====== Best Practices ======
===== Paper Logbook ======
**Purpose of Logbook**
  - Responsible Conduct of Research - required by our NSF Grant Contract
  - A record of what happened under what conditions and a guess as to why
  - A tool for thinking: writing as a way to clarifying & articulating your thought process
  - Our first defense against accusations of scientific fraud
  - The final word in clarifying effort in the unlikely case there is any ambiguity i.e. if you didn't write it down, then it didn't happen
  - Part of the __**minimal**__ requirement of doing your job as a Scientist

**Types of Logbooks**  
  - Archival/Personal logbooks: [[http://www.bookfactory.com/grid_notebooks/grid_notebooks.html|Bookfactory]]
  - Equipment/Lab logbooks: [[http://www.amazon.com/Ampad-Engineers-Computation-Wirebound-22-157/dp/B000DZEA2G/|Ampad 22-157]]

**General Contents of Logbooks**
  - A record of experimental conditions and apparatus 
  - A record of the experimenter's real time observations, actions, and thought process
  - Notes from meetings and discussions
  - Descriptive commentary - just the facts
    - What happened?
    - When did it happen?
    - What did I do?
  - Reflective commentary - an articulation of your thought process
    - Why did it happen?
    - What did I do that?
    - What did I think will happen?
    - What went well?
    - What should be improved for next time?

**Specific Contents of Logbooks**
  - Leave first couple of sheets blank for table of contents. This helps you find info later.
  - Write down date and time. This helps you figure out when things happened and how long they took.
  - Write down a record of what you've down while you're doing it.
  - Write down your goal for the day.
  - Write down what you expect to see and whether your guess was correct.
  - Write down summary findings and proposed next steps.
  - Write down equipment model numbers and serial numbers.
  - Paste useful manual pages directly into logbook.
  - Paste equipment specifications directly into logbook.
  - Paste interesting plots directly into logbook.
  - [[https://spinlab.me/2017/08/08/producing-scientific-diagrams-which-reveal-the-relevant-scale-edwardtufte/|Make sketch of experimental setup.]]
  - Write down equipment operating settings.
  - Write down equipment readings when things are working properly for future reference.
  - Write down status of equipment before leaving lab.
  - Write down daily summary including next steps.
  - Write down contact info to vendors, especially useful technical supports people.
  - Write down notes from meetings including next steps.
===== Electronic Logbook ======
  - Weekly Summary - due by 2359 every Saturday
  - Monthly Summary - due by 2359 of the last Saturday of the month
  - Write down steps for useful procedures.
===== Equipment ======
  - Read the manual, particularly theory of operating and sources of common errors.
  - Label equipment with "Stolen from Spinlab" label.
  - Catalog equipment model number, serial number, and maintenance info on group wiki.
  - If something is broken, then report it ASAP so that we can get it diagnosed/repaired sooner than later.
===== Time Management =====
  - Start early on long lead time items.
  - Refer to logbook entries to see how long tasks really take.
  - Stop work 30 minutes before you want to leave so you have time to
    - summarize work in logbook
    - safely turn off equipment
    - clean up and organize your work space of the next day or for the next person
  - Plan your work.
  - Send useful (indicate what action the recipient is supposed to take and indicate a desired delivery date or an estimate for a completion date) and professional (acknowledge their help and professional status) emails.
===== Logging Hours & Triannual Review =====
  - In the Effort Log: Please indicate what fraction of the work was performed at home (away from work) 
  - In the Effort Log: Please list the relevant ELOG logbook & entry numbers for the past week
  - In order to be paid on time, please enter hours worked by Saturday midnight of every week. 
  - Reappointment each semester requires a triannual review, which must occur at least once by the end of each semester or anytime by request. Form is {{zzz-Triannual-Review.doc|here}}. 
===== Aphorisms =====
  - Amateurs remember, professionals write it down.
  - Read & struggle on your own first, make a list of questions, then ask questions.
  - Our primary obligation as scientists is to perform & report our work honestly. Being correct is just icing on the cake.
  - When drawing a conclusion, one must explicitly state all assumptions and thoroughly discuss the alternatives fairly.
  - Good enough is better than perfect.
  - You will not succeed at first, so plan on trying again.
  - Correlation is not causation.
  - Measure twice, cut once.
  - Read the manual.
  - When you have to eat three frogs, start with the biggest one first. 
  - Writing is Thinking.
  - Failure is a gift.
  - B-level work is bad for your soul.
  - There is no magic, just do the work.
  - Work with people smarter than you.
  - Fail early, fail often.
  - Listen to everyone's ideas.
  - Face towards the most important problems.
  - We invest in people not ideas.
  - Brick by brick.
  - The Gaiser Rule: Two ears, one mouth.
  - Make sure to pick fun people to solve problems with.
  - The road to success is paved with mistakes well handled.
  - You can prevent mistakes, but you can solve problems graciously.
  - Be curious, not judgemental.
  - Put us out of business with your generosity.
  - Our only job is to train world class scientists.
  - Deliver first and then overcommunicate relevance to our sponsors.
  - We not me.
  - Do more of what works.
===== Research Culture =====
  - Make a little bit of progress every day: (1.01)^241 = 11
  - Perform the experiment many times improving it incrementally each time
  - Read a paper every two weeks on average (or monthly if an undergrad)
  - Go to a seminar/talk about twice a week (or monthly if an undergrad)
  - Choose and learn a new skill or about a new topic every month
  - Work on a couple of different projects and alternate between the two
  - Actively seek feedback and constructive criticism
  - Try to work on what you have an interest in
  - Plan the work before performing the work to make sure it is relevant and done safely
  - Perform daily, weekly, and monthly reviews of the work
  - Request the resources you need from JTS in order to perform the work successfully
  - Make your work visible
  - If you didn't write it down, it didn't happen
  - [[https://spinlab.me/2017/09/13/prime-directive-of-the-knob-turner-the-knob-turner-must-stare-at-the-correct-needle-when-turning-the-knob/|Prime Directive of the Knob-Turner: The knob-turner must stare at the correct needle when turning the knob.]]
  - [[https://spinlab.me/2017/09/21/the-volvo-rule-when-troubleshooting-turn-only-one-knob-at-a-time/|The VOLVO Rule: When troubleshooting, turn only ONE knob at a time.]]
  - [[|“Round Black Knob” is never a good name for a knob.]]
  - [[https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/growth-mindset|Develop a ''Growth Mindset'']]
  - [[https://sheridan.brown.edu/resources/inclusive-anti-racist-teaching/inclusive-teaching/impostor-phenomenon-classroom|Learn to handle ''Impostor Syndrome'']]

===== References =====

[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Solve_It|How to Solve it]] by G. Polya

[[https://wikihost.nscl.msu.edu/spinlab/lib/exe/fetch.php?media=gantt-template.xlsx|Time management tool: Gantt chart template]] - Roy Ready


[[https://wikihost.nscl.msu.edu/spinlab/lib/exe/fetch.php?media=5-things-i-wish-i-knew-before-i-started-high-voltage-conditioning.pdf|5 Things I Wish I knew before I started High-Voltage Conditioning]] - Roy Ready

{{2017-08-12-kristenguidetosuccessinspinlab.pdf|Kristen’s Guide to Success in Spinlab}} by Kristen Parzuchowski (Spinlab Alumna 2015-2017)

[[https://thompsonlab.sites.ucsc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/216/2015/08/Successful-Graduate-Student-8.6.pdf|ON BEING A SUCCESSFUL GRADUATE STUDENT IN THE SCIENCES]] by [[https://thompsonlab.sites.ucsc.edu/contact/|John N. Thompson]]

[[http://jcs.biologists.org/content/121/11/1771|The importance of stupidity in scientific research]] by Martin A. Schwartz, Journal of Cell Science 2008 121: 1771

[[http://www.indiana.edu/~halllab/grad-student-resources.html|Spencer Hall's Resources for Graduate Students and Post-Docs]] by Spencer Hall

[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blaK_tB_KQA|Time Management]] by [[http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~pausch/|Randy Pausch]]

[[https://jila.colorado.edu/lewandowski/research/modeling-framework-experimental-physics|Modeling Framework]] by The Lewandowksi Group

[[http://calteches.library.caltech.edu/51/2/CargoCult.htm|Cargo Cult Science (1974 Caltech Commencement)]] by Richard Feynman

[[http://www.jstor.org.proxy2.cl.msu.edu/stable/20439287?loginSuccess=true&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents|What is Problem Solving]] by Michael E. Martinez

[[https://www.technologyreview.com/s/409043/how-to-think/|How To Think]] by Ed Boyden

[[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2FF649D0C4407B30|The Art of Doing Science and Engineering: Learning to Learn]] by R. W. Hamming (series of lectures delivered to graduate students at the Naval Postgraduate School  in Monterey)

[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1zDuOPkMSw|You and Your Research]] by [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Hamming|R. W. Hamming]] ([[http://www.cs.virginia.edu/~robins/YouAndYourResearch.html|text version of similar talk given in 1986]])

{{1952-03-20-creative-thinking-claude-shannon.pdf|Creative Thinking - March 20, 1952}} by [[https://medium.com/the-mission/10-000-hours-with-claude-shannon-12-lessons-on-life-and-learning-from-a-genius-e8b9297bee8f|Claude Shannon]]

[[https://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/EWD/transcriptions/EWD06xx/EWD637.html|EWD 637 - The Three Golden Rules for Successful Scientific Research]] by [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edsger_W._Dijkstra|Edsger W. Dijkstra]]

[[http://www.bakadesuyo.com/search/|Barking up the Wrong Tree]] by Eric Barker

[[https://doi.org/10.1038/426389a|Four golden lessons]] by Steven Weinberg

[[https://modelsofexcellence.eleducation.org/resources/austins-butterfly|Austin's Butterfly]] by Ron Berger