Ernest Ventura

The Scientific Method

Science certainly isn’t the only method in quest for knowledge. There’s logic, casual observations, and good old-fashioned common sense. The scientific way, however, is done in a systematic procedure that oftentimes requires tremendous time and effort. Is the juice worth the squeeze? There are two general advantages of the scientific approach: one is clarity and precision, scientists know exactly what they mean when they say cool; relative intolerance for error is another, before considering any idea, scientists demand objective data and thorough documentation. The Scientific Method is the step-by-step pattern of validating a claim or verifying a theory. A theory is a moronic idea to the world except to the one who created it. There are five easy steps in doing the Scientific Method.

First is the formulation of a hypothesis. Hypothesis refers to an educated guess derived from the theory. It has to be testable or subject to experimentation. A certain theory, for example, claims that, “men and women of the same age bracket have different short-term memory performance.” From that theory, a corresponding hypothesis can be made: “females are more able to recall and recognize recent events than males of the same age level.” Saying Spiderman and Superman are friends don’t seem to be a good hypothesis.

Second is designing the study. This is the architecture of how to lay the hypothesis into test, what are needed for the study, who or what will be studied, and when it should be done. When a particular chemical reaction is the subject matter, an experiment involving test tubes and thermometers in a chemistry laboratory can be practiced. When dealing with the relationship between different people and what movies they patronize, conducting an intensive survey is probably the best. In the case of animal nature and their behavior, naturalistic observation over an extended period of time can be suitable. There are various ways to test a hypothesis. The aim is to select the most appropriate study for the subject involved. Having people drink gasoline to find out if it is fatal is definitely not a good idea.

Third is the collection of data and gathering of information. This is the actual execution of the study. A vigorous research on what are already known about the subject is done, followed by looking for other related factors necessary to find out what are the things that aren’t yet known about the subject. Most problems related to physics for instance, mass, time, length, speed, gravity, volume, etc. are given, and physicist use these data through experimentations and computations to come up with something more meaningful like elasticity and strength of material, force required to move an object or how much work is done by the system. Medical doctors use successful biological studies done previously to aid them in performing studies that can lead to explanations on causes of certain diseases. Data and information can be totally different depending on the field of study or subject being studied but the sole purpose is to acquire enough facts to result into something new for advancement. Conversing to zebras and hoping to get consequential information from them would more likely make one like a blind man trying to catch a black cat in a dark room which isn’t really there.

Fourth is the analyzing of data and drawing the conclusions. The collected data was used to gather more information through experimentation or survey for instance. These, however doesn’t make sense until their meaning is revealed. Here, all the data and information are converted into numbers so statistics can be used to describe the significance of these figures. Computer-aided statistical analysis yields meaningful results such as measures of central tendency, strength of correlation between comparable things usually presented in graphs and tables. These and many others outline the final conclusion. “After several years of counting the stars in the sky, we found out that it’s a waste of time to continue doing so.”

Fifth and last is reporting the findings. Scientific progress can only be attained when a formal report is presented. Whether the hypothesis was successfully proven true or not, letting the scientific community and the general public know about what was done will be advantageous. This can be done by submitting a written concise summary of the study, findings and conclusions for publications. We acquire knowledge not just by proving but also by disproving something, so failure occurs only when a study is kept in a closed shelf. Nobody wants to hear that somebody discovered egg whites combined with rattlesnake’s saliva could treat aids 34 years ago.

All this isn’t saying that science has an exclusive copyright on truth. However, the scientific approach tends to give more dependable information since the scientists’ way is slow but sure and doesn’t welcome doubt.