• Question: What do you actually do as a Scientist, or how do you discover new things.

    Asked by Darky x to Chris, Joanne, Kathryn, Kieran, Sarah on 9 Nov 2017.
    • Photo: Kathryn Schoenrock

      Kathryn Schoenrock answered on 9 Nov 2017:

      When you become a scientist you decide what type of science you want to investigate- it is really varied. I study seaweeds and animals that live with them so i do a lot of diving in kelp forests, I dissect kelp and see what lives on them, and I measure how they grow. We discover new stuff by continually asking questions about what we see and following the data!

    • Photo: Sarah Guerin

      Sarah Guerin answered on 9 Nov 2017:

      Scientists usually have research questions when they start a project in a particular area- so you’re normally trying to prove if something is true or not. You then design experiments to try and prove this question (fancy word for this question = hypothesis), so you can be really creative about it.

      A simple example for my research would be “does this protein generate electricity when I press it?”. So I design an experiment where I make the protein, press it, and measure whether or not it makes electricity.

      You discover new things by being creative about your hypothesis, and how you design your experiments đŸ™‚

    • Photo: Chris Werner

      Chris Werner answered on 9 Nov 2017:

      As a scientist in general you ask questions…then try and figure out an answer. Another way of thinking about it when you are trying to prove or discover something, come up with a hypothesis, or an idea, then try and disprove it. If you can’t your idea was right and maybe you’ve discovered something new and groundbreaking!

      Like the others said, what you do as a scientist completely depends on the area of research you want to get into!

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