The scientific method

The Scientific Method

Biologists, like all scientists, conduct their research using the scientific method. The scientific method is a standardized way of making observations, gathering data, forming theories, testing predictions, and interpreting results.

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Researchers make observations to describe and measure biological states and behaviors. After observing certain events repeatedly, researchers come up with a theory that explains these observations. A theory is an explanation that organizes separate

pieces of information in a coherent way. Researchers generally develop a theory only after they have collected a great deal of evidence and make sure that their research results can be reproduced by others.

Biological research, like research in other fields, must meet certain criteria to be considered scientific. Research must be:

Replicable
Falsifiable
Precise
Parsimonious
Replicable

Research is replicable when others can repeat it and get the same results. When biologists report what they have found through their research, they also describe in detail how they made their discoveries. This way, other biologists can repeat the research to see if they can replicate the findings.

After biologists conduct their research and make sure it’s replicable, they develop a theory and translate the theory into a precise hypothesis. A hypothesis is a testable or observable prediction of what will happen given a certain set of conditions. If further tests or observations do not confirm the hypothesis, the biologist revises or rejects the original theory.

Falsifiable

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A good theory or hypothesis must also be falsifiable, which means that it must be stated in a way that makes it possible to reject it. In other words, other researchers have to be able to prove a theory or hypothesis wrong. Theories and hypotheses need to be falsifiable because all researchers can succumb to the confirmation bias. Researchers who display confirmation bias look for and accept evidence that supports what they want to believe and ignore or reject evidence that refutes their beliefs.

Precise

By stating hypotheses precisely, researchers ensure that they can replicate their own and others’ research. To make hypotheses more precise, researchers state exactly how their research has been conducted.

Parsimonious

The principle of parsimony, also called Occam’s razor, maintains that researchers should apply the simplest explanation possible to any set of observations. For instance, biologists try to explain results by using well-accepted theories instead of elaborate new hypotheses. Parsimony prevents researchers from inventing and pursuing outlandish theories.