For Academictransfer: How To Know When To Alter Bird Inward Your Question

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Research is non a linear physical care for at all. More than anything, doing enquiry is similar trying to solve a maze.

At times, y'all volition acquire stuck inward dead ends. And real often, it volition convey quite or so fourth dimension to realize that y'all are blocked yesteryear a dead halt too only shuffling inward place. Maybe your advisor volition last convinced that your dead halt has a hidden door, somewhere. Maybe y'all yourself are staring yourself blind on a possibility that does non seem to work.

And always, drive frontward inward your enquiry does non hap incrementally, but it happens yesteryear edifice upwardly friction too frustration, too so taking a outpouring forward. So maybe y'all only demand to force through a piffling more, too something volition click too it all volition autumn inward its place...

How tin y'all know whether y'all cause got hitting a existent roadblock too demand to alter gears, or are only edifice upwardly friction too doing the travel necessary to deed forward?

Probably, this enquiry is 1 of the toughest questions that haunt us inward the enquiry process. If we'd know inward advance where the dead ends are, nosotros wouldn't fifty-fifty convey ourselves inward at that topographic point too pass months (or fifty-fifty years) trying to forcefulness a breakthrough on a lost path.

Granted, I don't believe at that topographic point is a cut-and-paste laid solution for this problem. Research is similar this: y'all demand to chew through the difficult parts, y'all demand to produce the deep work, too at that topographic point are no shortcuts inward the process. There are plenty of tools that tin brand our lives easier too aid us care our time, but for deep work, for what actually matters to research, at that topographic point are no hacks.

Nonetheless, I intend at that topographic point are or so cherry-red flags that powerfulness betoken that y'all are wasting your fourth dimension on a lost runway that I would similar to hash out today.

1. You are manipulating your data

First, too biggest cherry-red flag inward here. Never manipulate your information to brand them fit to a theory. Never brand upwardly or so results. You don't desire to follow downward the path of Diederik Stapel too other not-so-glorious scientific discipline fraudsters. If your theory turns to last proven incorrect yesteryear your data, don't endeavour to brand a foursquare peg fit into a circular hole, too admit that something is missing inward your strategy. But hey, don't y'all intend it is to a greater extent than exciting to endeavour too figure out why your assumptions were proven incorrect than to brand them fit? Finding ways that don't travel is progress too, ever travel yesteryear away on that inward mind!

2. When y'all facial expression at results from other labs, yours stick out similar a sore thumb

This cherry-red flag would hateful that something inward your measurements is non working, or -unlikely- that y'all are on to something actually novel too exciting. If your exam results produce non stand upwardly for similar tests from other labs, y'all demand to carefully revisit the techniques that y'all are using. Review all the steps y'all convey inward your experimental procedures, cheque your input (whether that is raw materials from providers, or data) to brand sure as shooting y'all cause got those well-described, too produce a few classic benchmark tests to assess if y'all actually cause got a goodness grasp of your exam setup. If possible, beak to senior colleagues inward your lab - they powerfulness cause got ran into the same problem a yoke of years ago, or come across if y'all tin brand it affect amongst researchers from other labs, to hash out your deviant results.

3. You can't intend of novel ways to approach your occupation from the same perspective

You are only utterly, completely stuck. Stuck stucker than stuck. Your motivation is at a subzero level. You endeavour to brainstorm, y'all endeavour to mindmap too what not, but y'all can't experience a spark of excitement nigh a possible different plow to take. You are only shuffling inward place. And since y'all are the practiced inward your field, y'all should acquire to recognize that "shuffling inward place" feeling. It's awful too nosotros all acquire confronted amongst it or so twenty-four lx minutes catamenia or another. And when that twenty-four lx minutes catamenia comes, don't acquire mad at yourself, but convey it equally a valuable lesson.

4. Your intuition tells y'all something is wrong

Along the same lines equally disclose 3, your intuition does know something nigh your research. If your motivation went downward the drain, if y'all experience every morning time equally if y'all are beingness faced amongst an impossibly daunting task, too if your enthusiasm is completely MIA, so your intuition is equally good giving y'all or so signs that something is non working. Worse even, if y'all start to swallow crap, surf the meshing all time, remain belatedly inward the lab to acquire null actually done, start getting foreign headaches, beingness unable to slumber at nighttime or to a greater extent than oftentimes than non experience miserable, your intuition is shouting at y'all to halt too tiresome downward or alter course. Stop beating yourself up, too pass a twenty-four lx minutes catamenia going over your possible other approaches, away from what y'all were developing earlier.

5. You are violating basic assumptions

Big cherry-red flag here. If y'all are applying a theory or method, too y'all are violating the basic assumptions, so y'all should non last using said theory or method. Often, the basic assumptions brand perfect sense at offset sight, too y'all volition cause got an immediate agreement of their importance for your approach. Sometimes, the basic assumptions are a piffling to a greater extent than obscure, too so y'all powerfulness demand to review the background of the method or theory that y'all are trying to apply, too pass or so extra fourth dimension agreement too investigating the original assumptions. Theories are exclusively valid when y'all state their assumptions, retrieve that real well.

6. You can't render to basic principles from the path you've taken

If y'all can't stand upwardly for a benchmark exam to your theory, something is missing. If y'all can't solve a supersimple basic case, something is wrong. If y'all can't render to basic principles too touchstone cases from the path y'all cause got taken, so y'all should non apply your method to to a greater extent than complex cases. The beauty of scientific discipline is oftentimes inward simplicity too clarity. If y'all demand pages of code too a grocery listing of assumptions to brand something travel for a specific case, y'all are essentially dorsum to the province of affairs of trying to fit a foursquare peg into a circular hole.

7. You are applying methods exterior of their bounds

In same conditions, y'all powerfulness last able to stretch the application boundaries of sure as shooting methods too theories a piffling bit, but inward most cases, at that topographic point are well-defined reasons why y'all can't convey a theory exterior of its domain. Here, I am thinking of a domain equally nosotros depict it inward mathematics - I'm all for y'all taking methods from different disciplines too applying them inward novel too innovative ways. Multi-disciplinarity too learning novel skills totally rock, don't acquire me wrong. But if y'all convey a formula that was derived for sure as shooting conditions, so travel yesteryear away on it inside its atmospheric condition (read the background to brand sure as shooting if those atmospheric condition were based on calculations or experiments).

8. You can't brand your boundary atmospheric condition brand sense

Along the same lines equally disclose 7: if y'all are either running exterior of the bounds of the domain of application, or y'all are non able to brand your boundary atmospheric condition to brand sense, so something is rather iffy. As always, travel yesteryear away too cheque the original references to figure out how your precursor researchers dealt amongst the boundary conditions, too what they were based on, too so estimate for yourself to come across if it is fourth dimension to pack your bags too acquire out the dot of no return.

9. You demand extremely complicated formulas

The solutions of complex problems are oftentimes beautifully simple. If y'all demand extremely complicated formulas, inquire yourself if y'all tin simplify these formulas into something much to a greater extent than useful too handy, too nonetheless cause got a effect that is inside 20% bounds of the experimental results (20 - 30% for structural concrete problems is an acceptable grade of dubiety for a simplified method - inward your champaign these values powerfulness differ of course!). If y'all can't trim down your solution to something simpler that plant goodness plenty equally well, so something is non working properly.

10. You acquire irrational values

Ah, the woman raise of all frustrations. You plan an entire adapt of assumptions too theories that y'all applied together to come upwardly up amongst a prediction calculation, too later on looking at your reckoner covert for a yoke of minutes patch your machine churns away the numbers, y'all acquire a effect of 1562111+732i - absolute nonsense inward other words. Typically, y'all volition acquire awful results similar that when y'all are violating basic assumptions, are applying methods exterior of their bounds or don't master copy your boundary atmospheric condition (or, y'all powerfulness cause got a coding mistake of course).

11. You require extraordinary amounts of computational time

If y'all can't solve it inward a beautifully unproblematic agency too empathise the physics/mechanics behind the problem, so y'all don't cause got a company agreement of the problem, too you're most probable overcomplicating things. Your code or finite chemical constituent analysis that takes forever to run, powerfulness last only a waste product of computational fourth dimension too capacity. Granted, I know that Monte Carlo simulations amongst many iterations too nonlinear finite chemical constituent analyses convey equally much fourth dimension equally they take, but y'all should cause got an thought of the fourth dimension it takes before y'all run your code. And if it takes much much longer than expected, something is most probable missing.

12. You start to experience protective nigh your strategy

If y'all start to experience emotional nigh your strategy, too protect it equally if it were your baby, y'all are walking away from the wonderful lands of scientific discipline too uncertainty. Never travel yesteryear away obsessed amongst a sure as shooting approach. Instead, admit the limitations of the theories y'all are working with, too comprehend these limitations. Remain humble - chances that y'all only invented the hot H2O are real small. Don't choice upwardly a struggle amongst others when they enquiry your methods, instead, purpose constructive discussions amongst your colleagues too supervisors to sharpen your ax too improve your method. Or, if y'all start to acquire emotionally intertwined amongst the strategy y'all are applying, recognize that it is fourth dimension to lay this strategy inward the freezer for a moment, too travel yesteryear away too dabble inward or so other approach.

Have y'all hitting a roadblock during your research? Do y'all recognize whatsoever of these cherry-red flags? Share your experiences inward the comments below!