It makes sense for your replication to have some connection with the work you would like to do in subsequent years, but this is not obligatory, as the major purpose of the exercise is for you to learn the ropes of running experiments. A more detailed set of notes on these replications is included in the October mailing. During the second year of Phase One, you will be asked to design and run one further experimental study, normally a variation on your first replication study. It is important that you should already be thinking about this study as you work through your first year experiment. Remember that your supervisor's job is to help you work out the details of your experiment and interpret the results.
Supervisors get to be where they are because they are wise and experienced.
Take advantage of that. Instead, we will teach you how to give a poster presentation of your work, and how to design World Wide Web sites, that allow you to advertise your work on the Internet. The CALS Conference, which usually takes place in the Summer, is a good chance for you to meet the other students, and provides an opportunity to try out some of the presentational skills that you will be learning. Try to make every effort to come to the conference in your first year. It is almost inevitable that personal or work-related problems of a more or less serious sort will arise at some stage during your course.