Framing Your Research Question

Topics in this Talk

  • Project allocation and meeting your supervisor

  • Clarity and SMART objectives

  • Dependent and independent variables, and hypothesis direction

  • Project traction

Project Allocation and Meeting Your Supervisor

After Project Allocation Details

  • A list of project allocations will be provided.

  • If you do not have a project, you are encouraged to email Gordon Allison (goa) for assistance.

  • For those registering on the Welsh dissertation module (BG36440), ensure your registration is captured by contacting the lecturer via email if not already done.

  • It is essential to align the selected project with your degree scheme for RSB accreditation.

  • For desk-bound studies, confirm this option is applicable for your degree scheme.

Responsibilities of Students

  • Students must arrange a meeting with their supervisor to discuss project details.

  • Project titles and topics can often be discussed and negotiated.

  • If students find themselves deeply unhappy with their project and supervisor, they should contact Gordon Allison for potential resolutions.

  • Generally, once assigned a supervisor, it may not be easy to swap supervisors.

Agenda for Meeting with the Project Supervisor

Objectives of the Meeting

  • A key goal is to gather sufficient information to complete the project plan assignment.

  • Build rapport with your future supervisor to receive advice.

  • Gain an understanding of the field and the specific problem you

    • How will tackle.

What the Meeting Should Not Be Used For

  • It should not be an opportunity for the supervisor to correct or partially write your assignment.

  • The initial meeting should not aim to set the project plan in stone.

  • Do not seek exhaustive details on experimental methodology during this meeting.

  • It cannot substitute for the extensive literature review that you need to conduct.

Preparation for the Meeting

Necessary Research Before the Meeting

  • Investigate your project topic in detail, read relevant papers, and generate your ideas.

    • How they navigate structuring and handling data

  • Identify the nature of your project: Experimental, Observational, Literature Survey, or Data Reanalysis.

  • After meeting the supervisor, aim to summarize the project succinctly.

  • Consider the expected data outputs and potential analytical approaches.

Important Research Steps

  • Look for relevant reviews and papers, particularly some authored by your supervisor.

  • Develop a preliminary outline for your introduction, sketching out key points.

  • Determine any key questions that need answering to finalize your introduction.

  • Use notes made from any previous project fairs or meetings.

Hypothesis Development

Formulating Your Hypothesis

  • It is crucial to ensure your alternative hypothesis (HA) is a prediction with only two possible outcomes.

  • Your HA must include both a dependent and independent variable.

  • Avoid using terms that imply causation in your hypothesis, opting for results independence (e.g., using "affects" rather than "increases/decreases").

  • Be clear on how your experiments will test this hypothesis.

During the Meeting

Engaging with the Supervisor

  • If the supervisor wants to provide their summary, allow them to do so while listening attentively; make notes during this exchange.

  • Confirm your understanding of the work's aim and the broad outline of the proposed methods.

  • Discuss the ideal outcomes and interpretations of these results during the meeting.

Discussion Points

  • Talk about contingency plans if the project does not proceed as planned.

  • Projects often start vague and must be refined to ensure tractability.

  • Ensure you grasp the excitement and expectations involved in your research project.

Guidance on Literature Use

Supervisor's Role in Literature

  • Some supervisors may provide guidance on essential papers, especially if the student has already identified recent reviews and relevant studies.

  • Students should ask for good references suitable for specific purposes, such as methodologies or studies resembling their own.

General Advice for Meetings

Interacting with Supervisors

  • Avoid treating your supervisor like an interrogator; instead, seek clarification on vague points.

  • Listen to the supervisor’s project ideas first before presenting your own.

  • Prepare to clarify any misunderstandings or unclear points during your discussions.

  • It is your responsibility to prepare for establishing a work plan.

Follow-Up Meetings

  • Consider scheduling additional meetings after reflection on earlier discussions.

  • Always remember that supervisors typically handle multiple UG and MBiol students, with many possibly based at the Gogerddan campus.

  • Be aware of transportation options to ensure effective communication and meetings.

Clarity and SMART in Research Questions

The Importance of Clear Research Questions

  • It is essential that the research question is presented clearly.

  • Vague questions limit control over outcomes.

Example of Vague Questioning

  • An example provided involved asking "What do you want for dinner?"

    • Responses may vary from specific (Lasagne) to vague (Not fussed—anything). This lack of clarity can lead to unintended outcomes in research.

SMART Objectives

Defining SMART Objectives

  • Your project goals must be:

    • Specific: The objectives should be clearly outlined and defined.

    • Measured: Define how much or how many to quantify the success.

    • Achievable: Objectives must be realistic within the constraints of time and funding.

    • Relevant: The project should have meaningful significance—otherwise, it begs the question of its necessity.

    • Time-Bound: Establish when you will start and stop the project.

Example of Lack of Clarity

  • The question "Do different dog breeds have different personalities?" lacks specificity.

    • The Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI) recognizes 360 dog breeds, raising uncertainty on whether it relates to any two, some, or all breeds.

    • The concept of personality also requires precise definition, further complicating clarity.

Intractability Example

  • A proposal to compare personality recall across many dog breeds is deemed impractical.

The KISS Principle

Explanation of KISS

  • Elegant and effective research questions should adhere to the KISS principle (Keep It Simple Stupid) or (Keep It Short and Simple).

  • This principle, linked with US Navy aircraft design in the 1960s, emphasizes the importance of simplicity.

  • Notably, simplicity does not equate to a lack of sophistication in formulating research questions.

Transforming Research Questions into Hypotheses

Requirements for a Good Hypothesis

  • It is essential to translate your research question into a precise experimental hypothesis.

    • An experimental hypothesis is a clear, testable statement predicting the outcome of a research experiment.

    • It illustrates the relationship between two or more variables and forecasts how manipulating the independent variable will impact dependent variables.

  • Research questions that are straightforward lend themselves more readily to well-formed hypotheses.

Dependent and Independent Variables

Understanding Variables in Research

  • An example illustrates this using the outcome of cyanobacteria in drinking holes:

    • Dependent Variable: Mortality of African Elephants (what is measured).

    • Independent Variable: The presence of toxin-producing cyanobacteria (what is manipulated).

  • Another example shifts to poaching as the independent variable:

    • High levels of poaching in Botswana may further increase mortality in elephants.

  • Mortality is critical to understanding population decline, with dependent and independent variables reflecting this causal relationship.

Directionality in Hypothesis

Types of Hypotheses

  • Your hypothesis can be directional or non-directional:

    • Directional (One-tailed): Predicts a change in one direction only, establishing a clearer statistical power to detect a single directional change.

    • Non-directional (Two-tailed): Detects change regardless of direction and makes fewer assumptions, although it typically has lower power.

  • Examples explore both types of hypotheses in various biological contexts, demonstrating application across differing variables and potential outcomes.

  • Recommended to use a bi-directional hypothesis

Project Traction

Assessing Project Feasibility

  • Tractability assesses if a research topic is testable. An example demonstrated uses the question of whether nest box colour influences blue tit egg clutch size, indicating seasonal dependencies.

  • Project discussions may prompt refinement of questions. An improved version highlights the influence of bird feeder color on feeding behavior in blue tits, showcasing evolving clarity.

  • Another example critiques the question of organic food nutrition versus conventional farming, identifying it as too broad given the variability in defining “nutritional.”

  • To refine project traction, consider limiting the scope, as seen in studies evaluating glyphosate's effect on faba bean protein content—specificity enhances testability.

Conclusion and Next Lecture

Preview of Upcoming Content

  • The next lecture will include discussions on systems biology, research questions for critical review studies, and concepts encompassing data hierarchy.