A "quick start guide" to starting out in research on the right foot
A “Quick Start Guide” for starting off in research with good habits
Some things I recommend you do/learn/etc. as early as possible in your training…
(see links or https://bit.ly/practicalposts or for more information about each; uploads at https://bit.ly/bumbling_uploads)
blog: https://bit.ly/quickstartscience
link to doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/16...
Things to install and/or set up:
A reference manager (Mendeley, EndNote, Zotero, etc.)
https://bit.ly/referencesreference ; YouTube: • Mendeley and other reference manageme...
Article alerts (PubMed, Google Scholar, etc.)
blog form: https://bit.ly/science_alerts_RSS_feeds ; YouTube: • Staying up to date in science - setti...
MyNCBI account (will let you set up PubMed alerts, save PubMed searches, make a BioSketch (like a CV), make formatted list of all your publications and presentations with MyBibliography) etc.
blog: https://bit.ly/why_MyNCBI ; YouTube: • My NCBI - an intro to why you should ...
RSS reader such as NewsBlur (will collate new articles from sites you choose and/or on topics you choose so you can see them all in one place)
https://bit.ly/science_alerts_RSS_feeds ; YouTube: • Staying up to date in science - setti...
Get an ORCID (a unique number attached to you so that if you change your name or share a name with something, computers and people won’t get confused about what is and isn’t published by you)
Databases to get familiar with:
(there are lots more but these are the main ones I use, which will link you to other databases with more specialized information)
UniProt (for protein info)
blog: https://bit.ly/uniprotprotparam ; YouTube: • Basics of UniProt, ProtParam & other ...
PDB (for structures)
https://bit.ly/pdbstructures & • Intro to PDB (Protein Data Bank) crys... & / izthsufbye
GenBank (for nucleic acid sequences)
PubMed (for papers)
blog: https://bit.ly/databases_guide ; YouTube: • Useful databases for biochemistry, bi... ; downloadable version of list, with links: https://bit.ly/3RYWlS6
Skills to start learning:
Basic computer programming - especially some simple command line and Python
see https://bit.ly/bb_python_tips for a starter’s guide
A vector graphics software program like Adobe Illustrator or InkScape (free)
https://bit.ly/adobe_illustrator_fund... & • Adobe Illustrator fundamentals for sc... & https://drive.google.com/file/d/1C72z...
Lab habits to start:
Establish and stick to a consistent file naming and organization system
Include dates in file names
• Save (with) the date - practical adv...
Don’t include spaces in file names
Start spreadsheet inventories for your plasmids, primers, protein preps, etc.
see Google drive for examples
plasmid inventories: https://bit.ly/plasmid_inventory ; YouTube: • Keeping a detailed plasmid inventory ; https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
protein inventories: https://bit.ly/protein_inventorying ; YouTube: • Protein prep inventory-ing: keeping a... ; here’s a link to my example protein prep inventory template spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
Keep good, detailed lab notes
https://bit.ly/labnotesorganization & • Lab notes and organization
Practice pipetting - can pipet then weigh drops to see how accurate (close to the true value based on density of water as ~1g/mL) and precise (close together) your drops are
https://bit.ly/pipetposts & • Pipetting tips
Other things:
Read lots of papers - it takes a lot of practice to get comfortable with them
https://bit.ly/readingsciencearticles... & • Reading science articles with a purpose
blog form: https://bit.ly/strategic_reading ; YouTube: • Reading science articles strategicall...
Ask lots of questions (to lab mates and/or Google)
Get good at Googling! (see for guide)
blog: https://bit.ly/scientificgoogling ; YouTube: • Tips & tricks for Googling strategica...
Word doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1U...
PDF: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ImoN...
Whenever you’re given a protocol, make sure you know what’s going on at each step
blog: https://bit.ly/insidethekit ;YouTube: • Advice for experimenters in training ...
more about all sorts of things: #365DaysOfScience All (with topics listed) 👉 http://bit.ly/2OllAB0 or search blog: http://thebumblingbiochemist.com
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