Biological Communications (Biol 3920)

THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD:

An Approach to Experimental Research: Elementary Protocol*

This approach to Experimental Research presents basic information helpful in designing and completing an Elementary Experimental Research Study.

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The following material assumes you are planning a "hands-on" Experimental Research Experiment, and not simply a written report taken from library research only.

OBSERVATION

You notice something, and wonder why it happens. You see something and wonder what causes it. You want to know how or why something works. You ask questions about what you have observed. The first step is to write down what you have noticed.

INFORMATION GATHERING

Educate yourself in the subject you wish to investigate. In order to be informed in the area of research you wish to pursue read scientific peer-reviewed journal articles and discuss your ideas with professionals who are knowledgeable. Keep track of where you acquired your information and what the important results/conclusions were.

TITLE RESEARCH PROJECT

Choose a title that describes the research you will be investigating. A title should be an "integration" of specific words what that specific and precisely that thoroughly addresses the research.

STATE THE OBJECTIVE/PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT

What do you want to find out? Write a statement that describes what research you want to do. Use your observations and questions [education you have gained] to formulate and write the statement.

HYPOTHESIS/NULL HYPOTHESIS

Make a list of answers to the questions you have posed. This can be a list of statements describing how or why you think the observed things work. Hypothesis must be stated in a way that can be tested through experimentation. Once you have identified the Hypothesis it must be restated [Falsified] as a Null Hypothesis [stating that there will be NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE EXPERIMENTAL TREATMENT AND CONTROL GROUPS]. Note that the treatment group is subjected to the variable you wish to consider.

DESIGN AN EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE TO TEST THE NULL HYPOTHESIS

Design an experiment to test each hypothesis. Develop a step-by-step protocol of what you will do to answer your questions. Once complete you have an experimental design.

Guidelines for Experimental Procedures

Select only one variable to change in the experiment.
Change something that will help you test the null hypothesis.
The procedure must tell how you will change the variable.
The procedure must explain how you will measure the degree of change.
Each experiment needs a "control" for comparison to a "treatment or test" group so you can measure, with a degree of confidence, how significant the change actually is.
A statement must be included that addresses the statistical approach that is to be employed in processing the data.

OBTAIN MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT

Make a list of the equipment you need to carry-out the experiments. If you need special equipment, check with the faculty. Another source of science materials are mail order supply companies such [check with instructor].

CARRY-OUT EXPERIMENT AND RECORD DATA

Do the experiment and record all "end-points" as numerical measurements. If you are not making any measurements, you probably are not doing experimental research.

RECORD YOUR OBSERVATIONS

Observations can be written descriptions of what you noticed during an experiment, or problems encountered. Keep careful notes of everything you do, and everything that happens. Observations are valuable when drawing conclusions, and useful for locating experimental errors.

CALCULATIONS/STATISTICS

Perform statistical analysis needed to process raw data into numbers you will need to make tables, figures or draw conclusions with some level of confidence [statistical significance].

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Summarize and explain the results in written statements of what occurred during the experiments, using numerical data presented as mean values in tables and graphed as figures.

DRAW CONCLUSIONS

Using the trends identified in the experimental data and your experimental observations, try to answer your original questions. Is your hypothesis correct? Did you disprove the null hypothesis? Now is the time to pull together what happened, and assess the experimental results you achieved.

Other Things You Can Mention in the Conclusion

If your hypothesis is not correct, what could be the answer to your question?
Summarize any difficulties or problems you had doing the experiment.
Do you need to change the procedure and repeat your experiment?
What would you do different next time?
List other things you learned.

TRY TO ANSWER RELATED QUESTIONS

What you have learned may allow you to answer other questions. Many questions are related. Several new questions may have occurred to you while doing experiments. You may now be able to understand or verify things that you discovered when gathering information for the project. Questions lead to more questions, which lead to additional hypotheses that may be tested.

WHAT IF MY SCIENCE PROJECT DOESN'T WORK?

No matter what happens, you will learn something. Science is not only about getting "the answer." Knowing that something didn't work can actually be beneficial. Experiments that don't turn out as planned can be an important step in helping to find an answer.

A Protocol for Experimental Research Investigations:
Recommended Approach

* Taken from: "Experimental Science Project"

David Morano, Assoc. Professor
Mankato State University
27 May 1995
dmorano@vax1.mankato.msus.edu

and edited and reformatted for use as an example.