Module | Question |
---|---|
Module 0: | |
Module 1: | |
If you haven’t already done so, please introduce yourself briefly on the course discussion forum by giving your name, the field/topic you are researching or hope to research, and something you hope to gain from this course. | |
Take an experiment you are considering to do (or an example of one from the literature)
and run it through the infographic flowchart. Do you still think it is a good experiment
to do in the near future? Why or why not? Did you learn something unexpected? Are there other factors not included on the flowchart that you use to prioritize your own experiments? Is your mental decision-tree of how to prioritize experiments different? How? |
|
What are strengths of Neil’s experimental setup? What might be potential caveats or weaknesses? |
|
What are strengths of this (Ana’s) experimental setup? What might be potential caveats or weaknesses? |
|
Module 2: | |
Have you ever had an experience with an experimental result where a confounding variable confused its interpretation? If so, share your story with the group. What did you do to identify the confounding variable? How long did it take? What did you do to address the confounding variable in your experiment? | |
Ana did not have a negative control in her experiment. If she had included one, what would that have looked like? And, why do you think she didn’t include one? | |
What if Neil discovered that one of his samples had root branches growing in air? In other words, his internal negative control was not giving him an expected result. What should he have done (e.g., throw out the sample, redo the entire experiment)? | |
In your field is there a general rule of thumb to how many times one should repeat an experiment, or does it depend on the experiment that you’re doing? | |
Module 3: | |
Rigor, transparency, and reproducibility come up often in the scientific community, but they can feel like nebulous concepts. What do they mean to you in your science? | |
What do you think about experiment preregistration? What are the pros and cons for you? | |
What do you think about p-values? Many people argue that a p-value cutoff of 0.05 is too lenient. What do you think? (You might want to read this article from Vox: What a nerdy debate about p-values shows about science — and how to fix it) | |
Module 4: | |
1. If you have validated or authenticated your reagents, please share with your
fellow course participants what you did and any tips, best practices, and/or
lessons learned from the experience. In your description, please describe the reagents
themselves and a brief summary of the method for validating or authenticating them. 2. If you haven’t yet validated or authenticated reagents, please ask any questions that you might have about it. |
|
Do you have a favorite way to keep your lab notebook? Please share with the group any tips and tricks you have learned about keeping a good lab notebook, or comment on what you think of Neil’s process. | |
Module 5: | |
Recall your definition of getting an experiment “to work” in the previous unit. Has your definition changed since watching this video? If so, how? | |
What has been your experience with troubleshooting? Any general advice or tips for how to approach troubleshooting? Anything we didn’t cover or that you would like to change in the above framework? | |
What does Neil’s story of troubleshooting highlight to you? What is one takeaway from his experience on how one should approach troubleshooting? | |
What does Ana’s story of troubleshooting highlight to you? What is one takeaway from her experience on how one should approach troubleshooting? |