Many factors distinguish a good Methods section in a scientific article from a poor one. Replicability is a factor of prime importance. One must make sure that the description of their experiment or procedure is very clear and focused. Otherwise, nobody else will be able to repeat their procedure and see if the same results are attained.
The goal of this project was to learn, through example, how to make a proper, replicable Methods section. For the assignment, we took a photograph of a spider on the Umass campus in a spot of our own choice. We were then challenged to create a detailed Methods section, with our ultimate goal being for another student to be able to follow our directions (without seeing our picture) and end up taking the same photograph. We had to keep in mind which variables we had to control, an important aspect of maintaining replicability in Science Methods. We also had to be aware of our own observations versus our inferences. We should avoid making inferences in our Methods, since they are a product of our own mind and are not able to be followed objectively.
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