Aleta is taking a scientific approach

Here's what Aleta has to say on why she is changing her approach to writing:

I had never compared writing and science until two things happened in our class. First, during a lively brainstorming session about our assignments, I noticed several miscommunications between classmates (myself included), which stemmed from different opinions about bias in stories. Second, I visited NARA on our class tour, where our workshop leader emphasized that we read secondary materials for background and use primary materials to develop opinions.

How do you address bias in your reporting and writing? Can it be ethical for a writer to form an opinion about a story before completing research and interviews? Or, must a writer approach a topic with a blank slate, intent on being unbiased from start to end?

Science, in theory, has balanced these two approaches. The second step of the scientific method (after making observations) is to form a hypothesis. A scientific experiment cannot be designed, performed and analyzed if it is not designed to support or refute a hypothesis. Scientific results are unbiased when data are collected and analyzed without bias, but this does not mean that scientists do not have opinions or that they do not develop their experiments based on hypotheses.

Can a writer approach a story using the scientific method -- Make observations, develop a hypothesis, collect data, analyze results and draw conclusions?

As someone with much more of a scientific rather than a writing background, I have struggled with defining topics to write about for our class assignments. Like many science students, I have tried to skip the “form a hypothesis” step. I brainstormed numerous topics for articles but could never see where the article would lead.

Young scientists are often enthused by a topic (butterflies! DNA! dinosaurs!), but are dismayed at having to develop a hypothesis BEFORE an experiment. Forming a testable hypothesis is a difficult skill that must continually be honed, much like writers must work to focus their stories.

So now, with this new perspective on writing -- one that permits the writer to embrace an opinion and venture forth in search of support or dissent -- I am changing my approach to my final writing assignment, a scientific experiment on its own. Hypothesis: Following the scientific method will provide the structure I need to produce a worthwhile story.

Credit: The illustration comes from the web site of the Mount Gambier High School in South Australia.