Resources
On this page, you will find various videos to skills you should know before going into lab, as well as resources to help you find a research group and succeed in lab!
In the Lab
It is useful to familiarize yourself with their design and usage before entering a lab. Watch these videos to learn more about handling glassware:
The videos below detail the different ways to clean glassware in a lab, and the proper way to do so.
It may be confusing how to dispose of certain chemical waste into its assigned receptacle. The videos below highlight the proper way to dispose of all liquid and solid waste.
Basic lab safety is very important to keep yourself and your peers in the lab safe. Each lab has specific safety rules that researchers should adhere to, but there are universal lab safety rules. Watch the video below to learn more!
Titration is an important laboratory method to know. Titrations are used to determine an unknown concentration in a sample. The video below show the correct technique to perform a titration.
Measuring the pH of a solution is another important laboratory procedure. pH is a scale used to represent hydrogen ion concentration with below 7 meaning basic (higher hydrogen ion concentration) and above 7 meaning acidic (lower hydrogen ion concentration). Check out this website to learn more!
It is important to properly weigh substances when performing experiments to get the most accurate results.
Presenting Results
Most faculty lab groups have PowerPoint slides dedicated to their lab, but the one common denominator is the way your research is eventually presented.
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Most of us have had to make a graph before. However, it is important that everything is included (including axis titles, correct minimums and maximums, etc.) |
Most scientific publishings are cited using Harvard style. The videos below explain some resources such as Zotero, Mendeley (which can be downloaded onto your laptop) and Easybib, which are both citation managers.
Scientific writing can be difficult but is very important to communicate ideas with other researchers. The resources below will help you write scientific papers to convey your research effectively.
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Excel is a powerful tool to analyze scientific data. Excel can be used to produce graphs and run statistical tests. These resources provide information on how to run statistical tests and create graphs in Excel. |
Extra Resources
Most faculty (including our very own Dr. Brumback) recommend signing up for a free subscription to scientific magazines such as Nature. This allows you to receive scientific publishings and read them for your own learning, as well as prepare yourself for any reading you will have to do in lab research.
Applying for grants and scholarships can be daunting. Here are some resources to guide you through the process.
