• Question: if you did any difficult experiments which was the most difficult, if you have even done any difficult experiments?

    Asked by anon-193358 to iainstaniland, Heidi, Emma, Carl on 5 Nov 2018.
    • Photo: Iain Staniland

      Iain Staniland answered on 5 Nov 2018:

      I think pretty much all the experiments I have ever done have been difficult, even at school they seemed to go wrong for unknown reasons. Part of the challenge is solving these issues and the feeling of getting things right is brilliant. Working with animals is an extra complication, there is always one that does the opposite of what you expect. Working in the Antarctic we have the added problem of the weather which can make even the most simple tasks incredibly difficult.
      For example on a number of occasions I have had to spend days searching the island for bits of equipment that have been blown away in a storm, even though I spent a lot of time securing them in place with ropes, weights and even concrete!

    • Photo: Heidi Gardner

      Heidi Gardner answered on 5 Nov 2018:

      Just as Iain said, all experiments can be difficult. I’m pretty clumsy and things go wrong all the time, it’s just about learning how to bounce back and solve problems so that you can eventually do it well 🙂

    • Photo: Carl Heron

      Carl Heron answered on 5 Nov 2018:

      Sometimes, what you might think is an easy experiment can be rather difficult to achieve. One example I can think of is making and firing (in a bonfire, not a pottery kiln) a simple pottery vessel. People managed it in the past but, my feeble attempts resulted in the pots exploding in the bonfire. Why? Because there was too much moisture in the clay and the pot walls expanded to breaking point when the water turns to steam.
      My tip – always plan your experiment carefully, never rush it or cut corners, think as you work, write stuff down and be prepared to repeat, with modifications if necessary, until you are successful.

    • Photo: Emma Crawford

      Emma Crawford answered on 5 Nov 2018: last edited 5 Nov 2018 8:24 pm

      As the others have already said, each experiment comes with its own level of difficulty and complexity! I definitely have learnt in my job never to underestimate a new request from a colleague or a client of “Can you just do XXX, it should be quick and easy!”, as sometimes the most simple requests end up being the most challenging.
      Working in clinical trials, each study can come with its own challenges – be it a novel design, multiple treatment comparisons, complex statistical methodologies and each study I am working on being at a different stage in their development there are several occasions where difficult or challenging problems can arise that I need to solve.
      One difficult study that I am currently working on involves over 15,000 patients! So far we have collected 1 years worth of data from them that we now need to analyse, present the results in tables and figures and then summarise in a report for our client.
      The difficulty here is there is a lot of data collected, and also quite a lot of data missing! So the challenge is coming up with the best way to present this data so we can provide meaningful interpretations to the client so they can compare patients with different respiratory diseases. Oh and did I mention that this study will be going on for another 3 years, we results being reported to the client after each year has passed as well as the full results from the 4 year study once it has ended! It makes my head spin wondering how much data we will have once it’s finished! :O

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