The use of observations is one of the most important tools of scientific research because it helps to open interest of research and learning. Anybody can be opened to a strong interest of learning about simple ideas through observing and researching the natural world. The observations can be supported through God's understanding and literary research in either the local public library and/or at home.
Any observations of the natural world, whether it be biology, physics, and chemistry can help to open a door to the understanding of the scientific process. Learning about how things work in the natural world can be fun and educational to the curious observer. For instance, observing wildflowers and tree leaves can be useful in determining the ecology of a region. Guide books can be useful in identifying the plant specimens by the species in the region. Therefore, these observations can be useful in understanding how plants functions in an ecosystem.
Learning about the functions of an idea/principle is another useful purpose of observation because it helps to understand the processes of a system. Performing a simple experiment, such as comparing the gravity of a rubber ball and a tennis ball, can help to expand about the effects of matter and mass on objects.
These studies can be reinforced by using books and other references to learn about the observed processes and samples ; thereby, helping to increase learning about science on Earth and beyond. However, God's understanding is the important key to any observations in the scientific process because He is the One that give us knowledge about the natural world.
The Citizen Scientist, www.sas.org/tcs, is one of the major web sites for people who want to learn more about observations and the scientific process. Also, Shawn Carlson's book, The Amateur Biologist (2002) is another reference for science projects that can be useful for studying natural processes in the biology field.
Reference: Carlson S, Ed. Scientific American: The Amateur Biologist. 2002. John Wiley & Sons, Inc; New York. 228p.
