Quantitative analysis, on the other hand, employs deductive logic, moving from the general to the specific. All areas of science involve posing questions about nature and discovering facts that can help answer those questions. The manner in which a scientist seeks to gain new knowledge or explain natural phenomena is known as the scientific method. The first step is observation. After observations are made the data that was collected is organized.
Data are of little use unless they are organized.
Organizing data involves placing observations and measurements in some kind of logical order, such as in a graph, chart, table, or map. The next step after a scientist has collected and organized data from a field study or an experiment, the data must be analyzed. Analyzing data is the process of determing whether data are reliable and whether they support or refute a given prediction. Scientists analyze data in many ways, including using statistics, interpreting graphs, determining relationships between variables, and comparing data. On the basis of these observations and analysis, the scientist using deductive reasoning makes predictions about future observations.