• Question: what do you do if you can't answer a question?

    Asked by sussim24 to Alexandra, Dean, Jess, Luisa, Sian on 22 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Sian Foch-Gatrell

      Sian Foch-Gatrell answered on 21 Jun 2010:

      Either guess, in which case I say that it is a guess (an educated one) or say that I don’t know

    • Photo: Dean Whittaker

      Dean Whittaker answered on 21 Jun 2010:

      On here or in my work? On here I’d just say “I don’t know” or try my best, maybe do a quick google search to remind myself. In my work I’d say “I’ll find out and get back to you”.. Then

      First I ask my supervisor and anyone I might know who knows the answer. Then I try Wikipedia. Then follow the references from that to check it’s right. There’s lots of online databases of papers to search through, you use some keywords and you usually find something. Or do an experiment to find out!

    • Photo: Jessica Housden

      Jessica Housden answered on 21 Jun 2010:

      Say so! I know I don’t know everything – far from it! And, if it is an interesting question I might try to find out the answer myself as well.

    • Photo: Alexandra Kamins

      Alexandra Kamins answered on 22 Jun 2010:

      Say I can’t! There are lots of questions I don’t know the answer to, but I do like to try to point people toward a place or person that might be able to answer it for them.

    • Photo: Luisa Ostertag

      Luisa Ostertag answered on 22 Jun 2010:

      Try to look it up, discuss it with my colleagues, try to find out about it in artciels of other researchers.
      Here on Imascientist I might google it or just write: ‘I don’t know.’ Or make a guess. 🙂

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