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Questions arising form observations

Once an observation is made and the event has been recorded in some form, then the next stage is to ask questions about why the “X” event happened?

The questions asked define the direction that the investigation will take.

This requires thinking about:

• What causes can lead to the observation?
• What abiotic factors may have a dominant role in the observation?

Questions lead to possible explanations. They help provide educated guesses for the investigator and hence they lead to experimental designs which guide the investigation.

So in the Rural Tree decline study questions were asked as to why these trees were dying, what factors led to their demise.

What further information is required before the investigation can be carried out?

Perhaps it is possible to consider some of the following areas to answer questions:

Examples:
Rural Tree Decline
Japanese Ginger Plant

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