Step 9: Conclusions
When you have finished your experiment you should decide whether or not the data you've collected supports your hypothesis or not. Sometimes your results are very dramatically leaning in support or against, but other times it will be difficult to decide.
Statistics:
One way to make a decision is to use statistics. This can be as simple as calculating the mean (average) of all of your trials and comparing them, or making a chart or table of your data to interpret... but you may also decide that you need a more rigorous statistical test. If so, please reach out to Mr. Zielen (a math teacher) for help.
What is "significant":
Significance is important in science? If you were testing whether a new plan food was better than the name brand and you found that in 51% of your trials the new food produced a larger crop, can you say that that 1% above 50% is significant enough to make a conclusion? Is it possible that the trials that pushed you over 50% were just coincidence (like strong seeds that got selected by luck)?
Make your Decision:
After considering the statistics and significance of your results you should make a decision. Was your hypothesis supported, is there reason to believe your hypothesis was wrong, or are you just not sure. It's ok to get inconclusive results - - That's why we do the experiment in the first place.
Statistics:
One way to make a decision is to use statistics. This can be as simple as calculating the mean (average) of all of your trials and comparing them, or making a chart or table of your data to interpret... but you may also decide that you need a more rigorous statistical test. If so, please reach out to Mr. Zielen (a math teacher) for help.
What is "significant":
Significance is important in science? If you were testing whether a new plan food was better than the name brand and you found that in 51% of your trials the new food produced a larger crop, can you say that that 1% above 50% is significant enough to make a conclusion? Is it possible that the trials that pushed you over 50% were just coincidence (like strong seeds that got selected by luck)?
Make your Decision:
After considering the statistics and significance of your results you should make a decision. Was your hypothesis supported, is there reason to believe your hypothesis was wrong, or are you just not sure. It's ok to get inconclusive results - - That's why we do the experiment in the first place.
