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1 - Asking Questions about Primates

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 September 2019

Joanna M. Setchell
Affiliation:
Durham University
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Summary

Like all science, studying primates is about asking the right questions in the right way. Most studies of primates fall within the life sciences, so I focus on the scientific method in this book. This chapter introduces how science works, then what it takes to be a primatologist. I outline the contents of the rest of the book and highlight the importance of keeping science healthy. I end by emphasising the need to respect other people and to promote inclusive science.

Type
Chapter
Information
Studying Primates
How to Design, Conduct and Report Primatological Research
, pp. 1 - 16
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2019

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References

Further Reading

Goldacre, B. 2009. Bad Science. London: Fourth Estate. An entertaining review of how the media misunderstands and misrepresents health research.Google Scholar

Further Reading

Kelly, CD. 2006. Replicating empirical research in behavioral ecology: How and why it should be done but rarely ever is. The Quarterly Review of Biology 81: 221236. https://doi.org/10.1086/506236. Explains why we need to replicate empirical studies and why we often don’t.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Munafò, MR, Smith, GD. 2018. Repeating experiments is not enough. Nature 553: 399401. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586–018-01023-3. A commentary on the need for triangulation.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nakagawa, S, Parker, TH. 2015. Replicating research in ecology and evolution: feasibility, incentives, and the cost-benefit conundrum. BMC Biology 13: 88. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915–015-0196-3. Advocates replication in ecology and evolution, explaining the various types of replication.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed

Further Reading

Evans, TM, Bira, L, Gastelim, JB, Weiss, LT, Vadnerford, NL. 2018. Evidence for a mental health crisis in graduate education. Nature Biotechnology 36: 282284. https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt.4089. Reports the results of a survey highlighting the serious problem with mental health in graduate students.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Guthrie, S, Lichten, CA, Van Belle, J, Ball, S, Knack, A, Hofman, J. 2017. Understanding Mental Health in the Research Environment: A Rapid Evidence Assessment. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation. www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR2022.html [Accessed 2 May 2019]. A review of the mental health challenges faced by academic staff, showing a lack of data but strong grounds for concern.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Levecque, K, Anseel, F, De Beuckelaer, A, Van der Huyden, J, Gisle, L. 2017. Work organization and mental health problems in PhD students. Research Policy 46: 868879. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2017.02.008. A study of mental health in Belgian PhD students showing one in two experiences psychological distress and one in three is at risk of a common psychiatric disorder, especially depression.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sohn, E. 2018. How to handle the dark days of depression. Nature 557: 267269. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586–018-05088-y. Stories and advice about mental health from researchers.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed

1.5 Further Reading

Altman, DG. 2012. Building a metaphor: Another brick in the wall? British Medical Journal 345: e8302. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.e8302. A comment on bricks and building metaphors for science.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ayala, FJ. 2009. Darwin and the scientific method. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 106: 1003310039. https://doi.org/10.1073.pnas.0901404106. Describes the hypothetico–deductive scientific method, with a focus on Darwin’s work.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Davies, NB. 2010. Birds, butterflies and behavioural ecology. In: Leaders in Animal Behavior: The Second Generation. Drickamer, LC, Dewsbury, D (eds.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 143164. An autobiographical essay in which Nick Davies (Professor of Behavioural Ecology at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of the Royal Society of London, UK) describes rushing into data collection at the beginning of his PhD, only to be brought to a standstill when his supervisor asked what his hypothesis was.Google Scholar
Hailman, JP, Strier, KB. 2006. Planning, Proposing, and Presenting Science Effectively. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Chapter 1 covers how science works.Google Scholar
Martin, P, Bateson, PPG. 2007. Measuring Behaviour: An Introductory Guide. 3rd edn. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Chapter 3 outlines the steps involved in the research process, focussing on studying animal behaviour.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moreno, E, Gutiérrez, J-M. 2008. Ten simple rules for aspiring scientists in a low-income country. PLoS Computational Biology 4: e1000024. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1000024. Proposes a set of rules for scientists to meet the challenges of building a scientific career in a low-income country.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nettle, D. 2018. Hanging on to the Edges: Essays on Science, Society and the Academic Life. Cambridge: Open Book Publishers. http://dx.doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0155. Essays on the highs and lows of life as an academic and a scientist, and on how to cope. Available for download free from the publisher.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ruelas, Inzunza E, Salazar-Rivera, GI, Láinez, M, Ruiz-Gómez, MG, Domínguez-Eusebio, CA, Cristóbal-Sánchez, G, et al. 2017. Ten simple rules for successfully completing a graduate degree in Latin America. PLoS Computational Biology 13: e1005682. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005682. Advice for students interested in postgraduate programmes in Latin America, including funding.Google Scholar
Tinbergen, N. 1963. On aims and methods of ethology. Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie 20: 410433. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0310.1963.tb01161.x. Outlines the four major questions we need to answer to understand a biological trait, two of which concern proximate mechanisms and two of which are ultimate in nature. The article focusses on behaviour, but the questions are just as useful for other traits.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wright, G. 2017. Academia Obscura: The Hidden Silly Side of Higher Education. For the lighter side of the academic experience. See also @AcademiaObscura on Twitter.Google Scholar

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