What is science research?

Have you ever wondered how people discover new things? How new inventions are made? How treatments for illnesses get created? How do we know how the world works, how our brain works, and how our body works? All of these questions are answered by scientific research!

• Read about science research in the Science Journal for Kids! 

How do you do research?

1. Research in science usually begins because someone has a question they want to answer. The person with the question can be called a researcher.

   • Here are some examples of questions a researcher might ask: How far away is the Sun from Earth? Do people who like the color blue eat more ice cream than people who like the color red?

2. After thinking of a question, the researcher comes up with a guess to what they think the answer will be. This is called a hypothesis.

   • Here is an example of a hypothesis: “I think that people who like the color blue will eat less ice cream than people who like the color red. I think this because my friend and I both like the color red and eat a lot of ice cream!”

3. Then, the researcher comes up with a series of steps in order to test their hypothesis. This is called creating a research method, which will be followed to do an experiment.

4. The researcher can then run an experiment by following these steps and collecting information along the way. Pieces of information are called data and when they are put together, the data are called research results.

   • Fun fact: the word “data” is actually plural! That’s why we say “the data are” or “the data show” instead of “the data is” or “the data shows”. Data is plural because it contains lots of pieces of information. If you only had one tiny piece of information you could call it a “datum”, which is the singular version of “data”.

5. Once the researcher looks at the data they’ve collected, they can decide if the results agree or disagree with their hypothesis. This process is called coming to a conclusion.

6. If the results don’t match with the researcher’s hypothesis, then they might go back and change their research question or methods. If the results do match, then the researcher might think of a follow up question! Either way, the researcher will share their conclusions with other scientists, researchers, and people. Results can tell us important things about the world and research questions, no matter if they do or don’t match a hypothesis!

Why is research important?

Research is one of the most reliable ways to answer questions we have about ourselves and about the world around us. Understanding and finding the answers to our questions is important because it can help us create new medicines, technologies, and resources.

Here are some websites that you can use to learn more about research in different areas of science:

• National Institute for Health (NIH) Science Education for Kids

• NanoZone - Nanotechnology Education for Kids

• Chemistry for Kids

Sometimes research is exploratory, meaning that the researchers don’t have a clear guess or hypothesis as to what their results will be, but whatever they find is still important for us to know!

Here are some websites that you can use to learn more about exploratory research in science:

• National Aeronautics and Space Association (NASA) Space Place

• National Park Service Archeology Program for Kids

Who pays for science research in the United States?

Research is funded (paid for) in a few different ways [1]:

1. There are companies in different scientific fields that hire researchers to answer research questions for the business.

2. Sometimes people decide to donate their personal money to a company that’s trying to answer a specific research question.

3. Schools and universities can sometimes give their teachers and students money to do smaller scale research projects.

4. The United States government also dedicates money toward science research every year. Government funding for research is important because they can provide money to support research even when the companies, people, and schools don’t have enough money to pay for research.

How do I let other people know that science research is important?

1. Tell other people about what you learned from this article!

2. Learn more at some of the links at the bottom of this article. Share them with your friends! 

3. Send an email, mail a letter, or call your government representatives to remind them that giving money to science research is important!

   • You can find out how to get in touch with your elected officials at this link: https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials 

4. Tell your teacher that you want Project Brain Light to come to your classroom and do science experiments with your class!

   • Check out what we can do at: https://www.projectbrainlight.org/ 

Links to all of the resources in this article:

• The Science Journal for Kids: https://sciencejournalforkids.org/ 

• National Institute for Health (NIH) Science Education for Kids: https://public.csr.nih.gov/NewsAndPolicy/RocketKids 

• NanoZone - Nanotechnology Education for Kids: http://nanozone.org/index.htm 

• Chemistry for Kids: https://www.sciencekids.co.nz/chemistry.html 

• National Aeronautics and Space Association (NASA) Space Place: https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/menu/science-and-technology/ 

• National Park Service Archeology Program for Kids: https://www.nps.gov/archeology/PUBLIC/kids/index.htm

References:

1. Who pays for science? (2021). University of California Museum of Paleontology. Retrieved May 26, 2021. http://www.understandingscience.org