Over many years researchers have developed a method that allows a scientist to have an orderly and acceptable way to prove or disprove their theories. This is what we call the Scientific Method. There are many arguments and ideas that are non-scientific and do not follow the scientific method. An example of this type of thinking goes like this: "Flying Saucers must be in the sky because you can't prove that they aren't" This reasoning is not scientific. The real scientific question would be stated" I think that there may be flying saucers in the sky and I will design and run an experiment to see if my idea is correct". Scientists may argue over the experimental procedure and conclusions but there will be method and data to discuss.

An example of a historically beautiful and simple use of the Scientific Method was the Millikan Oil Drop Experiment. Robert Millikan was a Physicist at the University of Chicago who developed a simple device to measure the charge of the electron. This was very important to know. Over several years he measured how little oil drops fell in his apparatus and recorded his data. Then he analyzed his results and produced a very accurate measurement that was accepted by the scientists of the day. He won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1923.

Here are the Scientific Method Steps for you Science Fair Experiment

Select a Topic
Remember a Science Fair Project is an experiment to find an answer to a question, not just showing what you know. As I demonstrated with the flying saucer argument, not all statements are scientific and the scientific method won't be useful to everything. Be sure and propose a question or problem that can be formulated in terms of hypothesis that you can test, like photosynthesis (at right).



State your Purpose
What are you trying to discover? Define your variables (parts of your experiment that will change ) that will help you find your answer. You should have control over your variables or your experiment could be flawed (you can't trust the data).

Do your Research
Find out about what you want to experiment with. Read books, magazines, browse the WEB, ask teachers, professors or scientists. You need to learn what is already known about your topic. Keep track of where you got your information from and develop a reference list.

State Your Hypothesis
A hypothesis is a question that has been stated so it can be tested by an experiment. For example: "I think that there may be flying saucers in the sky and I will design and run an experiment to see if my idea is correct"

Develop an Experimental Procedure
Select only one element to change in each experiment. Don't forget things that can be changed are called variables. Change something that will help you answer your questions and keep the others fixed. You must be able to explain the variable changes and measure it. Then you run the experiment without these changes. This is called the control experiment. This allows measurement of change.




Perform the Experiment and Record Data
When you do experiments, record all measurements made. Data can be amounts of chemicals used, how long something is. Qualitative data is also useful and should be recorded. For example, it smelled bad, the color changed, it got moldy.

Analysis
Put your data into graphs and tables. Are there patterns, Do statistics if you know how. This will help you understand your experiment and produce a conclusion.

Conclusion Use the analysis of your experimental data and observations, try to answer your original questions. Was the hypothesis correct? Was the hypothesis incorrect? You may have surprised yourself and disproved your hypothesis. This is still good science and valuable information. Your experiment is still valid. Don't be disappointed if you proved your idea incorrect, be happy you ran a successful experiment and gained knowledge. This is the mark of a scientist and you still have a good Science Fair Project!