Hello,
I have a small sample size n=3, in each animal, I am analysing 2 slices. This is due to the time limit with the facility. Midway, I had to also use a different microscope but I tried to balance the analysis across the samples for example, for group1: I analysed 2 animals with the lsm980 microscope and 1 animal with the lsm710 microscope & in group 2 (controls): I analysed 2 animals with lsm980 microscope and 1 animal with lsm710 microscope.
I am not getting results that answer my hypothesis at the moment, I am also measuring grey values. I think my data has high variance so I am not getting statistically significant results between both conditions.
I do still notice 1 group having higher value than other group.
I also tried to adapt both microscopes to image the same settings and laser power.
I know this is not always possible & I am noticing that w/ one microscope I am getting more grey value than with the other.
I am not sure what to do. Any advice on what is the best approach to take with what I have? I thought of discussing all issues above within my discussions sections and also mentioned that due to the breakdown of 1 microscope I had to use the other one last minute, also theres a high demand for bookings so I do not have much time to use. I thought of mentioning that in future studies this what could be done etc.
Let me know what your advice are in terms of masters thesis?
All the help would be appreciated.
Thank you
Based on the information you have provided, it sounds like you have some limitations in terms of sample size and reproducibility due to the use of different microscopes. These limitations can impact the statistical power of your analysis and ultimately the conclusions you can draw from your data.
It is important to communicate these limitations transparently in your thesis. Be clear about the sample size and how the breakdown of one microscope impacted your analysis. You may also want to discuss potential sources of variability in your methods such as differences in microscope settings or laser power and how you attempted to account for these differences.
It would be helpful to provide some context for readers in terms of the known variability of the measurements you are taking. For example, if there is known to be high variability in grey values for the tissue slices you are analyzing, it may be difficult to draw reliable conclusions with a small sample size.
You could also discuss alternative approaches or future directions for your research, such as increasing the sample size or exploring other imaging techniques that may be more consistent across microscopes or more suited to your specific research question.
Also, non-significant results are still 'results' and sometimes more important than significant ones :)
- Badges
- Science method