What Do You Want to Know How Accurately Why

If you cannot specifically answer these questions, then you have not formulated a proper research project. The choice of computational methods must be based on a clear understanding of both the chemical system and the information to be computed. Thus, all projects start by answering these fundamental questions in full. The statement To see what computational techniques can do. is not a research project. However, it is a good reason to purchase this book. 

In analytical chemistry, a number of identical measurements are taken and then an error is estimated by computing the standard deviation. With computational experiments, repeating the same step should always give exactly the same result, with the exception of Monte Carlo techniques. An error is estimated by comparing a number of similar computations to the experimental answers or much more rigorous computations. 

There are numerous articles and references on computational research studies. If none exist for the task at hand, the researcher may have to guess which method to use based on its assumptions. It is then prudent to perform a short study to verify the method s accuracy before applying it to an unknown. When an expert predicts an error or best method without the benefit of prior related research, he or she should have a fair amount of knowledge about available options A savvy researcher must know the merits and drawbacks of various methods and software packages in order to make an informed choice. The bibliography at the end of this chapter lists sources for reviewing accuracy data. Appendix A of this book provides short reviews of many software packages. 

This is a check on the reasonableness of the method chosen. For example, it would not be reasonable to select a method to investigate vibrational motions that are very anharmonic with a calculation that uses a harmonic oscillator approximation. To avoid such mistakes, it is important the researcher understand the method s underlying theory. 

Once all these questions have been answered, the calculations can begin. Now the researcher must determine what software is available, what it costs, and how to properly use it. Note that two programs of the same type (i.e., ab initio) may calculate different properties so the user must make sure the program does exactly what is needed. 

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