Observe
Entails both formal and informal observation.

Hypothesize
Articulates the research question in a testable format (experiment or clinical trial).

Test
Entails experimentation. Clinical trials are experiments that involve patients.

Conclude
Validates or modifies the hypothesis. The conclusion generally leads to additional observation and experimentation.

2. The green clouds on the right side of figure provide examples of activities involved in each stage.

3. The pink clouds on the left side of the figure are the processes involved in moving through the four stages of the scientific method:

• The Concept Development Process gathers observations from a variety of sources and frames a formal research question and testable hypothesis. In clinical research, this process often results in a trial concept document. The "what" and "why" questions raised in the observation stage are particularly relevant to this process.
• Experimental Design Process translates the research question about a population of interest into a formal experiment or clinical trial protocol. The protocol includes patient eligibility requirements, detailed descriptions of the experimental and control interventions, as well as definition of objective, measurable outcomes.
• Statistical Inference uses probability theory to draw conclusions about populations based on observations in samples. The more observations that are taken, the more likely the observation will hold for the entire population. Statisticians help design and analyze experiments/trials so that scientists can attempt to control the number of wrong conclusions drawn and to know how many patients are needed for any given study.

Sharing results

Scientists regularly publish their findings in academic journals, so other researchers around the world can see what they have discovered and test their conclusions. The best journals have a strict process of peer review, meaning that other experts scrutinize new research before it is published.

Building a body of knowledge

By publishing research findings, scientists build up a body of scientific evidence that supports an idea. It also means that ideas can change over time, as new evidence to support or overturn an idea comes to light. And advances in technology mean that we can look at old questions in a new way.

New research often supports and builds on an established idea, in which case the hypothesis becomes stronger. But sometimes, new results can appear to contradict a conventional idea. In that case more experiments are needed to see which result is reproducible and therefore more likely to be correct.

There are often large gray areas where the results go back and forth with different conclusions while this body of knowledge is being built up. This period is often difficult for all including patients and advocates who may grasp hold of an idea only to see it change and sometimes even disappear from accepted beliefs - we are seldom talking black and white.

CISN Summary

• Researchers falls into different fields depending on the type of research they conduct: basic, translational, clinical or epidemiology.
• The scientific method involves various steps that can take many years and many hundreds of thousands of dollars before a result can be 'believed'.

CISN Note

• Consider asking each person that you vote for if they support funding for cancer research.