nchenda's blog

The difference in what objects were visible in panels A and B of the figures result from the lack of specificity of the angle in the methods. If the angle from which the original pictures were taken were included in the methods, more of the objects in the replicate pictures would have been more like those in the original. This is why there is more ground in Figure 1A than in Figure 2A along with more roof in figure 2A than in Figure 1A.  

There is a higher density of flowers in Figure 2B than Figure 1B because it is not specified in the methods which exact flowers on the trees should be photographed. This is why pictures of different flowers on the tree were taken for both figures. If the exact flower or flowers on the tree and the location was specified in the methods, Panel B in both figures would be more similar if not exactly the same.

Panels A and B from both figures have sunlight in them since they were taken around the same time of day. The differences in exposure and shadow are due to the different cameras used. Different cameras were used because the type of camera is not specified in the methods. If the exposure and shadow were the same in both pictures for both figures, the panels would not have different shades of colors from one another.

The difference in Panel C in both figures is due to misscoloring of the native origins by the person who followed the methods. This is because the coloring in Figure 2C matches the coloring in Figure 1C but it is not within the outlines of the native regions as it is in Figure 1C. If the matching coloring of Figure 2C matched that in 1C, the maps of Figure 1C and 2C would be the same.

The label fonts of the panels are different in both figures because the methods does not specify the type of font. The location of the panels are different in both figures because the methods does not specify where to put the panels in respect to being above or below the labels. The methods only specifies within the left or right of directions of the labels. This is why the panels in Figure 2 are to the right of and below the panel labels. This is unlike the panels in Figure 1 which are only to the right of the panel labels. The figures would be more identical if the location of the panels had more clarity.

The panels in Figure 1 are more narrow than those in Figure 2 since the methods does not specify exactly what the length and width of the panels should be. The methods only specified the length and width of the map image in Panel C. If the length and width of the panels were specified, the figures would look more identical overall regarding the layout.   

The main factors considered for creating the methods to facilitate replication of the figure include time and location. The plant was found in the Durfee Conservatory on campus which is open only from 10am - 4pm on weekdays. Other factors consisted of the type of camera, from where exactly the pictures should be taken, and what objects were in the pictures. This was to get the most identical pictures possible from the person following the methods. The location of the labels were considered along with which pictures should go where in the figure. In attempt to get same exact looking native origins map, the type of map, width and length of the map, and the filling color of the countries were taken into consideration.

In Spring 2018, as part of the Writing in Biology Course at Umass Amherst, students had to complete the Methods Project. The students had to partner up to follow each others’ methods. The methods were the steps needed in order to create a figure with three panels. The panels had to include an image of a flowering plant, a close-up of the flower or flowers of the plant, and a map of the native origins of the plants. I chose to do the figure on a flower called Camellia Japonica. The reasons for the choosing the selected flowering plant include its location and appearance. The plant was easy to access because of its location on campus which was the Durfee Conservatory. The plant was easy to find within the conservatory due to its bright pink flowery look that stood out to the eye.

It is important in science for scientists to reproduce the same results that were obtained by the researcher. The purpose of the methods section is for another to obtain the same results as that person did by following their steps. These steps are the methods the person uses in order to get their results. When developing these steps, scientists must be able to identify factors needed to be controlled when doing the experiment. This requires scientists to distinguish between observation and inference. This is so that the experiment is successful and there will be no need to perform it differently multiple times.

This project includes the process of creating a methods for another person to follow in order to obtain the same results when creating the same figure. The figure has to be of a type of flowering plant. Each figure has to have 3 panels that include an image of the plant itself, a close-up of the flower or flowers of the plant, and a map of the native origins of the plants. The project results in differences between the figures created. The differences include the objects visible in the images and the exposure of the images. These results indicate there are factors that lead to the differences. The factors include the type of camera and the level of specificity in the methods.

The difference in what objects were visible in the plant images of the figures results from the lack of specificity of the angle in the methods. Since the plant images from both figures have sunlight in them, the differences in exposure and shadow are due to the different cameras used. Different cameras were used because the type of camera is not specified in the methods. There is a higher density of flowers in Figure 2B than Figure 1B because it is not specified in the methods which exact flowers on the trees should be photographed. The difference in the C panels is due to misscoloring of the native origins by the person who followed the methods. This is because the coloring in Figure 2C matches the coloring in Figure 1C but it is not within the outlines of the native regions as it is in Figure 1C. The label fonts are different because the methods does not specify the type of font. The location of the images are different in both figures because the methods does not specify where to put the images in respect to above or below the labels. The methods only specifies within the left or right of directions of the labels. The images in Figure 1 are more narrow than those in Figure 2 since the methods does not specify exactly how big the length and width of the images should be.

Observational differences between Figure 1 and Figure 2 are within the areas of photography, creating the map, and creating the figure. Regarding the plant images within the figures, more of the ground and parts of other plants are visible in Figure 1 than in Figure 2. More of the roof is visible in Figure 2 than in Figure 1. There is more exposure in Figure 1 than in Figure 2. There are darker shadows in Figure 2 than in Figure 1. There is a higher density of flowers in Figure 2B than in Figure 1B. Figure 2C has the colored regions out of the outlines of the native origins. Figure 1C has the colored regions within the outlines of the native origins. For the overall figures themselves, the label fonts are different. Each image location with respect to the its label are different. The images are to the right of the labels in Figure 1 while the images are both to the right and below the labels in Figure 2. The images in Figure 1 are more narrow than those in Figure 2.

It is important in science for scientists to reproduce the same results that were obtained by the researcher. The purpose of the Methods Project is to determine how specific and concise someone should be in order for another to obtain the same results as that person did by following their steps. These steps are the methods the person uses in order to get their results. When developing these steps, scientists must be able to identify factors needed to be controlled when doing the experiment. This requires scientists to distinguish between observation and inference. This is so that the experiment is successful and there will be no need to perform it differently multiple times. The reasons for the choosing the selected topic include its location and appearance. The factors considered for creating the methods to facilitate replication of the figure include time, location, photography, and the steps in creating the figure.

Observations:

• One figure had the pictures in a column. The other figure had the pictures in a row.

• One figure had clear pictures. The other figure had one unclear picture where it is dark.

• One figure had more of an up-close picture of each person than the other figure.

• One figure had the ruler overlapping part of the eyes. The other figure had the ruler next to the eyes.

• One figure had eyebrows for all 3 pictures. The other figure did not.

• Both figures had people with different skin tones, eye shapes, and eye colors.

• One figure had the ruler placed next to the eyes at around 6-7 cm.

Inferences:

• The person writing the methods didn’t specify how to measure what they were supposed to measure.

• The person writing the methods did not explain how they created the figure.

• The person writing the methods did not explain how they took the pictures.

• The person writing the methods did not explain what to include in the pictures taken.

• The person writing the methods did not specifically say who to take pictures of.