- Can experiments detect differences that matter?
It is important because we need to be able to identify functional differences in closely related genes from sequence alone. It also helps readers to identify what matters in an article.
- Does the study show causation or correlation?
Correlation is not causation, but correlation almost always implies some sort of causal relationship. If it is a causation, which mean it has directly affect the on the experimental subjects; if it is a correaltion, there might be a link between the source and the result in the pathway of the effection.
- What is the mechanism?
It is important to understand the mechanism because when we find any question in the new finding, we will need to go through the mechanism and check on the each step.
- How much do experiments reflect reality?
It is important in applying the new findings into the real life, and help readers to understand the importance of the findings.
- Could anything else explain the results?
If there are some other factors contribute to the problem, then we will think about causation and correlation again. If there is another possibility, we will need to find out the relationships between these factors.
