Lots of things can spark exploration in science; for example, an exciting observation or discovery, a question suggested by someone else’s work, a societal issue, or an everyday problem.
However the questions arise, testing ideas is at the heart of science. Testing ideas involves gathering and interpreting data: making measurements or observations and interpreting these in the light of the question asked.
Science relies on a professional community – the community found within a research group and the wider scientific community that reaches across all of science. Results are repeated and checked and then ideas and interpretations are discussed with colleagues before being published for review by the whole scientific community. This process often leads to new technologies or solutions to societal problems, or further questions to be tested.
The diagram below depicts the dynamic process of science, with testing ideas at the core:
Testing ideas diagram
(Image used with permission from Understanding Science – UC Berkeley Museum of Paleontology)
Last updated August 9, 2012