Developing constructs

What does the word "construct mean"? The Oxford dictionary defines it as:

• An object of perception or thought, formed by a combination of present with past sense-impressions.
• Anything constructed, esp. by the mind; hence spec., a concept specially devised to be part of a theory.

As a scientist you need to develop constructs, in your mind, for how you think things work. 
Imagine learning Lego construction through lectures. Lectures are not a good way of acquiring this skill. Much of your undergraduate training was through lecturers. Now you have been given your own Lego construction set and you have to learn how to build something.

This requires reading less and thinking more.

What is a construct in science?

A construct is any useful representation of the inter-relationships between facts.

• To help develop these internal constructs, scientists often build real ones.
• These can take on a variety of forms.
• Crick & Watson developed a physical working model of the structure of DNA.
• Others use mathematical models and simulate them on computers.

Why you need constructs in graduate school?  

1. To keep from reading too much.

• Graduate students often read too much and too fast, assembling long lists of often contradictory and useless facts.
• A construct helps you to focus on what is relevant.
• It is also useful because it forces you to slow down. It takes time to stop, reflect, build up a construct, and see how these facts fit and interrelate (or not).
• A construct helps you discover what you don't know. This is essential in deciding what you need to read/study next.

2. To keep from doing too many experiments.

• A construct's key feature is that it allows one to make predictions (hypothesis) which can be tested experimentally.
• With a construct, you can ask whether each new observation fits. If not, is the new observation false or is your construct incorrect? A student was working on a project to determine whether a certain brain area had a retinotopic representation. For months the student was pleased with the results of the experiments. However a week before his presentation date the student realized that he had not fully understood the relationships implied by the word "retinotopic". In fact none of the data showed a retinotopic relationship. Well constructed hypotheses can help you avoid similar mishaps.
• You need a construct to determine which experimental observations are relevant. In science one is often drowned in data. The key is to know which data to focus on.
• Be prepared to discard even the most cherished construct. Consider any one particular construct as cheap and dispensable.

With time, this process allows you to develop confidence in yourself and your own ideas.