Methods
Section
What’s wrong with these?
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1) Take 25 µl of each sample and load them on a
10% polyacrylamide gel
2) Next I would take 25 µl of each sample and load
them on a 10% gel.
3) 25 µl of each of the 3 samples were then loaded on
a 10% polyacrylamide gel.
4) 1. Load 25 µl of each sample on a 10%
polyacrylamide gel.
2. Run the gel at 100 V for 30 minutes
3. Transfer the gel to nitrocellulose for one hour
at 70V.
5) Then we ran the proteins on a gel.
Answers
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1) Take 25 µl of each sample and load them on a 10% polyacrylamide
gel
 Do not tell the reader what to do, tell them what you did
2) Next I would take 25 µl of each sample and load them on a 10%
gel.
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3) 25 µl of each of the 3 samples were then loaded on a 10%
polyacrylamide gel.
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Avoid the first person; write in third person and past tense
4)
Don’t start sentences with numbers or abbreviations; also spell
out numbers less than 10
1. Load 25 µl of each sample on a 10%polyacrylamide gel.
2. Run the gel at 100 V for 30 minutes
3. Transfer the gel to nitrocellulose for one hour at 70V.
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Don’t make lists; describe what you did in a sentence
5) Then we ran the proteins on a gel.
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Slang
6) Twenty five µl of each sample was drawn up
and loaded onto the top of a 10%
polyacrylamide gel. Buffer was then added to
the upper and lower chambers and the
electrodes were connected. The samples
were then subjected to electrophoresis for one
hour at 120V.
7) Samples were subjected to electrophoresis
on a gel.
 Twenty five µl of each sample was drawn up and
loaded onto the top of a 10% polyacrylamide gel.
Buffer was then added to the upper and lower
chambers and the electrodes were connected. The
samples were then subjected to electrophoresis for
one hour at 120V.
Factually correct, but 3x the length necessary
 Samples were subjected to electrophoresis on a gel.
Too little detail
A better option..
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Twenty-five µl of each sample were loaded
onto a 10% polyacrylamide gel and
subjected to electrophoresis for one hour
at 120V.
Other notes..
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write in past tense (e.g. participants *were*
randomly assigned to…)
Use metric measurements in expressing units
and decimals to express numbers.
 Rather
than .5, use a zero before the decimal point,
0.5, to avoid confusion with a punctuation mark.
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Reference previously published measures or
procedures
 E.g.
Participants were administered the following
measures: the St.Onge Inventory (St. Onge et al.,
2009), the ….
Example of Table for Methods
Table 1
Group
AMPH
Experiments Performed
Manipulation
(dose, order administered)
d-amphetamine (0.50, 0.25, 0.125, 1.0 mg/kg)
SCH23390 (0.01, 0.005 mg/kg)
SCH23390 (0.01 mg/kg) + amphetamine (0.50 mg/kg)
Eticlopride (0.03, 0.01 mg/kg)
Eticlopride (0.01 mg/kg) + amphetamine (0.50 mg/kg)
D1/4
SKF81297 (0.30, 0.10, 1.0 mg/kg)
PD168,077 (1.0, 5.0, 0.50 mg/kg)
Acute free feeding
Long-term free feeding
D3/4
L745,870 (5.0, 1.0, 0.50 mg/kg)
L745,870 (5.0 mg/kg) + amphetamine (0.50 mg/kg)
Nafadotride (2.0, 1.0, 0.5 mg/kg)
Nafadotride (0.50 mg/kg) + amphetamine (0.50 mg/kg)
D2/3
Bromocriptine (5.0, 1.0 mg/kg)
PD128,907 (0.10, 0.50, 0.25 mg/kg)
Acute free feeding
Long-term free feeding
Grading Scheme /30 (/15)
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Appropriate Sections Included: (/6)
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At least Participants, Measures, Procedure, Data Analysis
Additional subheadings recommended but not required – need to
be referenced properly! (see handout)
Content and Grammar: (/18)
 Do
the sections include all information (or a statement
to the effect of what will be included)?
 Is the study understandable from what is described?
 When relevant, is reliability and validity information
included?
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Style: (/6)
 Includes APA formatting,
convey information
use of headings, etc. to