1. Introduction (by Denise Gregory)

Meteorlogical thoeries are tools that help to explain and predict the meteorological events that often directly impact humans in terms of quality of life, availability of resources, and the safety of the enviornment in which we live. In order for thoeries to work accurately, they must be based on sound principles that have been derived from thorough analyses of available data. A formal procedure for the development of theories, called "The Scientific Method", has been laid out and accepted by the general science community. In this paper, I will define the Scientific Method and gie exmpales of how several meteorologists have used the method in meteorological applications.

2. Definition of the Scientific Method (by Kenny Kapoor)

The scientific method is an organized approach utilized to systematically study and solve problems of the natural world. Careful observations and experiments lead to results that are universal, meaning they can be reproduced at any time b y an disbeliever (Wudka 2000). it is from these ideas that the scientific method was developed and has continued to be used to this day. To understand how the scientific method works, we must first taken into consideration that for every effect there is a cause. Zebrowski (1999, p. 38) explains how determinism is the view that all events in nature occur from well-defined causes, and for each of these causes there are well-derived theories that explain how and why they occur.

The scientific method can be broken down into five steps, and each of these steps is applied in meteorological research. The first step......

3. Examples of the Scientific Method in Action (a portion of Section 3 by Pamela Gee)

Meteorologists use the scientific mehod to help themselves and others find the answers to their scientific questions. They observe and test rigorously to make sure that their predictions of natural occurrances are correct.... (as an example of a lead-in to this section)

4. Discussion (a portion of Section 4 by Seth Campbell) (with some editorial changes)

All five researchers set out to get data on their problem. For Wood, that meant doing much reserach using a Navy database for tide tables and astronomical data. For Bluestien, that meant chasing storms and observing such storms with instrumentation. For Soloman, that meant visiting Antarctica in the dead of winter and taking measurments of light reflected off of the moon. Science can be tedious, but that is part of what it makes it so powerful.. Because this tediousness means that all possible data be collected before a hypothesis can be tested and can graduate to a theory...