Scientific Method

T Jennings

11/30/2013

CJ 499

Unit 4 Assignment

There are 5 different steps in the scientific method of research. The scientific method can be defined in many different ways, but primarily it involves observing the world around you, arriving at an explanation for what you witness, testing your reasoning to see if it could be legitimate, and then either rejecting your explanation or accepting the explanation then possibly coming up with a better one.

Step number 1 is to determine a scientific problem to solve or make an observation. This basically means that you have to decide how or why something works or how it occurs. A good example would be “How does alcohol affect a fetus?” The next step is to develop a hypothesis. This part is simply a decent speculation or a guess as to why or how something occurs. Often, a person can foresee the outcome of a particular experiment based upon the hypothesis. Step 3 is the testing of the hypothesis. An experiment is needed to examination the hypothesis. This step is crucial because the facts have to be tested to make sure the end result is correct. Along with testing the hypothesis is recording it. Once your experiment is complete, you collect your measurements and analyze them to see if your hypothesis is true or false. Drawing a conclusion is the 5th and final step. This step shows the results of the experiments that were performed. These results will show whether or not your original prediction is conclusive. If the results match then this will support your hypothesis and you will be able to confirm your prediction.

In Criminal Justice, officers use all kinds of investigative approach when dealing with crime. They use the inductive, deductive, and axiomatic approach in solving a homicide situation. Without these factors, the officers, and the lab technician in a crime situation would not be able to solve the case. Deductive is that it could be possible that a statement is true, but you may find in the end that...