The Journal of Integrative Behavioral Science Writing Guide: Scientific Method

1. Observe behavior or other phenomena that may interest you

2. Form a possible answer or explanation, a hypothesis, as to what is happening or how it is happening       

• Variables
  • characteristics or conditions that change or have different values for different individuals. 
• Hypothesis
  • a statement that describes or explains a relationship between or among variables. A hypothesis is not a final answer but rather a proposal to be tested and evaluated. 

3. Use your hypothesis to generate a testable prediction

• Deduction or deductive reasoning
  • Uses a general statement as the basis reaching a conclusion about specific examples

4. Evaluate the prediction by making systematic, planned observations

• Research or data collection
• Goal is to provide a fair and unbiased test of the research hypothesis by observing whether the prediction is correct

5. Use the observations to support, refute, or refine the original hypothesis

Source: Gravetter, F. J., & Forzano, L. B. (2016). Research Methods for the Behavioral Sciences. Stamford, Conn: Cengage Learning.