BIOL368/F11:Class Journal Week 3

Week 3 Assignment

Alex Cardenas

1. I am becoming more comfortable when working with online databases and tools during the in-class activity. It was hard starting off and getting use to some of the programs especially when dealing with all this information. Just working with the online databases would help increase my comfort level more.
2. The easiest aspect of reading and understanding the article was the beginning. The abstract helped in that it gave an overview of article.
3. The most difficult aspect of reading and understand the article was the vast majority of information given and trying to recall every detail and method that was used. Some of the wording was difficult as well.

Alex A. Cardenas 19:56, 20 September 2011 (EDT)

Robert W. Arnold

1. At first, I had a lot of trouble using the BioWorkBench program. As I continued to familiarize myself with the program, I began to gain confidence in how to work it. Towards the end of the assignment, I was very confident in manipulating the software. However, I was not confident in the software performing as I wanted it to. I had to deal with multiple crashes and had to reboot the software numerous times. I would say that the more I work with each software and see how to manipulate it more would make me more comfortable with it.
2. The easiest aspects of the Markham article for me were the results and figures. I am very much a visual learner and being able to see the information I had read about be put in front of me in a nice, detailed graph really allows me to grasp the concepts. Also, it allows me to see the correlation between certain statistics by seeing them plotted.
3. The hardest part of the article I would have to say was the abstract. At the beginning, there is a bunch of scientific jargon that does not have much meaning early on. Later in the article by reading into context you are able to determine was "seroconversion" means but early on it is confusing. The toughest things for me were the vocabulary and the dryness of the writing, however, that is how good scientific research is.

Robert W Arnold 23:53, 20 September 2011 (EDT)

Chris Rhodes

1. Having spent my last semester working with bioinformatics tools and databases such as GenBank, Apollo, GBrowser, Consed, and Blast for HHMI I'm very comfortable using online databases, but of course there are still plenty of tools and databases I've never had any experience with so there's always more to learn.
2. I think the easiest aspect of reading the Markham paper was probably the results and discussion sections. Unlike the other sections that were very protocol heavy and contained a lot of science speak the results and discussion sections were presented in a much more understandable and followable way.
3. As I kind of said above the most difficult part of reading the paper was cutting through all the mysterious science terms. It's hard to actually be able to interpret what they're telling you and keep a steady forward flow when you have to consult a dictionary every other sentence.

Chris H. Rhodes 23:06, 20 September 2011 (EDT)

Nicolette Harmon

1. At the beginning of class I was uncomfortable using the databases since I was unfamiliar with them, but by the end of the class I would say I was very comfortable using the various Workbench tools. I am not as comfortable with using GenBank, however my comfort level can improve by using the database more frequently.
2. The easiest way for me to understand this article was to read the abstract and discussion first. This method worked for me because the methods and results sections can often become confusing with all of the information they are presenting you. Knowing the beginning and the end helped me make sense of what was supposed to be going on in the middle.
3. The most difficult aspect of understanding this article was trying to interpret the data produced. I couldn't figure out where the data in the Results came from and how it was calculated.

Nicolette S. Harmon 23:42, 20 September 2011 (EDT)

Zeb Russo

1. So far I'm comfortable since this is roughly what I did in Bio Databases. But we seem to be going in a different direct so we'll see.
2. The introduction and results are usually the easiest for me to read.
3. Methods is usually the hardest due to how dense the technical language gets.

Zeb Russo 00:42, 21 September 2011 (EDT)

Isaiah M. Castaneda

1. There is no doubt that upon starting this activity, I had no idea what I was doing or what I was looking at. By continuing to proceed, I gradually grasped what was going on. By the end, I was enjoying myself and in another zone. Still, I do feel I have an incomplete understanding of the tasks performed. Some supplemental reading along with additional practice should do the trick.
2. The article was very well organized. Although densely packed with significant information, the organization of the paper made it a breeze to understand. Each section was clearly labeled and the composition was easy to follow. Overall, there was a decent amount of detail surrounding key methods, observations, or insights.
3. The article dives deeper into HIV than I have ever gone before. Nearly everything presented was brand new to me. This lack of previous knowledge as well as inexperience with DNA sequencing lab procedures is what makes the information most hard to take in.

Isaiah M. Castaneda 01:42, 21 September 2011 (EDT)

Samantha M. Hurndon

1. I would say I was pretty confused at first. I felt I was moving kind of slow and I had to stay about an hour after lab to finish. I understood everything, I just had to take it slow. I think the only way to get better with these things, is to keep doing assignments. The more I do the easier it becomes.
2. The Markman article was hard for me in general. I need to broaden my vocabulary because I noticed that I was using a dictionary every second. If I had to say what was the easiest I guess I would say the tables/figures, I'm a visual person so looking at those helped me understand the results better.
3. I think the most difficult thing for me was trying to differentiate on what is really important to put in my outline and what isn't. I always feel like everything is important. The paper is very detailed. Which is good, but it was hard for me to understand.

Samantha M. Hurndon 04:46, 21 September 2011 (EDT)