Getting the Big Picture with a Small Lens

Most science papers begin with a “big picture” idea to give readers an understanding of why the research the author is conducting is important. They introduce a gap or hole in the field before proposing how their research goes about filling it. They talk about the main point of the paper, then finally they wrap it up by tying it back to that big picture idea so that they end up telling a story. This process was way easier said than done. When it came to this task, I personally had a lot of trouble finding the plot and telling the story.

I felt like we were handed small pieces of a much larger puzzle and we had no picture to reference. Or like being given a small camera lens and told to take a snapshot that encompasses everything. Each protocol resulted in a series of data, numbers, and spreadsheets. Lots and lots of excel spreadsheets. An overwhelming amount of spreadsheets. I recall spending about one and a half hours working through before realizing that we were analyzing the wrong kind of data. Definitely had to step away for a moment before finishing.

Once we had our data organized, not only did we have to pry meaning from them, but a substantial, significant meaning. All the raw data and absorbance values and concentrations and even insignificant data had to propel what we wanted to say and still make sense.

I found myself running in circles, trying to determine how best to use our data to show that the science isn’t only cool, but is important to the field without making too many leaps. It helped to talk it out with the teaching faculty, who gave helpful suggestions. Speaking with them made me realize that despite the universal techniques we used, there were so many angles teams could go with, even if the data produced is essentially the same. There was no single story we were supposed to adhere to. Of course, this could make it more difficult to find a compelling point, but the flexibility allowed me to understand more about the project than if we were handed the answer. Even our negative results contributed to our final conclusion.

[prepare for a super cheesy analogy]
This assignment has taught me that sometimes you’re given a small lens and told to get a picture of an entire background. It’s not an easy task, but there are multiple angles you can use to capture everything, and still get a quality image.

Cheers!


~ Nia Myrie 😎

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