Discussion:
The scientific method is a process for experimentation, it is used to explore observation and answer questions. Not all scientist follows the exact same protocol because this adapts to their necessities, but it offers a general series of organized steps to successfully reach a result.
These steps are:
1. Define a question. This step helps to delimit the subject we want to study.
2. Background research. To begin to understand the nature of the phenomenon we will study scientist needs to study the information we already have about it. This will create a base for the next steps, avoiding the investigation to be redundant or to repeat the same mistakes in past researches.
3. Create a hypothesis. Based on the information we acquired we need to create a prediction of what we expect from our experiment. It is an attempt to answer our initial question.
4. Perform an experiment. This step will test the hypothesis you created, it needs to have reproducibility, this means you have to assure the results are not a casualty. It's also important to try one factor at a time and keep the rest of the factors constant so the results are reliable.
5. Analyzing the data. Now that you have the results of your experimentation you'll need to process that information with the help of tables, graphics, models.
6. Interpret the data and draw conclusions. You'll translate your graphical and numerical information into words, this then will be compared against your initial hypothesis in order to reach a conclusion.
7. Publish results. Now that you ended your research you'll need to share the information you collected in scientific journals, conventions, reports. This will help other researched to deepen the research or use it as a base for future researches.
I think this type of experimentation and reasoning is used by scientists to preserve an organized form to share information for the sake of knowledge. Keeping protocols allow them to reproduce results and experiments generated for another colleague, for future researches.
I hope you find this information useful and interesting! Good luck!
