A lab notebook is an official record of your activities in the lab, to be used as a reference for a number of things. Here, we discuss some of the essential considerations for maintaining a paper-based lab notebook.

Digital lab books are beginning to become much more commonplace in labs. However, as with every new technology, the transition to using a digital lab notebook also comes with myriad things to consider. This article outlines some of the key things to think about.

Physical lab notebooks have been a staple in a scientist’s toolbelt for the longest time, but digital alternatives are catching on. Here, we weigh up each option to help you decide which to go with.

Novelty in scientific publishing is crucial, because journal editors and peer reviewers greatly prize novel research over and above confirmatory papers or research with negative results. How can you as an academic author enhance the novelty effect with your research submissions? This article explores ideas that will help you maximise the novelty effect in your submissions.

A ‘mixed’ approach allows flexibility in designing your research, allowing you to combine aspects of different types of studies, which can help you arrive at more comprehensive results. This article discusses when and how to design a mixed-methods study.

A hypothesis is a statement of a prediction about the outcome of a study. This article explains how to develop and write a research hypothesis with an example.

A research journal can be a very useful supplement to your research work. In this article, we outline some practical ways to make full use of a research journal.

The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta Analyses (PRISMA) checklist is a list of items related to how systematic reviews and meta-analyses should be reported. This article discusses how to use the PRISMA checklist meaningfully.

When setting off to produce either a systematic review or a meta-analysis, you are likely going to be thinking about things that need to be done from a research perspective. However, registration may not be at the forefront of your mind. This article discusses the importance of registering rigorous reviews such as systematic reviews and meta-analyses, and the factors to consider when doing so.

It can be extremely fruitful and enlightening to collaborate with researchers from across the globe to hear different points of view, and get the most out of a project. This article discusses the reasons for collaborating on a research project as well as the best practices for a successfull research collaboration.

Building your research paper around a narrative format can help the reader follow the ‘story’ of what you’re bringing across more easily, thus enabling them to absorb the information more readily. This article discusses the benefits of telling a story in your research paper and shares some pointers for doing it well.

The terms ‘conceptual framework’ and ‘theoretical framework’ are commonly used in referring to the overall structure that shapes a research project. This article explains the differences between them and also provides pointers on how to go about constructing each framework.

Having mentally formulated the necessary steps to conduct and complete a piece of research, you might now be wondering how to articulate this effectively to communicate your work to your peers. This is where a research proposal comes in. This article provides essential pointers for writing a successful research proposal.

The difference between a concept paper and a research proposal lies mostly in the level of detail and the potential audience, based on which your approach towards writing each will vary. In this article, we dig deeper into the differences between a concept paper and a research proposal and recommend when to use which.

A post-hoc analysis refers to a statistical analysis specified after a study has been concluded and the data collected. A post-hoc test is done to identify exactly which groups differ from each other.

When developing a plan of action for tackling a systematic review or a meta-analysis, one of the most important steps is developing a standardised and meaningful way of deciding which pieces of work to include and which not to. This article discusses what to think about when developing these criteria.

A search strategy is a means of organising your search and helps you to plumb the many sources of information for truly meaningful references. It will also help you filter out low-quality sources. This article discusses some strategies you can adopt to get the most out of your search, and to ensure a high-quality literature review.

Well-developed and focused research objectives go a long way in ensuring the success of a research project. This article explains how to develop and frame your research objectives.

An original and well-defined research question gives your work direction and is a crucial factor that determines publication success. This article discusses how you can develop and frame a research question for different types of studies.

Working in a wet lab is a potentially dangerous undertaking. It's therefore important that you know how to safely and productively work in a wet lab. This article offers some best practices to follow in a wet lab.