after performing an experiment, what is the next step that a physician will most likely take in answering a question?

Forming a Hypothesis

When conducting scientific experiments, researchers develop hypotheses to guide experimental design. A hypothesis is a suggested explanation that is testable, falsifiable and repeatable. Scientist must be able to test and have a measurable result to see if the hypothesis can supported. If the hypothesis is not support or shown to be false, then the hypothesis will need to be modified. In addition, the hypothesis must be able to be repeated by other scientist in order to be validated.

Experimentation and Interpreting Results

A scientific experiment is a carefully organized procedure in which the scientist intervenes in a system to change something, then observes and interprets the result of the change. Scientific inquiry often involves doing experiments, though not always. For example, a scientist studying the mating behaviors of ladybugs might begin with detailed observations of ladybugs mating in their natural habitats. While this research may not be experimental, it is scientific: it involves careful and verifiable observation of the natural world. The same scientist might then treat some of the ladybugs with a hormone hypothesized to trigger mating and observe whether these ladybugs mated sooner or more often than untreated ones. This would qualify as an experiment because the scientist is now making a change in the system and observing the effects.