STEPS OF THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD

The scientific method is a systematic way of

learning about the world around us and
answering questions. The number of steps varies
from one description to another, mainly
when data and analysis are separated into
separate step, but this is a fairly standard list of
6 scientific method steps, which you are
expected to know for any science class

Steps of the Scientific Method

Purpose/ Question The scientific method starts when you ask a
question about something that you
observe: How, What, When, Who, Which,
Why, or Where?
Research Conduct background research. Write
down your sources so you can cite your
references
Hypothesis A hypothesis is an educated guess about
how things work. It is an attempt to answer
your question with an explanation that can
be tested. A good hypothesis allows you to
then make a prediction:
Experiment Design and perform an experiment to test
your hypothesis. An experiment has
an independent and dependent variable.
You change or control the independent
variable and record the effect it has on the
dependent variable.

Data/Analysis Record observations and analyze what the

data means. Often, you'll prepare a table
or graph of the data.
Communication To complete your science fair project you
will communicate your results to others in a
final report and/or a display board.