Stephen Westland

I did not realize when I ordered this book that it is a textbook for Ph.D. students, however the topic appealed to me and I hope to be able to use what it teaches. I am not trained in any scientific disciplines but my hobbies have often mingled people of scientific and non-scientific backgrounds - specifically, growing carnivorous plants and saltwater reef-keeping (yes, unusual hobbies; I know). In both hobbies it is not uncommon to see hobbyists offering advice on online forums to others, saying they did x or y to their plants or aquarium and got z result. Unfortunately, where there has not been a lot of scientifically-based research, this good-intentioned but sometimes flawed advice is what frequently passes as "Truth."

This book describes how to apply scientific principles of experimentation to situations to improve the information learned. In spite of my non-scientific (business) background I found it easily readable (if a bit long-winded sometimes). The sections on using statistics are probably beyond my needs (especially since it's been a LONG time since I took statistics) but I appreciated the sections on designing experiments and measuring and interpreting data. Overall, it's more broad-based and technical than I needed (especially since my efforts - when I finally get around to them - will be mostly for personal edification) but it's still some useful principles to keep in mind, even for a simple hobbyist.… (mehr)