Scientists use the Scientific Method to explain the link between raw data and scientific evidence.

• A. To publish results without testing ideas.
• B. To collect data and keep it unexamined.
• C. To test hypotheses and explain how data support or refute them.
• D. To explain the link between raw data and scientific evidence.

Answer: (D)

The main idea being tested is how observations become trustworthy scientific conclusions by showing exactly how data support or challenge a claim. In science, raw data are the measurements and observations you collect, but they don’t become evidence on their own. The scientific method guides you to analyze those data, interpret what they mean, and explain how they back up a hypothesis or why they would refute it. That explicit explanation of how the data turn into evidence is what the best option describes.

This matters because the strength of scientific conclusions depends on that clear link: you can point to patterns, trends, and uncertainties in the data and show why they justify the conclusion rather than relying on guesswork. Other options miss this essential step—for example, publishing without testing ideas or collecting data without examining them—because they skip the process of turning observations into evidence.