How to Conduct Science Research

Deciding to conduct your own scientific experiment can be an exciting start on the road to discovery. Experiments can be a creative way to learn something new while getting hands on experience. Learn where to begin and how to use the scientific method to conduct science research.

1. Begin with a question. Ask yourself something that you would like to know and that you have the means to experiment with it. You will have to be patient, observant, and focused during the entire experiment so be sure that your topic is interesting to you.

2. Do your research. Research the topic that you wish to experiment on. It is not profitable to go into a scientific experiment blindly. Having background knowledge of the topic will enable you to have more insight in the experiment. You also need to research and risks or dangers that may be involved with the topic at hand. Be up to date on your research to be sure that your isn’t in vain.

3. Come up with a hypothesis. Based on your research, you should be able to come up with an educated guess to answer your question in step one. A good format for a hypothesis is “if (this occurs), then (this will happen).” Be sure to make your hypothesis clear and concise so that it will be easy to understand.

4. Do your experiment. Your experiment should detect whether your hypothesis is true or false. Be sure that your test results are accurate. Do the experiment multiple times if necessary to be sure that all tests yield the same result.

5. Draw a conclusion. Your conclusion will include all data collected throughout the experiment to test whether your hypothesis was true or false.