We can look at different ways that a scientific investigation can start, different ways it might be carried out, and the variety of-often not discussed-activities that come before or after the traditional steps. It also includes examples of better types of scientific investigations you can do with your students. See the article in Online Resources on “Problems with ‘The scientific method’” for a nice description of the traditional “scientific method” compared to what scientists actually do. But the actual research probably took place very differently. This is how many scientific papers are structured, in which the author presents information for readers in that order.

The basic steps are usually presented as something like: question, hypothesis, experiment, and conclusion. Many teachers describe a “scientific method” to students, which typically involves somewhere from four to eight steps. We do a disservice to-and misrepresent-science if we teach it as merely a collection of facts, or that its undertaking requires following a rigid procedure.

A: Before I tell you (spoiler alert) that the answer is “no,” I want to first point out the problem of how science has been traditionally taught-in a way that does not express the fascination of science and does not sufficiently convey the excitement and creativity of the scientific enterprise to create a strong interest in science and encourage students to continue learning science and consider a career in one of the sciences.

What do scientists do