Every kid growing up asks questions. Why this? Why that? What will happen if I do that? What happens if you put x, y, z together? It may be annoying sometimes, but it is healthy for them to do this and explore new ideas. The scientific method is a process used by the scientific community to find answers to their questions. The order of steps is as followed: purposing a question, coming up with a hypothesis, experimenting and collecting data, analyzing and processing the results, and finally, constructing a conclusion. The scientific method is used to keep structure throughout research.

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The scientific method has been extremely important to both my research projects because without it, I would be researching with no clear purpose. I have two end goals that may or may not support my hypotheses. Beyond the classroom, my heron research compares the foraging (eating) rates of the great blue heron in the spring and in the fall. I hypothesized that if I observed herons during the fall season, then I would see more kills in the fall during dam generation due to stunned fish. The fish become stunned (temporally paralyzed) as they are pulled through the dam because of the electricity the water creates, making them more vulnerable to predators. When doing the heron research, I attempted to document what fish were being eaten in the fall and compare it to the spring. This showed me what fish were being pulled through the dam.

 

I have also used the scientific method in the classroom-based research. My independent research (BIOL 399) project looks at five different aromatic hydrosols (lavender, rose, geranium, tea tree and neroli) and their antimicrobial properties compared to the same essential oil and its antimicrobial properties. A hydrosol is a mixture of water and very small essential oil droplets. Hydrosols and essential oils are produced at the same time from steam distillation. The essential oil will sit on top of the solution while the hydrosol will be on the bottom. My research question was "do hydrosols and essential oils have antimicrobial properties?" I hypothesized that the lavender hydrosol would have the strongest antimicrobial properties against the bacteria and yeast.

 

At University of South Carolina-Lancaster, I am involved with the Chemistry Club. The Chemistry Club goes around to local high schools and helps out the chemistry classes. Last spring, we went to Andrew Jackson High School in Kershaw, South Carolina. Our chemistry professors coordinated with their chemistry teacher and developed a lab that went along with what the students were learning, and we helped the students through it. Instead of just following the procedure, my group would read over the lab and we would use the scientific method by hypothesizing what would happen. During the labs, it was so fascinating to see the high school students be confused about something and ask questions about it, but then, upon the completion of the lab, you see the “a-ha moment” within them. One of my favorite lab groups I got to work with would ask me such good questions about their labs. It showed me that they were engaged and interested in what we were doing. They always followed the procedure exactly, wrote down their results, and drew good conclusions based on their results. This made me really enjoy doing the labs with them. It showed me that using a standardized process like the scientific method is helpful for staying on track. 

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Every year around the middle of February, USCL holds a science fair for local students (K-8). I have attended this event twice, helping out with chemistry demonstrations for the students. Some of the kids were too young to completely understand the demonstrations, but they still asked questions about it and stayed engaged. Before all the students and parents arrived, I liked to look around at the posters they created. All of these students came up with their own questions and followed the scientific method procedure. When the students came in, it was great to see how enthused they were about their projects. I’m glad the scientific method is being taught at a young age so students can grasp the concept early on and carry it throughout their life. 

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In my science lab classes, the scientific method is used all the time. In Biological Principles II Lab 102L, all of the labs began with a hypothesis and continued from there. It taught me to always be asking questions and making predictions about what is going to happen next. We took notes on everything which really helped me understand that no matter how small the detail is, it could help you draw a stronger conclusion than without it because you have more supportive/unsupportive evidence.  

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Through my learning experiences, I have learned that the scientific method is more than just a process we use in school, but a standardized process that helps us understand why we are doing something.