Editing 2456: Types of Scientific Paper
Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
The edit can be undone.
Please check the comparison below to verify that this is what you want to do, and then save the changes below to finish undoing the edit.
Latest revision | Your text | ||
Line 8: | Line 8: | ||
==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | In this comic, Randall describes categories of scientific papers with somewhat humorous generalized titles | + | {{incomplete|Created by a RESEARCH DEPARTMENT ON A LUNCHBREAK. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} |
+ | In this comic, Randall describes categories of scientific papers with somewhat humorous generalized titles. | ||
− | |||
{| class="wikitable" | {| class="wikitable" | ||
+ | |+Breakdown of Papers | ||
|- | |- | ||
!Paper Title | !Paper Title | ||
!Explanation | !Explanation | ||
− | ! | + | !Article Description |
|- | |- | ||
!scope=row|We put a camera somewhere new | !scope=row|We put a camera somewhere new | ||
|This may involve miniaturisation or other improvements of imaging sensors, power supply, transmission or retention of data, environmental hardening and (possibly) recovery afterwards. Photographs and videos can be especially helpful in understanding what is or was going on, especially for the layman, than more limited signal traces. | |This may involve miniaturisation or other improvements of imaging sensors, power supply, transmission or retention of data, environmental hardening and (possibly) recovery afterwards. Photographs and videos can be especially helpful in understanding what is or was going on, especially for the layman, than more limited signal traces. | ||
− | Cameras have been inserted into every obvious bodily orifice (including swallowed, to be later excreted), placed in habitats to monitor wildlife, attached to wildlife to monitor habitats, sent into volcanic craters/ocean trenches/high altitudes/nuclear reactors, launched into space and sent past/round/onto several of the solar-system's more interesting bodies | + | Cameras have been inserted into ''every'' obvious bodily orifice (including swallowed, to be later excreted), placed in habitats to monitor wildlife, attached to wildlife to monitor habitats, sent into volcanic craters/ocean trenches/high altitudes/nuclear reactors, launched into space and sent past/round/onto several of the solar-system's more interesting bodies. |
− | + | | | |
− | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
!scope=row|Hey, I found a trove of old records! They don't turn out to be particularly useful, but still, cool! | !scope=row|Hey, I found a trove of old records! They don't turn out to be particularly useful, but still, cool! | ||
− | |Rather than starting with the aim of investigating some question, and finding some way of answering it by uncovering evidence, sometimes a writer may have stumbled upon a cache of historic documents that they then feel compelled to justify the resulting 'WikiWalk' they may have found themselves sucked into | + | |Rather than starting with the aim of investigating some question, and finding some way of answering it by uncovering evidence, sometimes a writer may have stumbled upon a cache of historic documents that they then feel compelled to justify the resulting 'WikiWalk' they may have found themselves sucked into. |
− | | | + | | |
|- | |- | ||
!scope=row|My colleague is wrong and I can finally prove it | !scope=row|My colleague is wrong and I can finally prove it | ||
− | |This title refers to the occasional rivalries between scientists within a field, which can push them to seek proof that they, and not their colleague, are correct | + | |This title refers to the occasional rivalries between scientists within a field, which can push them to seek proof that they, and not their colleague, are correct. |
− | | | + | |Note the lack of headers, suggesting an argument more than an explanation of data |
|- | |- | ||
!scope=row|The immune system is at it again | !scope=row|The immune system is at it again | ||
− | |The human immune system is notoriously complex, and there are countless papers in medical fields just describing its strangeness. | + | |The human immune system is notoriously complex, and there are countless papers in medical fields just describing its strangeness. For starters, they are best known for preventing infections (in many different ways), but can also show up "acting strange" in autoimmune disorders at unexpected places. |
− | | | + | | |
|- | |- | ||
!scope=row|We figured out how to make this exotic material, so email us if you need some | !scope=row|We figured out how to make this exotic material, so email us if you need some | ||
− | |Researchers often attempt to create materials despite there not being any demand, predicting that in the future their material will be game-changing without any actual applications. These researchers have created such a material, and are offering to produce it for anyone who needs it | + | |Researchers often attempt to create materials despite there not being any demand, predicting that in the future their material will be game-changing without any actual applications. These researchers have created such a material, and are offering to produce it for anyone who needs it. |
− | + | | | |
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
!scope=row|What are fish even doing down there | !scope=row|What are fish even doing down there | ||
− | |Deep sea marine biology regularly discovers [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7QXdlSBGGY strange lifeforms] in | + | |Deep sea marine biology regularly discovers [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7QXdlSBGGY strange lifeforms] in unexpected places, and theories explaining deep sea ecosystems are regularly confounded by new data. |
Scientists may also bump into marine organisms when looking for something else. For example, one planned underwater neutrino detector [https://www.nature.com/articles/srep44938 picked up bioluminescence instead]. | Scientists may also bump into marine organisms when looking for something else. For example, one planned underwater neutrino detector [https://www.nature.com/articles/srep44938 picked up bioluminescence instead]. | ||
− | + | |This paper does not appear to have any headers | |
− | |||
− | |This | ||
|- | |- | ||
!scope=row|This task I had to do anyway turned out to be hard enough for its own paper | !scope=row|This task I had to do anyway turned out to be hard enough for its own paper | ||
− | |There is a huge variety in the complexity and importance of subjects studied in scientific papers, and often some supposedly easy task will be sufficiently complicated as to merit its own paper | + | |There is a huge variety in the complexity and importance of subjects studied in scientific papers, and often some supposedly easy task will be sufficiently complicated as to merit its own paper. |
− | + | | | |
− | |||
− | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
!scope=row|Hey, at least we showed that this method can produce results! That's not nothing, right? | !scope=row|Hey, at least we showed that this method can produce results! That's not nothing, right? | ||
− | |One of the struggles of the scientific method is that many experiments will not produce the results scientists desired or expected. | + | |One of the struggles of the scientific method is that many experiments will not produce the results scientists desired or expected. These results are still (sometimes) important, but are often ignored compared to research with important findings. As a result, some journals are established specifically for negative results. |
− | + | | | |
− | |||
− | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
!scope=row|Check out this weird thing one of us saw while out for a walk | !scope=row|Check out this weird thing one of us saw while out for a walk | ||
− | |This paper may be imagined as an opportunistic publication. A department or team has seen itself low down on the local 'league table' for academic output. A brainstorming session for a way of rectifying this led to desperately seizing upon the first idle comment made (in lieu of any better sounding ideas) that can somehow be shoehorned into their respective subject area | + | |This paper may be imagined as an opportunistic publication. A department or team has seen itself low down on the local 'league table' for academic output. A brainstorming session for a way of rectifying this led to desperately seizing upon the first idle comment made (in lieu of any better sounding ideas) that can somehow be shoehorned into their respective subject area. |
− | |||
− | + | This also works in the context of entomology. Insects have the most species of any class of animals [https://www.si.edu/spotlight/buginfo/bugnos by a wide margin], but due to their small size, they're not easily seen. As a result, new species are constantly being discovered in places as innocuous as [https://wildlife.org/video-entomologists-discover-30-new-species-in-la-backyards/ someone's backyard.] | |
− | + | | | |
|- | |- | ||
!scope=row|We are 500 scientists and here's what we've been up to for the last 10 years | !scope=row|We are 500 scientists and here's what we've been up to for the last 10 years | ||
− | |Some papers summarize the work of big research teams, like those working on the [https://repositorio.uc.cl/xmlui/bitstream/handle/11534/13948/Observation%20of%20a%20new%20particle%20in%20the%20search%20for%20the%20Standard%20Model%20Higgs%20boson%20with%20the%20ATLAS%20detector%20at%20the%20LHC.pdf Higgs Boson] (list of authors starts at page 17 and goes to page 26 with foot notes about authors to page 29 | + | | Some papers summarize the work of big research teams, like those working on the [https://repositorio.uc.cl/xmlui/bitstream/handle/11534/13948/Observation%20of%20a%20new%20particle%20in%20the%20search%20for%20the%20Standard%20Model%20Higgs%20boson%20with%20the%20ATLAS%20detector%20at%20the%20LHC.pdf Higgs Boson] (list of authors starts at page 17 and goes to page 26 with foot notes about authors to page 29) or LIGO. Since the discoveries which are made are a team effort, probably outlasting many of the individual tenures involved, the papers have many authors listed. |
A credit for participation may not mean any particularly great contribution by each individual, but being left out (even for one summer's secondment, seven years before any results could be recorded) would be taken as a slight, and an opportunity missed to be 'citable' in the future. | A credit for participation may not mean any particularly great contribution by each individual, but being left out (even for one summer's secondment, seven years before any results could be recorded) would be taken as a slight, and an opportunity missed to be 'citable' in the future. | ||
|A huge portion of the page is taken up by the presumably 500 authors' names, above the main horizontal bar. | |A huge portion of the page is taken up by the presumably 500 authors' names, above the main horizontal bar. | ||
|- | |- | ||
!scope=row|Some thoughts on how everyone else is bad at research | !scope=row|Some thoughts on how everyone else is bad at research | ||
− | |Similar to the "my colleague is wrong" paper, but in this case applied to far greater swathes of the community by the author(s) of this (possibly | + | |Similar to the "my colleague is wrong" paper, but in this case applied to far greater swathes of the community by the author(s) of this (possibly unfocussed) tract. Usually a "systematic review". |
− | | | + | | |
|- | |- | ||
!scope=row|We scanned some undergraduates | !scope=row|We scanned some undergraduates | ||
− | | | + | |Some initial research, especially that on a low budget, may recruit students at the same institution as easily available test-subjects. Quite often these are psychological or sociological studies, but can involve more medical (but non-invasive) 'scans', from simple eyeball-tracking to full-body MRI. |
− | | | + | |
+ | When misread as "scammed", this paper can also refer to numerous famous psychological studies done before the establishment of certain ethical rules, such as the Milgram experiment. | ||
+ | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
!scope=row|We've incrementally improved the estimate of this coefficient | !scope=row|We've incrementally improved the estimate of this coefficient | ||
− | |Often scientific research, e.g. in cosmology or physics, will work with an assumed constant value that is known to be only an 'educated guess' of the actual definite value, or an inclusive range. However accurate/certain this is, further experimentation or observation may further narrow down the uncertainty involved to a statistically significant degree | + | |Often scientific research, e.g. in cosmology or physics, will work with an assumed constant value that is known to be only an 'educated guess' of the actual definite value, or an inclusive range. However accurate/certain this is, further experimentation or observation may further narrow down the uncertainty involved to a statistically significant degree. |
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
|rowspan="3"|(Only referenced in Title Text) | |rowspan="3"|(Only referenced in Title Text) | ||
|- | |- | ||
!scope=row|Maybe all these categories are wrong | !scope=row|Maybe all these categories are wrong | ||
|In some field that relies heavily upon classification (e.g. phylogenetic biology, or the Standard Model in physics) sometimes observations arise that cast doubt on the previously established ideas. It seems that this may have happened here, hopefully with a suggestion of how to reimagine the situation. | |In some field that relies heavily upon classification (e.g. phylogenetic biology, or the Standard Model in physics) sometimes observations arise that cast doubt on the previously established ideas. It seems that this may have happened here, hopefully with a suggestion of how to reimagine the situation. | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | !scope=row|We found a way to make student volunters worse at tasks | ||
+ | |Possibly a psychology experiment, and maybe not even the result expected. In general, the repetition of an activity will induce greater skill/capacity in a tested individual. By accident or design, the study group in this instance has induced the opposite correlation. | ||
+ | |} | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===Trivia=== | ||
+ | Originally, this comic's title text misspelt "volunteers" as "volunters". This could have been intentional (''we'' might be the volunteers), but probably not as it was quickly corrected. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==Transcript== | ||
+ | Types of Scientific Paper | ||
+ | |||
+ | ''An array of scientific papers is shown, with only their titles legible. Titles are as follows:'' | ||
+ | |||
+ | We put a camera somewhere new | ||
− | + | Hey, I found a trove of old records! They don't turn out to be particularly useful, but still, cool! | |
− | + | My colleague is wrong and I can finally prove it | |
− | + | ||
− | + | The immune system is at it again | |
− | |||
− | + | We figured out how to make this exotic material, so email us if you need some | |
− | |||
− | + | What are fish even doing down there | |
− | |||
− | |||
− | + | This task I had to do anyway turned out to be hard enough for its own paper | |
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | + | Hey, at least we showed that this method can produce results! That's not nothing, right? | |
− | |||
− | |||
− | + | Check out this weird thing one of us saw while out for a walk | |
− | |||
− | + | We are 500 scientists and here's what we've been up to for the last 10 years | |
− | + | Some thoughts on how everyone else is bad at research | |
− | + | We scanned some undergraduates | |
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} | ||
− | |||
− | |||
− |