BIOL368/S20:Class Journal Week 5
Madeleine King
- What is your comfort level when working with the bioinformatics tools during the in-class activity? What would increase your comfort level?
- My comfort level is fine working with the bioinformatics tools during in-class activity. Nothing would really increase my comfort level. Maybe some screenshots in the protocol? But honestly, the instructions are written out very well.
- Did the in-class discussion of the journal article enhance your understanding of the article? Why or why not?
- Yes, the in-class discussion definitely enhanced my understanding of the article. I didn’t catch a lot of the key limitations of the article. There’s definitely different levels of reading the article. I was more focused on understanding the data and able to restate what they performed and what their key findings were, instead of analyzing their tables, graphs, and what they did to their data.
- Have your views about what it means to do original research in biology changed as a result of discussing this article? Why or why not?
- Yes, it changed what it means to do original research in biology. I previously thought it was very linear, and you just read previous papers and follow on their data and ideas and eventually come with one on your own somehow. However, a lot of it is challenging or analyzing their data, and wondering how you can improve it or notice any limitations they have and therefore, follow up on their experiments.
- What are the characteristics that you look for in a team member for a successful group project?
- The characteristics I look for in a team member include being able to communicate, being responsible with their part of the project, as well as not procrastinating to the very last minute.
Mking44 (talk) 10:58, 17 February 2020 (PST)
Jack Menzagopian
- I was pretty comfortable using the bioinformatics tools in class this week. The instructions were straightforward and navigating the programs was pretty intuitive. I could probably get better by using them more but I'm already comfortable with them.
- Yes it did. Listening to my classmates thoughts on the article helped me understand it because I was able to essentially read it from multiple perspectives through their questions and comments.
- The discussion about the article showed me how much more complicated it was to do original research than I originally thought. To come up with an experiment that can adequately test a hypothesis and to convey results in a way that is easy to understand isn't as straightforward as it may seem, especially when dealing with something as complicated as HIV and human subjects.
- I like team members who can carry their weight and are able to give and take a lot of criticism about thoughts and ideas for a project.
Jmenzago (talk) 15:00, 17 February 2020 (PST)
Christina Dominguez
What is your comfort level when working with the bioinformatics tools during the in-class activity? What would increase your comfort level? At first, I was uneasy about working with the bioinformatics tools due to not knowing how difficult it would be to navigate especially with data from a paper which could sometimes be a bit messy or hard to understand. However, I felt that after this class and assignment, I feel comfortable enough to use these tools. I also feel comfortable with the data as well knowing that it is understable in how it is organized.
Did the in-class discussion of the journal article enhance your understanding of the article? Why or why not? Yes, the in class discussion helped me to understand the article a lot more. I felt that listening to other students present their figure and also having a discussion with the professor after helped to clarify anything that was confusing about their methods in particular.
Have your views about what it means to do original research in biology changed as a result of discussing this article? Why or why not? Sometimes I have a very narrow view of research in biology by thinking it always has to do with in vitro experiments that barely if ever involve human subjects unless for a new drug. However, reading and analyzing this article is refreshing since I feel that it serves of a very crucial importance to all of the population in understanding a devastating disease.
What are the characteristics that you look for in a team member for a successful group project? I look for a team member that is responsible and timely. Responsibility is key in getting the appropriate amount of work done when divided among people. Timeliness is also important so that each person is always accountable for what they are supposed to do when it is decided among the group to be finished by.
Cdominguez (talk) 18:08, 17 February 2020 (PST)
Maya Paniagua
What is your comfort level when working with the bioinformatics tools during the in-class activity? What would increase your comfort level?
- My comfort level when working with the bioinformatics tools from class was average. To increase my comfort level I would want to figure out a more efficient way to process my data. For instance a more efficient way of counting the number of differences between sequences.
Did the in-class discussion of the journal article enhance your understanding of the article? Why or why not?
- Yes the in-class discussion of the journal article did enhance my understanding of the article because through that discussion I was made aware of some criticisms others had about the paper, opening my eyes to future projects that could occur from their data.
Have your views about what it means to do original research in biology changed as a result of discussing this article? Why or why not?
- My views have been widened through reading and discussing this article because it made me aware of the fact that those conducting their research should have justification for every choice they make and also a researcher is able to present their data a certain way to make it portray an idea that might not be as drastic as believed to be.
What are the characteristics that you look for in a team member for a successful group project?
- I look for a team member who is organized and able to communicate well. The team will only work if we are able to communicate what we want to do and how we are going to do it.
Mpaniag1 (talk) 13:40, 19 February 2020 (PST)
Annika Dinulos
What is your comfort level when working with the bioinformatics tools during the in-class activity? What would increase your comfort level?
- My comfort level when working with the bioinformatics tools was fine, I was able to follow the instructions and come up with the product that we wanted to see. Clear instructions always make me feel better about using an unfamiliar tool.
Did the in-class discussion of the journal article enhance your understanding of the article? Why or why not?
- Yes, the in-class discussion of the article helped we understand, especially some of the trees and the more confusing parts of the table. I liked being able to hear about the information from the POV of a peer as well.
Have your views about what it means to do original research in biology changed as a result of discussing this article? Why or why not?
- I liked that this assignment helped me expand my views about different kinds of original research. The article and the research highlights the fact that whatever you're studying doesn't have to necessarily involve a cure, but could be beneficial to better understanding what may be very complicated and novel.
What are the characteristics that you look for in a team member for a successful group project?
- I look for a team member that is accountable, responsible and detail-oriented. I like being able to openly communicate with my partner and to work together to come up with a product that we are happy with.
Adinulos (talk) 13:48, 19 February 2020 (PST)
Carolyn Egekeze
- What is your comfort level when working with the bioinformatics tools during the in-class activity? What would increase your comfort level?
- I was comfortable with using the bioinformatics tools for the in-class activity since many of the tools I had previously used before. I think the only thing that will increase my comfort level is to continue using the tools so I get acclimated to the.
- Did the in-class discussion of the journal article enhance your understanding of the article? Why or why not?
- I think discussing the journal article in class was helpful because there were many things that I either looked over or did not understand completely when I read it alone. I also really liked how confusing things were explained in a way that I could understand through our discussion.
- Have your views about what it means to do original research in biology changed as a result of discussing this article? Why or why not?
- My views about what it means to do original research in biology haven't changed much from discussing this article because I knew that there is a wide variety of methods that can be employed in biology research. One thing that did shift my viewpoint a little was learning about the difficulties in setting up a clinical study and learning more about how original research can be done using existing sets of data.
- What are the characteristics that you look for in a team member for a successful group project?
- When doing a group project, I look for team members who are hardworking, organized, communicative, amiable, and collaborative. I think its also important for team members to have good conflict resolution skills just in case disagreements arise.
Carolyne (talk) 14:58, 19 February 2020 (PST)
Nicholas Yeo
- What is your comfort level when working with the bioinformatics tools during the in-class activity? What would increase your comfort level?
- The bioinformatics tools seemed daunting at first, but as I started to read the instructions and use them for myself I found them to be pretty easy to use. The steps laid out in the protocol were clear and easy to follow; however, a lot of the steps were tedious, such as having to copy and paste every sequence, or having to count the amount of subjects. Shortcuts to find or upload these types of information would make me more comfortable in using these bioinformatics tools.
- Did the in-class discussion of the journal article enhance your understanding of the article? Why or why not?
- The in-class discussion of the journal article helped me understand the article a lot more because each student may interpret the data differently, or may notice things that another student may miss. It is important to criticize and analyze the data, rather than just reading what is in the article. Furthermore, having the input and responses of the professor was validating in our observations, and they offered novel ways of looking at the data.
- Have your views about what it means to do original research in biology changed as a result of discussing this article? Why or why not?
- I think that now I have a lot more respect for those who conduct studies in biology. Evidently, it is very difficult to come up with and test an interesting but plausible hypothesis. A lot of factors may affect the data, and it seems that not every experiment goes to plan. It is then the job of the researcher to make sense of the data at hand, and explain it in a way that is accessible to others who do not know much about the subject.
- What are the characteristics that you look for in a team member for a successful group project?
- My ideal team member would be communicative, proactive, and responsible in what they contribute to the assignment.
Nyeo2 (talk) 10:42, 20 February 2020 (PST)
Drew Cartmel
What is your comfort level when working with the bioinformatics tools during the in-class activity? What would increase your comfort level?
- This is the first time I have used bioinformatics tools like this so my initial comfort level with using them was pretty low, however following the instructions set fourth in the week 5 outline made the process of learning how to use them much smoother. What would increase my comfort level with these tools would be more practice using them with similar sets of data to those that were analyzed in class.
Did the in-class discussion of the journal article enhance your understanding of the article? Why or why not?
- Yes, the in-class discussion of the article did enhance my understanding of the article as a whole. Particularly, I gained a better understanding of the importance of the dS/dN ratios and how these values were used to compare the subjects from the three different groups.
Have your views about what it means to do original research in biology changed as a result of discussing this article? Why or why not?
- Yes, I would say that my views about what it means to do original research in biology have changed after discussing this article. I now see how much work needs to be invested into carrying out such a study as well as how difficult it must have been for the researchers in this article to control for possible confounding variables such as some of their subjects not reliably following up years after they started the study.
What are the characteristics that you look for in a team member for a successful group project?
- The characteristics that I look for in a team member for a successful group project would be a person that is reliable, honest, and hardworking. In terms of being reliable, a good team member should be willing to contribute their fair share of the workload in completing the project. In terms of honesty, a good team member should refrain from plagiarism or cheating and attempt to create their own original work. Lastly, in terms of being hardworking, a good team member should be willing to put their best effort into their contributions to the project.
Dcartmel (talk) 18:56, 19 February 2020 (PST)
Karina Vescio
- What is your comfort level when working with the bioinformatics tools during the in-class activity? What would increase your comfort level?
- At first I was a little bit confused and had to discuss with my partners, but the more I practice, the more comfortable I get using the bioinformatic tools. I think I will continue to get better as the course goes on.
- Did the in-class discussion of the journal article enhance your understanding of the article? Why or why not?
- Yes, the in-class discussion of the article did enhance my understanding because some of the questions I had were discussed and answered.
- Have your views about what it means to do original research in biology changed as a result of discussing this article? Why or why not?
- Yes, my views about research in general have changed since beginning this course. It is interesting how much false information is out there. I have been able to better identify good research from poor research ever since this class began. I have also learned what it means to do original research and how difficult it can be. Even science has a bias, because the people conducting the experiments are only human.
- What are the characteristics that you look for in a team member for a successful group project?
- I look for someone who is easy to talk to and understands the material. I also look for people who are motivated and who I know will put effort into the project.
Kvescio (talk) 17:54, 19 February 2020 (PST)
Jenny Chua
What is your comfort level when working with the bioinformatics tools during the in-class activity? What would increase your comfort level?
The protocol was very well written out and easy to follow, so that definitely increased my comfort, especially with the volume of work we had to complete. Perhaps some screenshots of what our pages ought to look like, for instance when clustering data, might have been helpful, as well as a tool for how to calculate a harmonic sum. (thanks Annika!) I also think some examples of past projects might have been helpful in formulating our own ideas on where to go and how to run with whatever idea we had.
Did the in-class discussion of the journal article enhance your understanding of the article? Why or why not?
The discussion definitely helped my understanding. I can only read (and re-read) so many times, but at the end of the day, I can only come up with as many understandings and interpretations as just one person, so hearing the collective thoughts from the class and Dr. Dahlquist helped guide my understanding and inspiration for the next project.
Have your views about what it means to do original research in biology changed as a result of discussing this article? Why or why not?
Not really, I think an argument can be made that almost all biological research is based on ideas from previous work and uses those resources and references plentifully. Though, I will say that I think it is really cool how we are creating our own research projects based off of just data, not a combination of any of the other parts of a paper.
What are the characteristics that you look for in a team member for a successful group project?
I look for someone who is diligent, easy to talk to, is able to meet me at my pace (or vice versa) in order to fully grasp the material, and someone who is fun in the sense that they do not let "bad" stress get to them and are still able to be optimistic even though we may encounter some difficulties.
Jennymchua (talk) 20:54, 19 February 2020 (PST)
Nathan On
What is your comfort level when working with the bioinformatics tools during the in-class activity? What would increase your comfort level?
- I felt pretty comfortable working the bioinformatics tools we used in class. While following the instructions, I found it pretty easy to find the information and data that I was looking for as well as have general idea of what was going on. I'm sure using the tools more and having more practice will increase my comfort level.
Did the in-class discussion of the journal article enhance your understanding of the article? Why or why not?
- I found the in-class discussion helpful in clearing up some confusion of the article. While I did not initially finding the article that convoluted or complicated, the discussion helped strengthen my understanding of the finer points of the article.
Have your views about what it means to do original research in biology changed as a result of discussing this article? Why or why not?
- My views on original research have not really changed after reading this article. I have always believed that any research started with a question with a means by which it could be answered. The article does not really contradict that view since these researchers used that very principle.
What are the characteristics that you look for in a team member for a successful group project?
- The main characteristics I look for in a team member are good communication and meaningful contribution. As long as my team members contribute to the project and communicate their thoughts and ideas, I am satisfied.
Non (talk) 21:21, 19 February 2020 (PST)
Sahil Patel
- What is your comfort level when working with the bioinformatics tools during the in-class activity? What would increase your comfort level?
- My comfort level using bioinformatics tools during in class activities is pretty high and the fact that we work as a team really helps.
- Did the in-class discussion of the journal article enhance your understanding of the article? Why or why not?
- The in class discussion of the journal article was the most helpful thing for me, especially since this is still a highly researched topic.
- Have your views about what it means to do original research in biology changed as a result of discussing this article? Why or why not?
- Yes, my views on original research has changed. Before, I assumed that original research meant doing an entirely new topic but now I understand that there is always so much more to be researched on currently studied areas.
- What are the characteristics that you look for in a team member for a successful group project?
- I look for a good attitude and a willingness to work as a team to accomplish a common task in the best way possible.
Sahil Patel (talk) 23:27, 19 February 2020 (PST)
Lizzy Urbina
- What is your comfort level when working with the bioinformatics tools during the in-class activity? What would increase your comfort level?
- I feel comfortable working in class, because of the availability of resources if I ever have a question or stuck in the process but still a lot of room for improvement.
- Did the in-class discussion of the journal article enhance your understanding of the article? Why or why not?
- It was very helpful to discuss and clarify some questions I had, and also notice some details that I missed that gave rise to other questions.
- Have your views about what it means to do original research in biology changed as a result of discussing this article? Why or why not?
- It did not really change my view about doing original research but it was a good tool to see how data and information of different projects can overlap and create a better picture.
- What are the characteristics that you look for in a team member for a successful group project?
- some of the characteristics I consider important are: Positivism, responsible, kind, team worker, and creative.
