Final answer:
A scientist using graphs, tables, and charts to publish research results is likely performing quantitative research, which involves numerical data that can be statistically analyzed and used to validate or modify a hypothesis.
Step-by-step explanation:
If a scientist is using graphs, tables, and charts to publish research results, he or she was probably performing quantitative research. This type of research deals with information that can be quantified, meaning it can be measured or counted and then expressed numerically. Examples of quantitative data include the average decrease in tumor size (descriptive statistics), or the number of correct answers in a survey (raw data). Scientific investigations often make use of both descriptive statistics, to describe the data, and inferential statistics, to make predictions or inferences based on the data.
Graphs and charts such as pie charts, bar graphs, or scatter plots are typical tools used to visually represent the findings from quantitative research. These visual aids help researchers and the public to understand the relationships among variables and discern important trends or lack thereof in the research findings. Therefore, when quantitative data is systematically collected and analyzed, it can either validate a hypothesis or suggest that it needs to be modified or even rejected.