The scientific process
A scientist at work in the Zoology Department.
The work of scientists can be very diverse. Research can take place in the field or in the lab, and methods of analysing results are advancing all the time as modern technology makes new things possible.
For example, we can now date rocks more accurately than we used to be able to. Also, the study of DNA lets us work out relationships between organisms in a new way.
But whatever technology scientists are using, they all follow certain key principles. Find out more about the scientific method, why it is used, and what goes wrong when it is ignored.
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Science methods
Find out how scientists get their knowledge, how it's tested, and how we can trust that it's reliable.
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Dating methods
How do scientists find out how old rocks and fossils are? And how sure can they be that their dating methods are accurate?
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Methods for examining specimens
Find out how scientists examine specimens with the help of modern technology and more traditional methods.
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DNA analysis
Find out how scientists use genetic information to examine relationships between species.
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Bad science
Discover the famous mistakes of scientists in the past who didn't follow proper scientific methods.
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X-rays reveal prehistoric sex-life of ostracods
Journey back in time to see images of 100-million-year-old microscopic animals called ostracods, made using revolutionary X-ray technology at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in France.
Toolbox
The Museum's smallest members of staff are our flesh-eating beetles, Dermestes maculates, who strip carcasses to the bone.