Analysis & Discussion (Conclusions): The final step of the scientific method is
the conclusion, where the results from your experiment are analyzed and you
discuss whether your hypothesis was supported or falsified (not supported, i.e.
rejected). If the original hypothesis is rejected, you should repeat the experiment or
think of ways to improve your procedure. How can we prove that our new hypothesis
is true? We never can.
The scientific method does not allow any hypothesis to be
proven. Hypotheses can be disproven in which case that hypothesis is rejected as
false. All we can say about a hypothesis, which stands up to, a test to falsify it is
that we failed to disprove it. There is a world of difference between failing to
disprove and proving. Make sure you understand this distinction; it is the
foundation of the scientific method.
Repetition & Reliability: To increase the ability of a scientific experiment to

measure an effect, we need to reduce noise (the random error inherent in your
scientific technique) and improve signal (the true effect of a variable on an
outcome). Four strategies to increase the reliability of an experiment are:
1. Repetition: repeat trials more than once, usually having at least 3 trials
2. Randomize experiments: randomly assign subjects to groups
3. Increase your sample size: Collect data from a bigger number of
people/items
4. Make repeated measurements: Eliminates error and leads to more
accurate calculations