The Research Team Meeting: Functional, And Often Fun
A key part of the scientific method not often mentioned in textbooks is the group meeting. At these gatherings, researchers at all levels working in the same lab share their results, ideas, and experiences.
Group meetings are a vital training ground, at which young investigators learn the art of public speaking, which is so much a part of science. For a young graduate student, criticism coming from familiar faces can help build the thick skin needed to take him or her through a career that will bring with it at least some rejection. Listeners learn to ask good questions, another vital scientific skill.
"The purpose of a group meeting is for the speaker to collect his or her thoughts on an area and get helpful suggestions, find out where the holes are, and how to go on to the next step. It ...
