Step 6: Analyze Your Data

Take some time to carefully review all of the data you have collected from your experiment. Use charts and graphs to help you analyze the data and patterns. Did you get the results you had expected? What did you find out from your experiment?

Really think about what you have discovered and use your data to help you explain why you think certain things happened.

You should have performed multiple trials of your experiment. Think about the best way to summarize your data. Do you want to calculate the average for each group of trials, or summarize the results in some other way such as ratios, percentages, or error and significance for really advanced students? Or, is it better to display your data as individual data points?

Do any calculations that are necessary for you to analyze and understand the data from your experiment.

Pay careful attention because you may need to convert some of your units to do your calculation correctly. All of the units for a measurement should be of the same scale– (keep L with L and mL with mL, do not mix L with mL!)


Graphs

Graphs are often an excellent way to display your results. In fact, most good science projects have at least one graph.

For any type of graph:

Generally, you should place your independent variable on the x-axis of your graph and the dependent variable on the y-axis. Be sure to label the axes of your graph— don't forget to include the units of measurement (grams, centimeters, liters, etc.). If you have more than one set of data, show each series in a different color or symbol and include a legend with clear labels.