The scientific method is what all of your knowledge of science will stem from, and thus I am making this my first topic. Understanding how the Scientific Method works will clear your mind as to what Science is truly about.
Believe it or not, you use the Scientific Method daily, probably without even thinking about it. Science is all about documentation and repetition. Don't let the word "Science" daunt you in any way; once you grasp an understanding of what falls under that name, you won't have to be afraid or be overwhelmed.
Everyday we Observe the world around us, whether by sight, smell, hearing, or feeling it. Every action we take depends on what we observe or have already observed before. When beginning the Scientific Method, like everything else we do, we must start by observing. Whether it is some experiment, or a study of some kind observation must be your first step. Be thorough, but concise. Your goal is to take as much information as possible that pertains to the situation. If you fill out five pages of information that you won't need or probably won't be able to discern later, you've missed the point.
Now you've hopefully gathered what information you need, so now you need to do something with it. Hopefully you're able to grasp the point of the study at this point to at least some degree. The whole point of Science is to answer and document Questions that have been asked. Your next step is to form a question based on your study. What is going on? What is going to happen? What has already happened? Why? This is the fun of Science, when we have questions we have to find a way to answer them; so instead of guessing, find a real and solid way of answering them.
Now if you haven't heard of the word "Hypothesis" before, its just a way of saying you have an opinion of what you think will or should happen. Your scientific "guess" here, should be educated in its nature. Take what you've learned so far and put it together. Write it down! This should be in line with the question you just formed, and should answer it if it is confirmed to be true.
Now, you will begin Experimentation. After gathering information, you hopefully will have an idea of what process or list of things you need to follow to carry out the answering process. If you're still not sure what you should do, follow the processes that other scientists have followed in similar situations (or follow your book, reading is always helpful). Prepare yourself properly, some experiments can be dangerous. Plus (speaking out of experience), once you've started an experiment it is rather hard to gather what supplies you need when the experiment is in full swing.
Observe. Have yourself ready to document what happens. Some experiments will have a very visible result following, some will have observable results that will last mere moments. Take what information is needed from the result, write it down! This is the fruit of your labor, treat it as such! Hopefully you will have what answers you needed either in full or in part.
Now either repeat the experiment, or submit your results. If your hypothesis didn't come close to the result, don't worry about it. That was the whole point of conducting the experiment. Whether you're right or wrong, you still learn. It might be a good idea to repeat the experiment, even if nothing seemed off. Remember that Science can't be Science if it can't be repeated.
Hopefully this was both educational and enjoyable. Don't let yourself get stressed, it can ruin the learning process, and the experiment. Let yourself take a minute to catch yourself is you need to. You'll find the whole concept of Science will both get easier and probably more enjoyable through experience and time spent.
Best to you!
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