Materials and methods discuss
This document provides guidance on writing the materials and methods section of a research study. It discusses including a list of all materials used, such as live organisms, reagents, chemicals, and experimental units. The materials and methods section should specify these materials in sufficient detail and describe the procedures to allow others to evaluate and replicate the study. It is important to control for experimental error by using proper research design, replication, and statistical analysis to reduce or eliminate errors from instruments, limited samples or trials, and lack of controls. The materials and methods section should be written in an expository style using future tense for proposed studies and past tense for technical reports, without personal pronouns, spelling out numbers if they start sentences, and including diagrams to
Materials and methods discuss
- 2. MATERIALS: ALL THE THINGS NEEDED IN TESTING THE HYPOTHESIS • List down all the materials • Live organisms (seeds/ animals) • Reagents • Chemicals • Other experimental units
- 3. MATERIALS •Experimental Unit: Chief Material used in an experiment •Ex: Organism, Device, Plot in a garden, a structure May be subjected to different treatments according to the objectives
- 4. METHODS: PLAN OR DESIGN •Experimental Design- (field of science) best way to conduct research in a most productive manner •Most scientific •Most powerful methods-controls relevant variables Factors beyond control-:assumption is done Ex: seeds came from the same plant; sacks of garden soil are well mixed and homogenous
- 5. EXPERIMENTAL ERROR •Measurements obtained from the experimental units vary, even if they are treated alike, they still produced different results •Sources of Errors 1. Measuring instrument 2. Very Few sample; limited number of trials (repetition) 3. Wrong research design (No control set-up) Note: REPLICATIONS of experimental procedures should be done TO REDUCE if not to ELIMINATE experimental errors. (Compute average and mean values can be subjected to statistical analysis.)
- 6. WRITING THE MATERIALS AND METHODS •Expository: writing style for materials and methods •Explains the reader WHAT something is, HOW it works and HOW it is related to other things PURPOSE Specify the materials, equipment, and organisms (if any) used To describe in sufficient detail the procedures used To be evaluated and reproduced if the need arises Note: REPRODUCIBILITY/REPLICABILITY: important to evaluate the reliability of a research study.
- 7. RULES TO FOLLOW: RESEARCH PROPOSAl : Before the investigation TECHNICAL REPORT : After the investigation TENSE, VOICE Future Tense, Passive Voice Ex: Three garden plants will be…….. Past Tense, Passive Voice Ex: Three garden plots were….. PROCEDURE Narrative form NOT a recipe format MATERIALS NOT enumerated in a LIST What is done with the materials Ex: Two sacks of okra seeds RESEARCHER NO personal Pronoun as “I” or “We” NUMBERS If the sentence starts with a number: NUMBER is SPELLED OUT Note: Photographs, diagrams, maps and flowchart: aids in describing the materials