I don’t know how many of you reading this blog have ever done any research, the results of which you would like to have published…but I salute you! The research itself – in my case: observing the behavior and physiological signs of stress in these cute little anoles – is not that hard. Of course, you must maintain excellent records, pay very close attention to the subjects, and remember not to start something you’re timing before you realize that you have to pee.
The difficult part, at least to me, is to review EVERYTHING that has ever been published which mentions anoles, green anoles, behavior, steroids, corticosterone, testosterone, ethanol, display, dewlap, reptiles, aggression, territoriality, and on, and on, and on. Any two words that you are going to use in sequence must be reviewed to see if anyone else ever published them. Any idea which you think is public knowledge must be traced to its original published source. For instance: everyone “knows” the sky is blue. Right? Are you sure? Maybe it’s just you and me. Maybe we just assume that everyone knows. But just in case, you research to see who first published this notion. The body of references for this study is going to be twice as long as the results of the research. But that seems to be the way it is…so back I go to the journals…all 47382 of them.
Thank God for the internet!
Wait…has someone else already said that?