Lab 6

Objective of Lab 6: Understanding the Research Results

At last it's time to look at the experiments performed by your authors and the results of their work. Follow the steps listed below to understand and evaluate your authors' work:

1. List the experiments reported in the article as graphs, tables, photographs, text descriptions, etc. Not all results appear in Tables or Figures, so make sure that you don't miss important observations reported in the text. Also make sure you include results published only as supplemental or supplementary information.
2. Make sure that you understand how each method (Report 1) was used to obtain each result.
3. Determine how each result contributed towards answering the question or testing the hypothesis posed by the researchers (you identified the question/hypothesis in Report 1).
4. Note what statistical tests were used to evaluate the significance of the authors' conclusions.
5. Check to make sure that every Table or Figure was cited in the text of the paper, with enough interpretation to indicate why the experiment was done and how it contributed to the developing "story".
6. Re-read the Results section and note any results that appear there, not in a Table or Figure.

Questions to Consider

Once you have completed the above tasks to your own satisfaction, write your answers for the following 5 questions.

1. What observations were reported by these researchers?
2. Were appropriate methods used to conduct this research? (Did the methods provide reliable answers to the questions asked? Are you aware of more appropriate methods that existed when this research was performed? Discuss these questions with your Professor or TA.)
3. What statistical methods were used to interpret the data? (Should (additional) statistical methods have been used? Discuss this question with your Professor or TA.)
4. How did the author(s) interpret their data, and which data were cited to support each interpretation? You must link the reported data to their interpretation by making statements (e.g. It was shown that the rate of bacterial growth was dependent on the available nitrogen source...) and then citing a particular table or figure presented in the published article (e.g. Table 1 of Jones et al. (1990)) or by citing tables or figures that you create. Make sure that you clearly distinguish between your own tables/figures and those previously published by using a standard reference citation format (e.g. "Table 1" (your own) versus "Table 1 of Jones et al. (1990)").
5. Did the reported data support the authors' interpretations? Do you agree with the authors' interpretation of their experimental results, or would you propose alternative interpretations?

Don't incorporate copies of figures or tables from the original publication in your Report. Your reader can find them if you mention them specifically. It is helpful to also create your own figures and/or tables. For example, you may provide a flow chart which describes an important series of experimental procedures (such as protein purification) or formulate a table that highlights particularly important data. Of course you must acknowledge the sources of data included in such tables or figures.