Dry labs occur in many disciplines, including biology, computer sciences and engineering. There are some things to be aware of when it comes to working in dry labs. This article provides some important considerations for usage and maintenance of dry labs.

A thorough literature search in the early stages of research holds the key to formulating a worthwhile research question. To hone in on the best sources for your literature search, it is important to use established bibliometric databases, such as Web of Science (WoS). This article discusses how to use the power of WoS for your research work.

High-quality biomedical research seeks to provide answers to clinically and experimentally relevant questions. To get the best out of their research, researchers need to engage a biostatistician in their research design. However, a biostatistician can also be of great help during the remaining stages of research.

Our job as researchers is to contribute to the growth in understanding of our world. However, you may one day find yourself in a situation one day where you are tasked with researching a topic about which there is little or no existing and available published literature. In this article, we discuss how to tackle this situation.

Sample size can be defined as the number of pieces of information, data points or patients (in medical studies) tested or enrolled in an experiment or study. The larger the sample size, the more accurate the average values will be. Larger sample sizes also help researchers identify outliers in data and provide smaller margins of error. This article discusses the various aspects of studies with large sample sizes.

Reproducibility is pivotal to research. Researchers from various disciplines must be aware of valid studies to build on, sifting away unreliable methods and data, or worse still, false leads.

Depending on the discipline that your research is located in and your specific research project, there are broadly two different ways in which you can approach organising, reading for and writing your literature review: either chronologically or thematically. This article explores some of the factors to consider as you begin to plan your literature review.

The main focus in a chronological literature review is to trace the development of studies, debates or theories in your subject area, and to identify how a central ‘problem’ or question(s) has been dealt with over a period of time.

In a thematic literature review, you group the literature "as you see it". It is perhaps therefore a more common way to organise your literature review than a chronological literature review. 

In research, bias means a deviation from the truth in data collection, analysis, interpretation or publication. This article discusses the reasons why biases occur and some steps for avoiding them.

When meeting with a disproven or failed hypothesis, after having expended so much time and effort, precisely how should researchers respond? Responding well to a disproven or failed hypothesis is an essential component to scientific research. This article explores common reasons why a hypothesis fails, as well as specific ways you can respond and lessons you can learn from this. 

Unlike conducting experiments in the semi-controlled environment of a laboratory or collecting literature from a library, field work involves observing and collecting data from natural environments. Field work enables researchers to examine scientific theories in action in the real world.