25  EDA Templates

It can take quite a bit of work to create a new EDA diagram from scratch, especially for complex experiments.

The Templates button at the top of the NC3Rs EDA page (Figure 25.1) links to some template diagrams with common basic experimental designs, that you can customise for your own purposes. Some of these templates are listed below.

Figure 25.1: The top-level links on the NC3Rs EDA design page. The Templates button links to usable templates for common experimental designs.

25.1 Find a template

1. Click on the Templates button (Figure 25.1)
2. CLick on the next template arrow at the top right of the template page until you reach Template 4, Example 4 - Effect of exercise on neuronal density (Figure 25.2)

Figure 25.2: Each template page shows the starting diagram, and presents a short list of the key features of the template. A written account of the experiment is provided at the bottom of the page, which can be used as a guide when describing your own experiment for funding bodies, and in publication Methods sections.

25.2 Use the template

1. Click on the Use this diagram as a template link (on the right of the template page, as in Figure 25.2)

This opens a new tab in the browser, and populates the design tool with a base starting diagram (Figure 25.3)

Figure 25.3: The EDA design tool on initial population by a template file. The graph layout and connections are pre-prepared, but all details specific to the experimenthave been removed from the example, and remain to be filled in by the researcher.