Friday, August 24, 2018

Finding The Right Pilot Study Equipment

By Daniel Peterson


By pretty much every objective measure, the world used to be empty. But it was not empty. There was plenty of nature around it. Were the world truly empty, then humankind would not have survived even a single generation. But because that nature was there, humanity got to wander around in it without any kind of permanent home. In fact, this nomadic lifestyle was exactly how humanity loved for upwards of ninety percent of its time in the world. Eventually though, it settled down. Instead of hunting and gathering to survive, it cultivated resources to thrive. Now, they learned through trial and error. But that was early humanity. Nowadays, modern humans have a little bit more trial in order to avoid the error, and they do it with pilot study equipment.

First off, a pilot study needs to be elaborated on. In essence, it is similar to a real experiment. But it is done on a scale that is significantly smaller. It will use fewer resources and involve far fewer test subjects.

Its purpose is simple. To find the flaws in the methodology before a larger scale experiment is put into motion. This helps prevent any waste in terms of time and money.

The fact of the matter is that the equipment needed will vary based on the needs of the various experiments. Specialized lab gear might also be needed for the natural sciences. But for the most part, there will have to be computers to record and monitor data. Not to mention software to run those computers. The thing is that there really is no concrete guideline for what kind of tools should and should not be used. In fact, a study can be done with a pen and paper.

However, what should be constant are the scientists themselves. They are the driving force behind any experimentation. They are the ones who are ultimately going to be responsible if things go wrong and if things go right.

In some cases, gear should be too difficult to come by. Things like computers and tablets are widely available, as pens and pads of paper. But there will be some stuff that may be a little bit harder to get hands on, such as machines that read and sequence DNA and all that other stuff.

During a pilot experiment, the things that are done are fairly similar to what is done during the actual experimentation. Just smaller. They record information, present their results and then build on those results as per the scientific method.

They are needed for one simple reason. A lot of time and money goes into research. Sometimes, the methods which a team will come up with will simply not be feasible. So they need to practice first.

Trial and error. That has been the way of people for centuries. That is unlikely to change now. After all, one must crawl before they can walk.




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