Scientific Method Steps in Order

Take a look around yourself. You are surrounded by all sorts of technological gadgets and an environment that is a product of human thought. Every one of the technological inventions and discoveries began out of curiosity of the human mind. What makes us unique creatures on Earth, is our inherent ability to think for ourselves and question things. It is this very ability that singles out intelligence and makes it capable of modifying its own environment. The process which enables new discoveries and furthers our understanding of the universe, while also enabling us to restructure matter to our own liking, is the scientific method. The aim of my article is to present the scientific method steps in order. If you can discipline your mind to think according to the scientific method, no problem that you need to solve, endures for long. It yields a solution when the razor-sharp scalpels of the scientific method are applied to it. Let us have a look at each of the total six steps of the scientific method, and understand how it helps eliminate doubts and push the horizons of knowledge further.

What are the Six Scientific Method Steps?

The scientific method is a process of inquiry in search of truth. The six scientific method steps are in no way set in stone. I do not claim that this six step method is the only way of solving problems. There are other unconventional methods that may provide you with a more direct solution. However, if you want to validate a solution beyond doubt, there is no better way, other than this. Let us list the basic steps of the scientific method in order.

Observe & Ask a Precise Question
Observing is and asking a precise 'Why' or 'How' is the first step of the scientific method. To get the right answers, one must ask the right questions. Formulating the problem by asking right questions is the first step of the scientific method. To be able to do that, you need to observe all the minutest details keenly and note them down if necessary. In case of scientific problems, you may need to make measurements and observe the phenomenon, through various analytical tests.

When you state your problem clearly, you can understand the kind of approach that may yield a solution. To do that, you need to observe the nature of the problem or phenomenon under investigation, that confronts you and come up with the right question, that strikes the heart of the matter.

Research Existing Knowledge & Analyze
After clearly stating your problem, the next step is exploring whatever previous research has been carried out in relation to the problem. There may have been many before you, who might have asked the same question and provided some insight for a possible solution. While your approach may be completely original and different, previous research may reveal some important clues.

Formulate a Befitting Hypothesis
Based on your own analysis, observation and existing knowledge, you can then formulate a possible hypothesis, that can explain the phenomenon or provide a solution. This is a causal hypothesis that can exactly account for all the effects of a phenomenon or the problem which you are trying to analyze. It will be a valid theory only when it is conclusively proved through experimental observations.

Test Your Hypothesis Through Experiments
Anybody can present hypotheses as a possible explanation for various phenomena. There may be hundreds of possible conjectures that can adequately explain a phenomenon, but which one is right, can only be understood after experimentation. To test your hypothesis, you must devise experiments that can prove it. The experiment should be such that it can make or break your conjecture or hypothesis. Devising an experiment and successfully carrying it out, will either prove or reject your theory. Whatever be the result, an experiment never fails. It always proves or disproves a theory; thereby either adding to our knowledge or reducing the number of wrong hypotheses! That's why physics, chemistry, biology and other science courses focus on teaching the art of experimentation.

Draw Conclusions & Implement What You Learned
The last part is the most crucial. It is step 5 and step 6 combined, which is analyzing results and drawing conclusions. It is analyzing the results of your science experiments and concluding how wrong or right you were! If you were right and your conjecture has been proved to be right, then it can be elevated to the status of a theory. You can then definitely say that you understand the phenomenon. If you were proved wrong, it brings you back to the first step again or back to square one! You need to observe keenly again and come up with an alternative theory. To sum it all up, the scientific method can be encapsulated in the three words: 'Observe, Analyze, Experiment'. You must keep working through this process until the problem yields to a solution. In Tennyson's words, the scientific temper is 'To strive, to seek, to find and not to yield'!

Kids have a natural curiosity about everything, and for most of them, this process of scientific analysis comes naturally. It is some of the adults who need to be reminded of it. Some of them stop questioning things at some point of their life and join the mass hypnosis of conformism; accepting things as they are. Don't let go of your inherent curiosity and wonder. It is the most precious thing you have!