Honours: Expectation versus reality

Launching into Honours, I had a few preconceived ideas of what it would be like. In this edition of WLLL*, I’m sharing some of the expectations I had and what my Honours experience has really been like!

Expectation: My research question would remain the same from start to finish.

Reality: My research question has changed.

I have been reassured that this often happens in Honours projects and scientific research in general. You have a question you want to answer and a hypothesis, but they can change based on the data you collect from experiments. The results might be unexpected, or point in another direction, or highlight something interesting to pursue. I am having to tweak the focus of my project following my first series of experiments, based on the data I have analysed – but that’s exciting! Investigating the unknown is one of the things that makes research so fascinating and engaging, and it’s great to be flexible enough to pursue an interesting idea or try an experiment that I hadn’t considered when I started out.

Expectation: Super stressful year.

Reality: Not that stressful.

Completing an Honours project in less than a year is a challenge, and I was prepared for bouts of nervous twitching, and caffeine-fuelled stress. Personally, I have not found Honours to be terribly stressful. While it is hard work, and there are small daily stresses such as an experiments not working or a writing deadline getting closer, Honours is enjoyable and I find coming into the lab every weekday and working solidly on my project far more motivating and satisfying than attending classes and having many assignments and exams all at once. It also helps having a supportive lab to work with and great supervisors!

Expectation: Steep learning curve.

Reality: Very steep learning curve.

Honours was like starting a new job – except not only did I have to learn where the toilets and printers were, I also needed to learn different protocols, where all the reagents and chemicals are kept, which chemicals are hazardous, how to use the equipment, how to look after my cells, how to make solutions and buffers from scratch – and the list goes on. However, there is no time for inertia in Honours and eventually my confidence grew. While these skills are an important part of working in a lab, they are just the beginning! Designing effective experiments which answer my aim, and having the appropriate controls, are also skills I have had to learn and am still developing, as I progress through Honours. Then there was the first time I had to troubleshoot an experiment, which was when I realised that Honours was totally different from any experience I’d had before, and while working to optimise my protocol was a challenge, it gave me a fulfilling sense of ownership over my project. Another critical part of research that I am learning is how to analyse my results. I think that figuring out what to do with the data I collect, and the best way to present it for other people to understand, will be one of the most valuable skills I will gain through Honours and will continue to evolve over time. Whenever I stop to think about how much I have learned (and am continuing to learn!) in such a short period of time, I am amazed. As Emily remarked in her blog post, Honours is about learning how to learn – and I think that if the learning curve was a gentle incline it wouldn’t be nearly as rewarding!

*Editor’s note: The full form of WLLL is What Lab Life is Like.

Lauren Sullivan (@lo_sullivan) is an Honours Student. This story was published on July 28, 2017, on the Crossley Lab Blog (available here), and has been republished here with permission.