• Question: What will you do if nothing comes from your investigation ?

    Asked by Laura to Francesca, Laura, Matthew, Andrew, Rebecca on 17 Nov 2014.
    • Photo: Rebecca Ingle

      Rebecca Ingle answered on 17 Nov 2014:

      Researchers tend to work on more than one problem at once (I definitely am) so it isn’t always that worrying if you don’t get any results. Sometimes, seeing no results can be really important as it can tell you that you’re not doing the experiment in the right way or maybe you’re not looking at the right thing.

    • Photo: Laura Schofield

      Laura Schofield answered on 17 Nov 2014:

      I’m quite lucky that I know I’ve already got important results so if I didn’t get any more useful results, I’d know I could write a thesis on what I’ve got. A negative result is still a result though!
      I spent 9 months in a research lab for my Masters year (final year of my undergrad degree at Uni) and after working really hard, I only had 11 data points on a graph to show for it. That was the equivalent of about a weeks worth of actual experiment time, I spent the rest of it trying desperately to make the equipment work! Lets just say there were a lot of tears during that year!!

    • Photo: Matthew Camilleri

      Matthew Camilleri answered on 17 Nov 2014:

      I will sit in the corner and cry. Joking aside, research is interesting because there are no assurances that it will work. Luckily for me, during the first month of my research in my PhD I already have some interesting and important data, so it seems that I am going in the right direction.

    • Photo: Andrew McKinley

      Andrew McKinley answered on 17 Nov 2014:

      Sometimes closing a door is as important as opening it – not every failed experiment is a negative result – it merely shows that “this route is closed – for now” and helps you find your way through your research.

      Your experiments won’t always work – but if you have designed your experiment correctly (that is you know that none of the controls you have in place is flawed), then an experiment that ‘doesn’t work’ will still give you a fundamental truth about your original theory, and helps you know if your theory is correct or not.

    • Photo: Francesca Palombo

      Francesca Palombo answered on 17 Nov 2014:

      Nothing? Impossible, any investigation gets you something – even the outcome that it doesn’t work is a result. With this approach in mind, you are never disappointed!

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