Data collection and analysis is 2nd scientific method^_^

During an experiment, scientists typically make measurements and collect results as they work. This information, known as data, can take many forms. Data may be a set of numbers, such as daily measurements of the temperature in a particular location or a description of side effects in an animal that has been given an experimental drug. Scientists typically use computers to arrange data in ways that make the information easier to understand and analyze. Data may be arranged into a diagram such as a graph that shows how one quantity (body temperature, for instance) varies in relation to another quantity (days since starting a drug treatment). A scientist flying in a helicopter may collect information about the location of a migrating herd of elephants in Africa during different seasons of a year. The data collected may be in the form of geographic coordinates that can be plotted on a map to provide the position of the elephant herd at any given time during a year.

Scientists use mathematics to analyze the data and help them interpret their results. The types of mathematics used include statistics, which is the analysis of numerical data, and probability, which calculates the likelihood that any particular event will occur.