Lesson Two: Developing Expertise

It is vitally important to make sure that you have the background necessary to do your project. Of course there is no real way of knowing, when you start out, where a project will take your, or what knowledge you will be required to have. This lesson helps you develop the skills necessary to plan out what background you will need to acquire in order to do a project, and how to get it.

Charting Your Course

The first step is to understand the problem you chose in the last lesson. Can you define the problem in a simple way, as if to a lay person? If not then you need to start there. Develop a definition of the phenomenon for your project and another for the question you have asked. Write these definitions down somewhere. They may change over time, but you have just developed the starting point for your research.

Does your question itself suggest what sort of information you will need to gather about the phenomenon?

Beginning Your Project Notebook

There are three types of project notebooks. The first is the most common, the laboratory notebook. The second is also quite common, the field notebook. The third is much rarer, the theory notebook.

No matter what kind of notebook you choose it should be a nice one. There is no reason to skimp on important work, and even nice notebooks are not terribly expensive. I like bound sketchbooks, be sure to number each page as you work through it. Never tear pages out of a lab or field notebook since this destroys the integrity of the data you are preserving.

Much has been written about how to keep a laboratory notebook and I will add to it here:

1. Title of the notebook: This should be the title of the research project, or the question you are asking.
2. Table of contents: You should devote the first couple pages to this and as you proceed enter the names of sections and their page numbers, experiments and their page numbers, and significant results and their page numbers.
3. Make an introductory page where you note the question and why you are intersted, In essence you are clarifying what you intend to do with your project. This can be of great help to you later on. This is also a good place to note additional questions that arise as you write the introduction.
4. Each experiment should be titled and numbered.
5. Write a brief description of the reason for the experiment.
6. Write an introduction to the experiment that describes what makes the experiment interesting. Describe the variable that you are interested in measuring and how it fits into the sceme of your project.
7. Define your hypothesis, that is the statement of what you expect to happen in the experiment.
8. Describe the procedures you use as you perform them. Record all data as it occurs. When using automated systems record the location of any files, and get printouts of all tabular data. Be sure to include all units. Include diagrams of circuits, glassware set-ups, photos of instruments, etc.
9. Record all calculations you perform and why.
10. Record all results from calculations and data analysis. Paste printouts right into the notebook.
11. Discuss the ramifications of the results in the context of your project.
12. Note your conclusions.
13. Sign and date the results. If the experiment goes across several days then sign and date it at the end of each day and begin the next session on a new page.

Field notebooks are almost identical to lab notebooks except that you should also note your position and the local conditions (temperature, pressure, winds, etc.) that might be of interest to your results.

1. Title of the notebook: This should be the title of the research project, or the question you are asking.
2. Table of contents: You should devote the first couple pages to this and as you proceed enter the names of sections and their page numbers, experiments and their page numbers, and significant results and their page numbers.
3. Make an introductory page where you note the question and why you are intersted, In essence you are clarifying what you intend to do with your project. This can be of great help to you later on. This is also a good place to note additional questions that arise as you write the introduction.
4. Each field session should be titled and numbered.
5. Write a brief description of the reason for the field session.
6. Write an introduction to the field session that describes what makes it interesting. Describe what you are hoping to find and how it fits into the sceme of your project.
7. Describe the procedures you use as you perform them. Record all data as it occurs. When using automated systems record the location of any files, and get printouts of all tabular data. Be sure to include all units. Include diagrams of circuits, glassware set-ups, photos of instruments, etc.
8. Record all calculations you perform and why.
9. Record all results from calculations and data analysis. Paste printouts right into the notebook.
10. Discuss the ramifications of the results in the context of your project.
11. Note your conclusions.
12. Sign and date the results.

A theory notebook has no requirement for preservation of the integrity of data so there is no need to date things or make any attempts to verify data. In fact many theorists do not keep notebooks, they use file folders and note pads. I recommend a notebook since it prevents you from losing anything.

1. To begin a theory project, clearly write out your initial assumptions. Number each so that you can refer to them later.
2. Unless you are working in pure mathematics you will be relating various physical quantities. As you derive these relationships you must note each step along with a justification for each.
3. When you search the literature for a definition, conjecture, theorem, proof, or whatever; reproduce it in the notebook with full credit for the source (I have been known to photocopy such and tape the photocopy into the notebook). Here is an important point, if you don't understand something, don't use it.
4. Whenever you do something, make a note of what it was you did.
5. Never throw away a negative result, it can save you time later.
6. Never throw out a mistake, it can save time later.
7. Whenever you generate computer output make a note of the filename, make a backup of it, and if possible make a hard-copy of it.

How to Get Current and Stay Current

Task List for this lesson:

1. Develop a set of questions about your idea for a project. Write these down in your project notebook, perhaps numbering them for later reference. Answer each of these by using the steps below. Always immediately note all new questions that arise. Write the answers into your notebook. You may need to change an answer as you uncover new facts, so numbering the answers along with the questions is advised.
2. The first place to look, assuming you do not have experise in the subject of your project, is a general-purpose encyclopedia. My preference is Britannica, and since the electronic version is only a little more than $100 (at least when I bought my copy), there is no reason why you shouldn't have it. It is a wonderful reference. Use the techniques from the self-study course to develop a knowledge base from the encyclopedia.
3. Once you have exhausted a general encyclopedia I would recommend supplementing that with a technical/scientific encyclopedia. These tend to be very expensive, but if you can afford it, they are well worth it. My favorites are: The McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology (which I have on CD-ROM, this cost over $1,000), The Kluwer Encyclopedia of Mathematics on CD-ROM (all 10 volumes from the print version and the Supplement volume I), the second edition Encyclopedic Dictionary of Mathematics, the Amateur Scientist CD-ROM, the CRC Concise Encyclopedia of Mathematics, and other mathematical handbooks with numerous articles. Again, use the techniques from the self-study course to explore more deeply the subject you have chosen.
4. At this stage use the bibliographies of the articles you are reading to develop a list of authors for textbooks, monographs, audio-visual, and web-based information in your field.
5. Search through the list and determine, hopefully by direct examination, those materials you find most useful and acquire them (either from the Internet, a local library, or—most desirably—through direct purchase).
6. Learn to use the index and table of contents of your materials, if they are available, to look up the answers to your questions.
7. Once you have exhausted the books that you have on the subject, then it is time to look in review journals and conference proceedings (and in some cases web pages). These sources will bring you rapidly up to date with what is currently being done in the field.
8. Once you have a grasp of where things are in the field you have chosen it is time to look at current research papers. These can be found in research journals and often online.
9. If you still have questions, now that you have a basis of expertise, contact a scientist working in the field. Many scientists are quite willing to discuss their work. Be sure to take notes or bring a tape recorder, you don't want to take up someone's time and have it wasted.

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