Laboratory 1: The Secientific Method and Touch Therapy

The Scientific Method:
                     Is comprised of a multitude of steps and they all helps scientists make small deductions that can lead to much bigger conclusions and research.

Step 1.) Research- This includes biological journals and the internet
Before biologists begin research into a specified field it is necessary that they become knowledgeable of the subject matter they will research. By becoming familiar with what they will be researching, this enables scientists to then ask questions about the material. Any unanswerable questions are possible research material.

Step 2.) Ask Questions
          By becoming familiar with the material, biologists are then able to ask much more specific questions that become the basis for an experiment. For example, asking what is the structure of DNA allows a biologist to begin questioning how to go about the process of learning the structure.

Step 3.) Developing Testable hypotheses
             A biologist must come up with a hypothesis that is able to be tested. For example, if a question posed whether or not humans could drive safer drunk or high on drugs, a biologist could set up a controlled environment in which the same person could drive drunk and then later high to see which environment allowed for a safer ride.

Step 4.) Test the hypothesis
             This would be the portion where a biologist would have to begin slaving over the actual labor of creating this environment. If a biologist had multiple test subjects, one day they could all come and get drunk.
Let them then drive in a controlled environment and through surveys and crash records, record how well the subjects drive. The next day, let them come in and subject them to drugs, which would give them a high. Then, let them drive in this environment and observe how well they do. Record their own opinions of their driving through surveys.

Step 5.) Collect Data
            Take the data from your experiment and gather it. Render everything into a readable result; graph it, chart it, and write about it. Make positive the data has the potential to be analyzed.

Step 6.) Analyze Data
            Take the data you have collected and analyze it. See which test subject drove better, and how they felt about their driving. Which atmosphere created the safer environment, were there any side effects? This is the time to answer the questions posed in the earlier processes.

Step 7.) Interpret the Results of the Data
           If people had a record of less accidents and more confidence when drunk, then it would be a conclusion that driving drunk has the potential to be safer when driving high. On the same hand, if those who were high consistently had less accidents and drove slower, one might conclude that driving high would be safer than driving drunk.

Step 8.) Answer the Biological Question
               Does alcohol or cannabis suppress the body's systems to the point of being unable to drive? Look at the results from the experiments and make the necessary conclusions.

Step 9.) Publish the Data
               Publish the data for all to see, so others can expand and use your research.