The Scientific Method & Peer Review

The Scientific Method

Steps in the Scientific Method: 1) Observation/question, 2) Research topic area, 3) hypothesis, test with experiment, 4) analyze data, 5) report conclusions

The scientific method is a process of:

  • Observing
  • Forming an idea or hypothesis about how things work
  • Testing that hypothesis with experiments
  • Analyzing the data to determine if your hypothesis is correct

For more detail see "Scientific Method Links to an external site." from Gale Encyclopedia of Science

Scholarly or Peer Reviewed Journals

You can find research using the scientific method in scholarly or peer reviewed journals.  Scientists publish work they have done using the scientific method in scholarly journals:  science journals that publish articles that have been reviewed and approved by other scientists.

For an overview of how scholarly journals work, watch this 3-minute video.

Image: "The Scientific Method" Links to an external site. is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 Links to an external site.

Video: "Peer Review in Three Minutes" Links to an external site. by NC State University Libraries Links to an external site. is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 Links to an external site.