Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Questioning the Research Question: A Collapsing House of Cards

Hey readers!

After some extensive meetings with Mrs. Haag last week (thank you so much, Mrs. Haag), I figured out how to organize my literature review in a logical and cohesive order compared to my previous blogpost. I came into this class with a set way of thinking about my research from my previous work, which was governing how I wrote my outline. I was having difficulty considering how someone new to the research needed the information presented to understand it.

RIP Bird Gang
Much like the Cardinals this past week, I felt like I had so many chances to win -- to make a great outline -- but I fell short. I threw an interception in the red zone (I'm looking directly at you, Carson Palmer). I couldn't pick up a forced fumble and ended up kicking it out of bounds (Ehem, Tyrann Mathieu). At least I didn't have any fans to disappoint (Wait, but are you, my blog readers, the fans in this complex and extraneous metaphor? In that case, I'm sorry!). Now, the focus moves on to redemption -- the LA Rams and an official literature review outline due 10/7.

In the meantime, I am forming my preliminary research question based on the information I have compiled and the gaps in the research I have found. Here's what I envision for my research question: "To what extent is HemaDrop™ a viable method for determining blood composition by making a uniform, solid, and analyzable film from microliters of blood?"

Here why I decided on this question:

  1. Scope: The scope of my research has been quite narrow from the beginning, as I am working  on a specific technology (HemaDrop™). Additionally, this research doesn't start out with the aim to create the perfect formulation of HemaDrop. Instead, the goal is to assess the efficacy of the technology in its current form and provide potential improvements based on the conversation between the literature and the results of the feasibility experiments. In this way, the final product of my research will not be judged exactly on if I create a successful product for microliter blood analysis, as much more will be required than the scope of an AP Research project. 
  2. Key Terms:
    • HemaDrop™: method for solid-based microliter blood analysis 
    • Viable: Provide necessary quantitative information about blood composition including elemental and molecular composition, as a flexible method for creating samples for different techniques. 
    • Uniform: different spots on the sample should not yield different compositions. 
    • Solid: Only solid films are analyzable in vacuum, which is what most techniques require 
  3. Variables: For my experiments, I am testing the viability of the analysis based on the quantitative results. This is the response variable. In my research, the explanatory variable are the properties of the substrate (composition, coating, etc) and the analysis technique. Based on the substrate properties, once the composition of the blood or saline solution is determined, the composition values of they are known could be used to compute the accuracy of the measurements, along with the error. 
  4. Research-ability: I had some researchability concerns about the amount of analysis techniques I would have to look into, since I envision my methods creating a bunch of samples prepared in different ways (e.g., type of coating, substrate, etc.). There would be far too many combinations to test. For this reason, after talking to Dr. Herbots (my mentor), I will test 3, or a maximum of 4, analysis techniques (the best ones I determine based on the literature review). I have several sources which describe the advantages and limitations of the analysis techniques. By limiting the number of analysis techniques I will examine, I can make sure that the experiments I conduct are not too many, but also capture the full complexity of the research to come to an insightful conclusion. I see myself answering the question by comparing the results (accuracy, precision, etc) of using analysis techniques on various samples with canine blood, saline, and human blood. The comparison of these techniques will demonstrate how viable HemaDrop substrates are for making a uniform film of blood that can be analyzed by a variety of techniques.
  5. Gap: There has been no successful implementation of microliter blood analysis thus far. Theranos has attempted liquid microliter blood analysis, but failed. The limitations of milliliter blood analysis create a clear need for microliter blood analysis, so a clear gap exists in the biomedical industry and in the care for patients. This research aims to fill this void and successfully perform microliter blood analysis. By applying concepts like superhydrophilicity and vacuum-based analysis techniques, HemaDrop aims to create a uniform analyzable film of blood from drops.
  6. Significance: The signficance of this research is the creation of microliter blood analysis. The reduced volumes of blood is reduced discomfort in patients who undergo blood testing. Additionally, the problem of hospital-acquired anemia will also be mitigated in critically ill patients. By using less blood, doctors also can test patients more often to assess their diagnosis and monitor their conditions. Finally, the cost of microliter blood analysis will be less than milliliter blood analysis. 

Let's get back to the NFC Championship Game and back to rolling with research!

Cheers,
YP

(863)

7 comments:

  1. I must say Yash, doesn't it feel just so satisfying when you finish your blog post the night before it is due so you don't have to worry about doing it the same day...

    Sarcasm aside though, I'm really glad that you were able to look at your research from a new perspective. I think that often times when we spend so much time working on our projects, we grow accustomed to them and stop thinking about how others may perceive something that to us seems so obvious.

    Focusing now on your research question, I think that you did a good job in creating a very precise field of inquiry that you want to study. While that was good, one aspect of your question that I think may need some work is the beginning where you say "to what extent." How I see it, in order to answer this question, I would think that you would need a baseline comparison of current blood analysis techniques to compare how effective Hemadrop is in comparison, because otherwise I think that it will be difficult to quantify its effectiveness. Other than that though, for the time given to right this, I think that you did a solid job in justifying your question.

    Lastly, I think that depressingly accurate football analogy you made towards the beginning of your post resonates with all of us.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Whassup Yash?!

    I was going to make this entire blog post a joke about the Cardinals, but I remembered last second that the Texans were just as bad (but which one of us has a winning record). Anyways, onto something useful and relevant: your blog post.

    I think its great that you're just continuing with the HemaDrop program, because you already have a solid methodology and you know your feasibility very well, so I'm not going to focus on that much at all. I agree with Brian that the "to what extent" needs to be specified more, and that it seems very vague right now, but I'm sure you can fix that easily. Other than that, I don't know if you're already planning on doing this, but I think discussing what Theranos did and why they failed would be something really interesting to read about in your Literature Review. Besides that, I really like the direction you're going in, and I cant wait to hear more about it in class!

    (170)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Discussion in class with Amaan & Brian: "To what extent" part of question is unclear -- what I meant is I need to make sure that my literature review looks at the precision and accuracy of the methods currently available. This connects to Bartels, et al in that a new technology is only viable if it presents something new to the market while maintaining the same accuracy. Also, I need to emphasize that testing the analysis techniques serves the purpose of maximizing the analysis we can do on a single sample to get the most information. This is the power of HemaDrop.

    ReplyDelete
  4. "To what extent is HemaDrop™ a viable method for determining blood composition by making a uniform, solid, and analyzable film from microliters of blood?"

    Okay, so I agree with Brian and Amaan, but for different reasons, I think. "To what extent" forces you to isolate an extent, which I don't really think that you're doing. You're not looking for what extent it can be used; instead, you're looking for how to maximize uniformity and thus precision, which would render Hemadrop a usable technology for blood analysis, so I think you've got to completely rewrite it. It's like your question is jumping to the conclusion and significance instead of asking the information you're actually looking for. Let me know what you think of what I'm saying.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How can HemaDrop™ optimize uniformity and analyzability of solid films created by congealing of microliters of blood on substrates with high surface-energy coatings and surface topography?

      Delete
    2. Better question -- What properties of high surface-energy coatings and surface topography allow HemaDrop™ to optimize uniformity and analyzability of solid films created by congealing microliters of blood on substrates?

      Delete