At the core of good research lies the careful design of experiments. Yet all too often a successful design comes only after a painful trial-and-error process, wasting valuable time and resources. Experimental Design for the Life Sciences teaches the reader how to effectively design experiments to ensure today's students are equipped with the skills they need to be the researchers of tomorrow. With a refreshingly approachable and articulate style, the book explains the essential elements of experimental design in clear, practical terms, so the reader can grasp and apply even the most challenging concepts, including power analysis and pseudoreplication. The inter-relatedness of experimental design, statistics, and ethical considerations is emphasised throughout the book. The use of examples drawn from the primary literature ensures the reader fully understands how the theory of experimental design is applied within the broader context of real biological research. Above all, Experimental Design for the Life Sciences demonstrates how good experimental design relies on clear thinking and biological understanding, not mathematical or statistical complexity - putting it at the heart of any biosciences student's education. * Self-test questions, with answers at the end of the book, encourage students to check their understanding as they progress and reinforce essential facts * Take-home messages throughout chapters focus the students' attention on the principles they must grasp * Discussion of ethical issues, flagged in the margin, raises awareness of this important aspect of experimental design Online Resource Centre The Online Resource centre to accompany Experimental Design for the Life Sciences features: For students: Self-test questions and answers Extra questions Links to useful websites and free software For lecturers: Figures from the book, available to download Practical exercises - to be used in class, with instructor's and demonstrator's notes, handouts for students, files to run the exercises, and follow-up activities
1 Why you should care about design 1
1.1 Why experiments need to be designed 1
1.2 The costs of poor design 2
1.2.1 Time and money 2
1.2.2 Ethical issues 3
1.3 The relationship between experimental design and statistics 4
1.4 Why good experimental design is particularly important to life scientists 5
1.4.1 Random variation 5
1.4.2 Confounding factors 6
Summary 7
2 Starting with a well-defined hypothesis 8
2.1 Why your experiment should be focused: questions, hypotheses, and predictions 8
2.1.1 An example of moving from a question to hypotheses, and then to an experimental design 10
2.1.2 An example of multiple hypotheses 11
2.1.3 Where do (good) ideas come from in the first place? 13
2.2 Producing the strongest evidence with which to challenge a hypothesis 14
2.2.1 Indirect measures 15
2.2.2 Considering all possible outcomes of an experiment 15
2.3 Satisfying sceptics 17
2.4 The importance of a pilot study and preliminary data 17
2.4.1 Making sure that you are asking a sensible question 18
2.4.2 Making sure that your techniques work 19
2.5 Experimental manipulation versus natural variation 21
2.5.1 An example hypothesis that could be tackled by either manipulation or correlation 21
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