Observations Versus Interpretations in Science

 

An observation is any report from your 5 senses. It does not involve an explanation. An observation can also involve measurements. Such an observation is a quantitative one, as opposed to a qualitative one (no measurements). On the other hand, an interpretation is an attempt to figure out what has been observed. Here are some examples designed to help you distinguish between them.

 

INTERPRETATION.	OBSERVATION
Heat rose from the candle.	The temperature immediately above the flame was 99 oC but only 30 oC on the side of the flame.
Americans are friendly people.	Eighteen of the twenty one people I met at Gooserocks Beach were polite and smiled frequently.
Oxygen was used up and water was sucked in to the flask.	The water level in the flask rose after the candle was extinguished.
The air around the burning candle did not expand or get compressed enough to make noise.	The burning candle made no sound.

 

When doing labs, it is important not to confuse observations with interpretations. If you are asked to observe, you should not identify gases. “Hydrogen gas was produced when zinc was added to acid” is not an observation. What you see is the liquid getting cloudy with bubbles rising from the area surrounding the metal. The latter is what you should be reporting as an observation. Later if you collect the gas and it has hydrogen’s characteristic property, then it will be time to conclude that the bubbles contained hydrogen gas.

In lab reports observations belong in the data section, whereas interpretations are part of the analysis. This gives someone looking at your data the opportunity to interpret the same results differently, and it is a reminder to the writer himself that the observing and interpreting are two different processes.