Consider the whole field of rodent hippocampal memory (One can extrapolate to monkey labs that work on vision and decision making as well. Consider an animal model and brain region/ function of your choice). Labs around the world implant electrodes or image the activity of a population of neurons. They can be located in the CA1, CA2, CA3, or the DG. Or sometimes even the associated regions such as the subiculum and medial septum. They train the rodents to perform spatial memory tasks or watch a screen in virtual reality. They hypothesize something (or sometimes totally exploratory), analyze the data, and interpret the results. Papers will be written. 
These seem more like puzzle solving. One after the other. When can one consolidate, synthesize, and create a framework? Show the directions or avenues to explore moving forward? What is the end game?