Stop working & start thinking: a guide to becoming a scientist

"With the spectacular developments in technology accompanying and aiding scientific research over the past few decades, postgraduate students are often encouraged to focus more on generating data than to utilize their most sophisticated piece of equipment: their mind." "Stop Working & Start Thinking, Second Edition, aims to encourage young researchers to think more clearly about their experiments, from experimental design to data interpretation. This new edition builds on the success of the first edition, with new material throughout and a new chapter on measurement interpretation, including an examination of cryptic assumptions." "This book is essential reading for postgraduates who wish to put the mastery back into their M. Sc., and the philosophy back into their PhDs."--Jacket.

Preamble -- Introduction -- 2.1 Please bear with us -- 2.2 Take your time answering this one -- 2.3 A tale of two goats -- 2.4 Get your brain in gear -- Science like what is done -- 3.1 What is science? -- 3.2 The methods of science -- 3.3 Where do scientists get the questions they ask? -- 3.4 Prediction and predilection -- Science and sciencisms -- 4.1 How scientists work -- 4.2 The hierarchy of science -- 4.3 Similarities and differences -- 4.4 Honest measurement -- Observations, examinations and experiments -- 5.1 Observations -- 5.2 Hypothesis -- 5.3 Experiment -- What are you measuring? -- 6.1 variability, sampling and population -- 6.2 Randomisation -- 6.3 ... and blinding -- Thinking about your measurements -- 7.1 If you have to use statistics -- 7.2 Sensible statistics -- 7.3 Different ways of showing measurement xe "measurement" 'error xe "measurement error" s' -- 7.4 Transformation and scaling -- 7.5 Biological systems and variability -- 7.6 Hypothesis testing -- 7.7 Post-experimental statistics -- 7.8 Honest reporting of hypothesis xe "hypothesis" testing -- 7.9 Pre-experimental statistics -- 7.10 Conclusions -- Interpreting your measurements -- 8.1 Interpretation invol…