Using the microscope is only one method of studying microbes. Many students read textbooks, newsletters, and fact sheets; watch television programs on microbes; observe actual growths (cultures) of microbes and possible disease symptoms; and search the Internet. Students in the late 1900s have numerous "tools" to help them study microbes. Beginning microbiology students perform the "five Is" and learn much about micro-organisms. Since microbes are often too small to see, it is necessary to inoculate (transfer) microbes to prepared media (food) where the microbes will grow. The microbes are then incubated or grown in a chamber that provides optimum environmental conditions for growth. The observable growth is called a culture; and now the students inspect the microbes. Often a mixture of microbes will grow; and it is necessary to isolate the microbes. Separate growths (subcultures) can be observed and the microbes identified. So the "five Is" including inoculation, incubation, isolation, inspection, and identification are important microbiological procedures.

The size of microscopic living organisms make their study difficult. We can get an idea of what microbes look like and how they grow by observing the natural environment. Growths (blooms) of algae in ponds can be studied and related to environmental conditions; however, the organism must also be grown and observed in laboratories to completely understand the microbe’s structure, function, and importance in the world.