The Experimental Section: The Key to Longevity of Your Research

O ne of the greatest compliments anyone can give your published work is to reproduce it and build upon it.Your discovery starts to take on a life of its own, which is one of the strongest indicators that your work is meaningful, broadly speaking, to the scientific community.Seeing that others have learned from your own scientific research effort, and accompanying sweat, tears, and sheer hard work, is incredibly satisfying.While citations are important, it is about how many people you, in essence, have taught and now do what you do.For others to "do what you do", an excellent experimental section is an essential component of your published paper.Science can only progress if you, as an author, are as open and inclusive with respect to details as possible, to enable future readers to learn from you, and build upon your work.The scientific endeavor involves the discovery and creation of new ideas.Many of these do not stand the test of time and are abandoned, and those with merit are adopted and built upon.This effort is difficult and painstakingly slow and, unfortunately, is made even slower when experimental sections in many papers in a field are missing crucial details that enable successful replication, or worse, are critically flawed in a manner that is not apparent from the description of the experimental details.Only after wasting time trying to repeat the work does it become obvious that it is not reproducible.Irreproducible papers can cause enormous and undocumented harm because of the time wasted in the lab, or in silico, in the case of theoretical work.Those most affected tend to be younger scientists, the graduate students and postdoctoral associates working at the bench; the long-term impacts of their ensuing frustration can go beyond "simply" impeding their progress toward a degree or a job, as it could lead to their disillusionment with science altogether.There are only two reasons we can see that result in irreproducible papers, and neither is particularly flatteringone is sheer carelessness, and the other is a misguided attempt at obtaining or maintaining a competitive advantage.The latter, intentionally withholding critical details, can only result in very short-term gains (i.e., your peers cannot replicate your results, thus slowing their progress), but very profound long-term lossesyour work has no impact within the scientific community, and your future papers are viewed with a skeptical eye, or simply ignored.Experimental sections are, therefore, key to the longevity and continued impact of your research.So, how does one approach writing this critical section?Since your research is novel and original, you, the authors of the manuscript, are the only ones in the world who, at present, know how to carry out your experiments.Papers should never sweep important, and sometimes subtle, details under the rug.In new and emerging