Literature research skills are essential for any scientist. An important part of scientific research involves being fully clued up on your research topic and ensuring that you’re not replicating work already done by others. Good literature research skills allow you to quickly identify relevant papers, reports, reviews, books, websites and patents from the ocean of scientific literature. Over several posts I’ll give you some tips on how to improve your literature skills and avoid some of the pitfalls.
Choose the Right Literature Research Tools (Or Else…)
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How Long ’til Your Resolution Implodes?
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This holiday season, in honor of that elusive ‘work-life balance’ concept, we shut the doors at BenchFly and took a rest. While it’s always sad to see the holiday season end, we couldn’t be more excited about getting back to work because of what 2011 holds in store. In fact, in the next couple of weeks we’ve got some great contributed articles we’re eager to share as well as a couple of exciting announcements!
Is Joining Two Labs Twice the Fun?
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Dear Dora,
I can see my rotation project expanding to a thesis project that would actually overlap with two labs in the department. Should I consider joining two labs jointly, or just setting up an official collaboration?
– Darren, grad student
The Grad Student’s Holiday Party Survival Script
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What do the holidays mean to graduate students? Time to take a well-deserved break from the lab. Time to step back from the bench and take a hard look at their project. Oh, and time to have the same, depressing conversation with family and friends who don’t really understand the process of grad school but feign interest once a year.
Best. Cashews. Ever. (Is That Rosemary?)
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‘Tis the season of holiday parties and get-togethers. Therefore, ’tis also the season of figuring out what to bring or serve that is unique, inexpensive and easy but will make a great impression. Luckily – unless you’re allergic – you’ve just found your dish.
Am I Stuck With This Boring Project?
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Dear Dora,
I am currently a postdoctoral fellow working on ssr markers in mulberry. The work is a bit monotonous, which is causing me to lose interest in the field. I love basic research and would like to transition to a more interesting project or field, do you have any advice for how to move forward?
– Mahadeva, postdoc
How Long Should Grad School Take?
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How long does it really take to properly train a PhD student? Two years seems short and 25 years seems on the long side, so the right answer must lie somewhere in between.
How to Get the Most out of a Conference
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Regardless of what your favorite model organism, pet-molecule, or area of study is, there are unspoken and universal ways to get the most out of a conference. Although I have always thought of myself as an intelligent person, it took me no less than five conferences to finally figure out a strategy or two that could help me get what I want.
The Road More Hesitantly Traveled
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My perception of what the road to graduate school was supposed to be like was molded by three things: 1) my father’s experience earning his PhD, 2) the incessant cheerleading of high school teachers and counselors to pursue continued education, and 3) the professors who framed my liberal arts university experience.
POD: Toaster-Oven Pie on Demand
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I am always in search of good ideas to steal from. The other day, trolling for recipes, I came across this post and immediately fell in love (and seriously started considering whether or not I need to change the title of this blog, considering how often pie comes up!) At any rate, the idea is simple – you make single-serve pies in mason jars, bake them off (or not, in the case of fruit pies) seal them up, freeze them and then heat them up as needed!
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