by: Amanda Rioux, and the UMass Dartmouth biology students
Ask the Scientists: What is the Scientific Process?
To understand what scientists do, it’s important to understand how they work. I asked the UMass Dartmouth biology students to explain what the scientific process is, and why it’s important to understand.
“How would you describe the scientific process?”
Stephanie: In my opinion, the first step in the process is to read a lot of peer-reviewed journal articles in order to understand important conclusions in the field, which methods did or did not work, and what questions remain that further experiments must try to answer.
After gathering all that information, you have to decide what question(s) you are most interested in and are the most urgent to answer with an experiment. The next step is experimental design, which involves planning for sampling and further sample processing.
You’ll need to consider which methods you’ll use to most effectively and efficiently answer your main research questions. Then there is data analysis to determine what trends are in your data. From there, you gather your conclusions and formulate further questions that must be answered with more research.
Ryan: The scientific process involves identifying a large question or issue that has a broad impact that you would like to address. Then you attempt to answer small parts of that larger question through generating testable hypotheses.
You then actively test these hypotheses through controlled experiments specifically aimed for your question allowing you to generate data.
You then analyze your data and preform statistical tests to either confirm or deny your hypotheses based upon these unbiased results. Then you can generate conclusions based upon the data and extrapolate where you should go next.
While this may conclude a part of the scientific process the entire process is ever on going as new questions are always generated and tested.
Very rarely in science are things black and white and the whole of science evolves and each scientist is a part of this larger process aimed to better understand our world as a whole.
Muhammad: It is a process of empirical collection of data about a proposed research project. It often involves the attempt of answering hypothetical questions with experimental answers.
Abhi: First, a phenomenon is observed; this can be higher incidence of a cancer in men vs. women, or the fluorescence of a bobtail squid.
Next, we try to form a hypothesis to explain what is observed. Perhaps higher testosterone is linked to this cancer, or the squid has a magic ghost living inside it.
We perform experiments, either controlled or observational, to check the validity of our hypotheses. If the results are consistent with the hypothesis, and evidence for this hypothesis builds over multiple studies/years, the hypothesis becomes scientific theory.
For example, one epidemiological study could show that yes, the incidence rate of that cancer is certainly higher in cis men. Then another study could show that trans men undergoing masculinizing hormone therapy (receiving testosterone) experience an increased incidence of this cancer too.
Experimental testosterone treatments in mice could produce unexpected tumors of this cancer. As evidence builds, testosterone could eventually strongly be linked to this cancer type, and the hypothesis becomes theory, unless sufficient evidence against it is discovered.
In the case of the bobtail squid, no evidence for our magic ghost hypothesis would exist (sadly), and later experiments would find that colonies of bioluminescent bacteria cause the fluorescence.
“Why is it important?”
Stephanie: I think that if the public understood how much expertise, time, and effort went into science, they would have more trust in what the science is saying.
Ryan: This process is important for the public to understand as it is the crux of how all science is generated.
Understanding the process with give the general public tools to identify misinformation or at the minimum the potential flaws in the information presented to them.
This will greatly improve their ability to critically examine information and not just take what is given to them at face value.
Muhammad: Scientific process is basically the steps that went into answering a question or a problem.
The reason why there is mistrust among the public and scientific community is that a big potion of public is not informed of the milestones in science.
Hence, a lot of times, scientists fail to get the funding needed for their research as they fail to attract the attention of the public.
Abhi: I think the crux is to know that it is i) a process and ii) a process with multiple built-in checks and balances.
The process is rigorous, it allows science to progress, and encourages scientists to correct misunderstandings or miscalculations along the way. It’s not infallible, but it is the best we have.