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Experimental Design and Communicating Scientific Findings. Tyler Bassett and Tomomi Suwa 12.07.2011. Designing A Scientific Study Thoughts on Experimental Design. Two types of studies. 1) Observational 2) Experimental. Observational Study - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Experimental Design and Communicating Scientific Findings
Tyler Bassett and Tomomi Suwa12.07.2011
Designing A Scientific StudyThoughts on Experimental Design
Two types of studies
1) Observational
2) Experimental
Observational Study-Observe subjects and measure variables of interest without directly assigning treatments to the subjects
Reasons for Observational Study:
-Less powerful – correlation does not imply causation
- Experiment would violate ethical standards: human disease
- Experiment is logistically impossible/impractical: rare species, stars, river
Manipulative Experiment• Vary one factor explicitly and keep other
factors constant
• “Cleaner” than observational study, easier to identify causative agent
When one thinks of “science,” this is what they are thinking of!
Elements of Experimental Design
• Independent vs. Dependent variable• Control• Replication• Randomization
Independent vs. Dependent variable
Independent Variable– something that is intentionally changed or
manipulated by the scientist
Dependent Variable – something that might be affected by the change
in the independent variable– What is observed and measured
How do elevated soil nutrients affect plant growth ?
Effect of onindependent var. dependent var.
What is an independent and dependent variable?
NO3-
NH4+
PO3-
Also referred to as predictor and response variables
Control
• The control and experimental groups must be identical in every way except for the introduction of a suspected causal agent into the experimental group (s).
• Compare to an experimental group in a test of a causal hypothesis – often to demonstrate how much the causal agent changes the dependent variable
How do elevated soil nutrientsaffect plant growth ?
What is the control here? What does it mean?
Add N Add P Add N,PControl
NO3-
NH4+
PO3-
Replication• Repetition of an experiment to test the
validity of its conclusion
Add N Add P Add N,PControl
Randomization
- Assign treatment randomly to an experimental group- Roll dice, random numbers table, Excel:
“=rand()” function, www.random.org
Add N Add P Add N,PControl
- Eliminate researchers’ bias or judgment
Why randomization and replication important?
• Reduce/eliminate self-deception and bias.
Add N Add P Add N,PControl
Why randomization and replication important?
• Biased experimental design
Add N Add P Add N,PControl
GraphsTitle: The Effect of the independent variable on the
dependent variable
Independent Var (unit)
Dep
ende
nt V
ar (u
nit)
Title: The Effect of Elevated Nutrients on the Plant growth
Soil Nutrients
Control Add N
Add P
Add N, P
Plan
t Bio
mas
s (g
)Mean: shows differences between treatment groups.Error Bars: shows variability of data around the mean.
Why control is important in this case?
Questions?
Communicating Scientific Finding
How do scientists communicate Science?
• Research Article • Book• News paper• Website/Blog
• Presentation• Meeting • Lecture• Interview (e.g. radio)
•Poster • Lecture ppt
Written Communication Oral Communication Visual Communication
How do scientists communicate Science?
• Research Article • Book• News paper • Website/Blog
• Presentation• Meeting • Lecture• Interview (e.g. radio)
•Poster • Lecture ppt
Written Communication Oral Communication Visual Communication
In Research Article, Presentation & Poster
•Abstract•Introduction•Methods•Results•Conclusions
Let’s have a mini-symposium!(20 min)
a) Focal Poster-Presentation-Content
b) Rest of the postersWhich poster is most catchy/attractive? Why?
Poster Evaluation-Are research questions and hypotheses stated clearly? -Does poster communicate the importance of the study? -What are the dependent and independent variables? -Are the tables and/or figures used to present the data effectively? -Are the conclusions related back to the hypothesis, key scientific concepts,
and background research?
Which poster is most catchy/attractive?
Communicating Science: Poster Presentation
*Borrowed some materials from: LiLynn GravesWeb and Graphic Designer, CCMR
Why poster?
• More interactive than writing a paper or giving a talk
• More time to talk with people• Can hang on the wall • You can be creative!
Poster is basically a summary/outline of a research paper
What to include?
• Title, name• (Abstract)• Background/Intro• Methods• Results• Conclusion• Acknowledgement• (Citation)
• Title – 1-2 lines• Name and affiliations
What to include
What to include (cont’d)
• Background-Why important/interesting-Hypotheses
*Get your audience interested in your work
• Methods-Brief-Include photos and illustrate experimental design, if possible
What to include (cont’d)• Results
-Include tables, figures, stats and brief description.-Make sure your x and y axis are labeled clearly. -Keep it simple!
Days
Popu
latio
n Si
ze
0 10 20
250
500
Population size of Predator and Prey through Time
Prey Predator
What to include (cont’d)
• Conclusions- Address your hypotheses- Discuss why your results are interesting/important- “big picture”- future direction
• (Literature cited)• Acknowledgement
• Title, name• (Abstract)• Background/Intro• Methods• Results• Conclusion• Acknowledgement• (Citation)
Organization
Organization
Colors
Be considerate for people with colour-vision deficiency
Poster in PowerPoint
• Determine the size of a posterFile -> page setup 46 x 38 inches
• Font size no smaller than size 40
After you make a poster draft…
• Print out a letter size draft and edit, edit, edit!• Get feedback from your teacher/mentor and
peers“Peer Edit”
Peer evaluation?
• Get feedback from different people• Good practice to give/receive constructive
criticism• Good motivation?
Questions, comments?