Scientific research requires both innovation and attention to detail, clever breakthroughs and routine procedures. This indispensable guide gives students and researchers across all scientific disciplines practical advice on how to succeed. All types of scientific careers are discussed, from those in industry and academia to consulting, with emphasis on how scientists spend their time and the skills that are needed to be productive. Strategic thinking, creativity and problem-solving, the central keys to success in research, are all explored. The reader is shown how to enhance the creative process in science, how one goes about making discoveries, putting together the solution to a complex problem and then testing the solution obtained. The social dimension of science is also discussed from the development and execution of a scientific research program to publishing papers, as well as issues of ethics and science policy.
Author(s): Craig Loehle
Edition: 1
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Year: 2010
Language: English
Commentary: +OCR
Pages: 259
Half-title......Page 3
Title......Page 5
Copyright......Page 6
Dedication......Page 7
Contents......Page 9
Acknowledgments......Page 10
1 A science career......Page 11
What scientists do......Page 18
Careers......Page 20
1.2 The life of a scientist......Page 24
Research......Page 25
Writing......Page 27
Giving talks......Page 29
Professional service......Page 30
2 The inner game of science......Page 33
2.1 Strategic creativity......Page 34
Picking fights......Page 36
The Medawar zone......Page 37
Releasing creativity......Page 39
Barriers to navigation......Page 40
Don't fall in love......Page 43
Don't be an expert......Page 44
Visualization......Page 46
Work habits......Page 48
Slow down......Page 49
Think inside the box......Page 50
If you can't walk, try running......Page 51
The four hour work day......Page 52
Be unrealistic......Page 54
Bandwagons and parades......Page 55
Surfing......Page 56
Intensity......Page 58
Conclusions......Page 61
Introduction......Page 62
Myth 1: the Eureka! myth......Page 64
Myth 2: the hypothesis myth......Page 66
Myth 3: the measurement myth......Page 68
A new model......Page 69
Discussion......Page 71
Introduction......Page 74
Problem solving as a multistep process......Page 75
A critical path model of productivity......Page 78
Discussion......Page 82
Conclusion......Page 89
Internal reality check......Page 90
Faulty generalization......Page 91
Logic......Page 94
Coherence......Page 100
Figuring the odds......Page 101
External reality check......Page 102
Physical breakage......Page 103
Side effects......Page 104
Your worst nightmare......Page 105
Change of environment......Page 106
Peer review......Page 107
Surveys......Page 109
Prototypes......Page 111
Quality testing......Page 112
Discussion......Page 113
The fault finder......Page 114
The visionary......Page 116
The jurist......Page 117
The obsessive......Page 118
The counterpuncher......Page 119
The efficiency expert......Page 120
The tool master......Page 121
The artist......Page 122
The craftsman/craftswoman......Page 123
The eccentric (the genius)......Page 124
Discussion......Page 125
The creative act......Page 127
Hubris and humility......Page 128
Detachment......Page 131
Tranquility......Page 132
Honesty......Page 133
2.7 Strategic thinking exercises......Page 135
3 Scientific discovery in practice......Page 140
Paradox and contradiction......Page 142
Controversy and paradox......Page 144
Paradox in business......Page 145
Paradox in science......Page 147
Summary......Page 149
Looking for perspective......Page 150
Viewpoint perspectives......Page 153
Perspectives in time......Page 154
A matter of scale......Page 155
3.2 Analysis: tools of thought......Page 159
Evolutionary refinement......Page 160
Formal analogy......Page 161
The detective model......Page 164
Classification......Page 166
Scenarios......Page 169
What if?......Page 173
Failure analysis......Page 175
Cycles and spirals......Page 178
Transformations......Page 180
A workman and his tools: summary......Page 182
Constraints and tradeoffs......Page 183
Technological constraints and tradeoffs......Page 184
Biological constraints and tradeoffs......Page 186
Economic constraints and tradeoffs......Page 188
Personal living constraints and tradeoffs......Page 189
Complexity......Page 191
Tracing the threads of causation......Page 192
Nothing is free......Page 193
Everything goes someplace......Page 194
Entropy is out to get you......Page 195
Degrees of complexity......Page 196
Summary......Page 197
Feedback and system behavior......Page 198
Information transmission and distortion......Page 203
Feedback and performance......Page 208
Information and discovery......Page 211
Summary......Page 213
Bottlenecks......Page 214
4.1 Conducting a research program......Page 218
Types of studies......Page 219
Analysis of results......Page 221
Drawing conclusions......Page 223
4.2 Ethics......Page 224
Reviewing......Page 225
Small sins......Page 226
Fraud......Page 229
Cherry picking......Page 230
Types of publications......Page 231
Publish and/or perish......Page 233
Mechanics of writing......Page 234
Controversy......Page 235
Journal reviews......Page 236
4.4 Science informing policy: the myth of objective science advice......Page 237
Bias and the practice of science......Page 238
How science actually works: theory and knowledge bias......Page 239
Advocacy bias......Page 240
Disciplinary bias......Page 242
Values and bias......Page 244
Conclusions......Page 245
5 Summary: the strategic approach to science......Page 248
References......Page 255
Index......Page 258
