The Design Of Experiments In Neuroscience

A student guide to neuroscience research including how to select a topic, analyze data, and present research.

Originally published in 2006, the second edition of The Design of Experiments in Neuroscience continues to be an excellent and eminently readable guideline for students beginning their scientific careers. Although all of the examples are specific to neuroscience, this slender volume offers valuable illumination on core practices, principles, and experimental approaches pertinent for all new researchers. Chapter topics cover recognizing pseudoscience, ethics, how to critically read journal articles, how to pick an experimental question, basic research design, controlling variables, and tips for becoming an independent investigator. Each of the eight chapters provides descriptive figures and extra information boxes, questions to check reader comprehension, additional thought questions, further reading suggestions, and Web resources. The six appendixes are as valuable as the main text, including information on working with data, writing research papers, a sample paper, questions and exercises for review, a glossary, and answers to chapter questions. Neuroscientist Harrington (Smith College) has created a wonderful resource that should be a must read for every neuroscientist in training, if not all novice scientists. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and graduate students. Upper-division Undergraduates; Graduate Students. Reviewed by C. L. Iwema.

Using engaging prose, Mary E. Harrington introduces neuroscience students to the principles of scientific research including selecting a topic, designing an experiment, analyzing data, and presenting research. This new third edition updates and clarifies the book's wealth of examples while maintaining the clear and effective practical advice of the previous editions. New and expanded topics in this edition include techniques such as optogenetics and conditional transgenes as well as a discussion of rigor and reproducibility in neuroscience research. Extended coverage of descriptive and inferential statistics arms readers with the analytical tools needed to interpret data. Throughout, practical guidelines are provided on avoiding experimental design problems, presenting research including creating posters and giving talks, and using a '12-step guide' to reading scientific journal articles.

This third edition of Design of Experiments for Engineers and Scientists adds to the tried and trusted tools that were successful in so many engineering organizations with new coverage of design of experiments (DoE) in the service sector. Case studies are updated throughout, and new ones are added on dentistry, higher education, and utilities. Although many books have been written on DoE for statisticians, this book overcomes the challenges a wider audience faces in using statistics by using easy-to-read graphical tools. Readers will find the concepts in this book both familiar and easy to understand, and users will soon be able to apply them in their work or research. This classic book is essential reading for engineers and scientists from all disciplines tackling all kinds of product and process quality problems and will be an ideal resource for students of this topic. Written in nonstatistical language, the book is an essential and accessible text for scientists and engineers who want to learn how to use DoE Explains why teaching DoE techniques in the improvement phase of Six Sigma is an important part of problem-solving methodology New edition includes two new chapters on DoE for services as well as case studies illustrating its wider application in the service industry

Modern neuroscience research is inherently multidisciplinary, with a wide variety of cutting edge new techniques to explore multiple levels of investigation. This Third Edition of Guide to Research Techniques in Neuroscience provides a comprehensive overview of classical and cutting edge methods including their utility, limitations, and how data are presented in the literature. This book can be used as an introduction to neuroscience techniques for anyone new to the field or as a reference for any neuroscientist while reading papers or attending talks. Nearly 200 updated full-color illustrations to clearly convey the theory and practice of neuroscience methods Expands on techniques from previous editions and covers many new techniques including in vivo calcium imaging, fiber photometry, RNA-Seq, brain spheroids, CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing, and more Clear, straightforward explanations of each technique for anyone new to the field A broad scope of methods, from noninvasive brain imaging in human subjects, to electrophysiology in animal models, to recombinant DNA technology in test tubes, to transfection of neurons in cell culture Detailed recommendations on where to find protocols and other resources for specific techniques "Walk-through" boxes that guide readers through experiments step-by-step

A guide to designing lab-based biological experiments that have low bias, high precision and widely applicable results.

This book presents a new, multidisciplinary perspective on and paradigm for integrative experimental design research. It addresses various perspectives on methods, analysis and overall research approach, and how they can be synthesized to advance understanding of design. It explores the foundations of experimental approaches and their utility in this domain, and brings together analytical approaches to promote an integrated understanding. The book also investigates where these approaches lead to and how they link design research more fully with other disciplines (e.g. psychology, cognition, sociology, computer science, management). Above all, the book emphasizes the integrative nature of design research in terms of the methods, theories, and units of study—from the individual to the organizational level. Although this approach offers many advantages, it has inherently led to a situation in current research practice where methods are diverging and integration between individual, team and organizational understanding is becoming increasingly tenuous, calling for a multidisciplinary and transdiscipinary perspective. Experimental design research thus offers a powerful tool and platform for resolving these challenges. Providing an invaluable resource for the design research community, this book paves the way for the next generation of researchers in the field by bridging methods and methodology. As such, it will especially benefit postgraduate students and researchers in design research, as well as engineering designers.

PsychoPy is an open-source software package for creating rich, dynamic experiments in psychology, neuroscience and linguistics. Written by its creator, this book walks you through the steps of building experiments in PsychoPy, from using images to discovering lesser-known features, and from analysing data to debugging your experiment. Divided into three parts and with unique extension exercises to guide you at whatever level you are at, this textbook is the perfect tool for teaching practical undergraduate classes on research methods, as well as acting as a comprehensive reference text for the professional scientist. Essential reading for anyone using PsychoPy software, the second edition has been fully updated and includes multiple new chapters about features included in recent versions of PsychoPy, including running studies online and collecting survey data. Part I teaches you all the basic skills you need (and some more advanced tips along the way) to design experiments in behavioral sciences. Each chapter introduces anew concept but will offer a series of working experiments that you can build on. Part II presents more details important for professional scientists intending to use PsychoPy for published research. This part is recommended reading for science professionals in any discipline. Part III covers a range of specialist topics, such as those doing fMRI research, or those studying visual perception. "This book fills an incredibly important gap in the field. Many users of PsychoPy will be excited to learn that there is now a highly accessible and well-designed written guide to refine their skills." – Susanne Quadflieg, University of Bristol