I. AVOID FRUITLESS EXPERIMENTS 23 



This was relatively effective in avoiding duplication of effort in some 

 fields, but it is not a very practicable procedure today, although the 

 custom still exists to some extent on a courtesy basis. As a conse- 

 quence of the competitive activity in modern research, the time factor 

 must be seriously considered when designing an experimental pro- 

 gram. Otherwise results may be obtained only after the same ex- 

 periment has been performed by someone else. Certainly it can be 

 said of a large percentage of all research problems that if they were 

 not investigated by one group of individuals, they would be studied bN' 

 another group, and within a comparatively short time. In fact it is 

 not at all unusual for practically simultaneous publication to occur 

 independently in different parts of the world on essentially the same 

 research problem. 



1. Time and Equipment 



Time and equipment may interact in several ways to determine the 

 fruitfulness of an experiment. The use of obsolete apparatus, for ex- 

 ample, may result in the production of obsolete data. This would be 

 an obvious waste of time. Equipment may become obsolete because 

 it is not sufficiently accurate, lacks desirable resolution, or it may be 

 inefficient and time-consuming compared to modern apparatus. 



Since time is one of the most valuable assets of research workers, 

 some effort may well be expended on methods of conserving it. The 

 use of recording equipment might be mentioned in this regard. On 

 the other hand, it is not worth while to develop automatic instrumen- 

 tation for just a few measurements. The purchase of commercial 

 apparatus from which the sources of error and inefficiency have been 

 removed (in other words, the "bugs" have been eliminated) usually 

 means an appreciable saving in research time. It is to be regretted 

 that much high quality research talent has had to be devoted in the 

 past to the development of often low quality apparatus. This false 

 economj% which in effect robs science of many fruitful experiments, is 

 an indication of poor administration. 



Many research problems cannot be attacked to advantage because 

 instrumentation is still inadequate. It is therefore debatable whether 

 an investigator not well qualified in instrumental development should 

 undertake such problems. It is quite likely that his efforts might be 

 more fruitfully spent in other directions, especially when indications 

 already exist that satisfactorj'- apparatus may become available in the 

 foreseeable future. 



