The book introduces the concept of research as process in the first chapter. Subsequent chapters focus on individual unit operations of research, idea generation, problem definition, critical evaluation of the literature, method selection, experimental design, data collection, processing and analysis, and knowledge dissemination. The final section of the book pushes the reader beyond graduate school into its practice in the real world. Topics covered in the maturation of a food scientist include the scientific meeting, critical thinking, science and philosophy, ethics, finding and managing the literature, planning, grantsmanship, laboratory setup and management, and career development.