Question: How long does it take to do an experiment?

Thomas Doherty-Bone answered on 12 Nov 2013:

This depends on the particular question you are trying to answer. Also, how much time you have available yourself.

Some experiments may only take a week. For me, when I compare effects of different crayfish species on decomposition of leaves in the water, I let them take a week. If I want to know the effects of different crayfish on a food web in a pond, I leave them a month to see what happens. Some other researchers allow a few months. One experiment in the Brazilian Amazon, on the impacts of isolating forest fragments has taken over 30 years, I think they might still be making observations.

Of course this doesn’t even include the time taken to prepare the experiment. This includes buying equipment, getting permissions, getting funding all before that.