12 F R E D M. U B E R 



"The ideal problem for a beginner should be capable of statement, on a 

 priori grounds, in the form of several alternatives; all the logically possible 

 answers to the questions may be advantageously erected into hypotheses, 

 and these may be tested in order. This sort of a problem conduces to logical 

 thinking and must leave its sterling mark upon the mind in later years. 

 Furthermore it is economical of energy and time, and the end of the chosen 

 piece of work is more or less clearly in view at the beginning. To bring a 

 problem into this condition requires, of course, a large amount of thought at 

 the outset. . . . 



"The satisfactory problem must, of course, be capable of e.xperimental 

 treatment with the knowledge and facilities which are available. The be- 

 ginner should not be called upon to devote too much time and energy to the 

 devising of methods and the obtaining of apparatus. If he be misled in this 

 he almost surely becomes more interested in the methods than in the results 

 obtained by their employment. This does not imply that the methods to be 

 used should all be familiar to the worker at the start, only that they should 

 be accessible in the literature, so that he need not actually devise them. 



"Apparent importance to the science as a whole is a very important 

 criterion in our series. For the best results in all ways, the selected question 

 should be one that interests both the theoretical and the practical worker. . . . 

 The question of the theoretical importance of a given problem is not so easily 

 settled as is that of its practical weight; it requires something of a prophet to 

 judge rightly in this regard. A good way to attack this question is to ask, 

 will any chapter of the science (as it stands at present) be fundamentally 

 altered by the proposed study? ... A superficial study of a little-known 

 relation is often as important in the development of a science as is a research 

 upon the details of a better-known and already more thoroughly analyzed 

 phase. Such superficial studies are the work of pioneers ; they are adapted 

 only to the exceptional beginner in research." 



6. Pursue Type of Research That Comes Naturally 



Within the framework of the general aim that dominates all 

 scientific work, there may be various subsidiary purposes peculiar to 

 individual types of investigation. Some specific examples are : 



(a) To test the limits of application of a general theory. 

 (6) To explore a new field for its possibilities. 



(c) To create an instrument of measurement. 



(d) To develop or improve some experimental methofl. 



(e) To determine constants with a high degree of precision. 



A worker who excels in doing experiments of the highest accin-acy 

 might not be very successful in exploratory investigations which do 

 not utilize this special talent fully. Scientists accustomed to making 



