BIOL 498
Research Design,
Implementation, and Analysis
Spring 2016
Dyer
BIOL 498: Research Design, Implementation, and Analysis (3)
A capstone experience designed to provide a comprehensive overview of the methodologies of
biological research with emphasis on hypothesis formation, experimental design, data analysis,
and interpretation through reviews of the scientific literature.
Instructor: Dr. Andrew Dyer
Phone: 641-3443
Lecture/lab:
Monday 9:00-11:40
Office: SBDG 101E
email: andyd@usca.edu
Science 107
Required text: Ruxton & Colgrave- Experimental design for the life sciences (3rd ed.), 2011
Learning Objectives: Students will be able to….
1. formulate a testable hypothesis and recognize one that is not correctly stated.
2. understand the difference between causation and correlation
3. identify the major components of experimental design
4. produce a well-constructed graph representing analyzed data.
5. create a visual presentation of a research product.
Evaluation
Course project
Hypothesis formation
Project title and outline
Data collection
Project data analysis
Poster and defense
Quizzes, assignments
Seminar attendance/participation
65%
5%
5%
15%
15%
25%
25%
10%
(due Feb 8)
(due Feb 29)
(finished by March 28)
(Apr 4)
(April 25)
(weekly- from the text)
(mandatory)
The semester project will be a poster displaying the data collection and analysis that you have done over
the course of the semester. We will work from an established database and ask original questions that can
be answered accurately only with data from the database. Each student will work on an independent
dataset and generate their own poster. Hard copies of the poster will be printed for an end-of-thesemester class poster session. (All students in this class are simultaneously enrolled in ABIO 490 and
will use this project to complete the requirements of that course.)
There are no make-up quizzes. Late assignments lose 10% per day, but they continue to have value, so
turn them in even if they are late. Grades are calculated on a 10 pt scale: A>90%, B>80%, C>70%.
When I grade subjective assignments (e.g., essays and reports), I judge them according to how much
effort I think went into them. Therefore, spelling, grammar, organization, and thoughtfulness count
as does the ability to tie together different concepts from class.
Absences: Try to avoid them. This class only meets 14 times during the semester. Missing even one
day could be tragic. If there are emergency reasons for missing a day, contact Dr. Dyer unless absolutely
unavoidable in which case there better be documentation of the reason. However, regardless of the reason
for the missed class, quizzes cannot be made up. If you miss more than four (4) of the class meetings,
you will fail the class. Also, do not plan on leaving class early and do not schedule anything during class
time.
Computer use
We will be using computers regularly to collect data. You must be able to log on to the USCA computer
system in order to accomplish the laboratory work. You are welcome to bring your own computer to
class.
Additional comments
1. If you are having difficulty with any aspect of this course, please come see me as soon as possible. If
my regular office hours conflict with your schedule, you can make an appointment to see me at a more
convenient time.
2. If you have a physical, psychological, and/or learning disability that might affect your
performance in this class, please contact the Office of Disability Services, B&E 134, (803)
643-6816, as soon as possible. The Office of Disability Services will determine appropriate
accommodations based on medical documentation.
3. You will be expected to endorse the following Honor Pledge on every exam:
On my honor as a University of South Carolina Aiken student, I have neither given nor
received any unauthorized aid in this assignment/examination. To the best of my
knowledge, I am not in violation of academic honesty.
Infractions of this honor pledge are taken very seriously. Any evidence of plagiarism will result in a
formal report to the Vice Chancellor. Make sure you understand ALL of the forms of plagiarism (see the
section below).
Class communications
All official class communications, including class announcements, are made to USCA email accounts.
Students should check their USCA email account on a regular basis and use this account for
communication with the instructor. In order to protect the privacy of the student, the instructor will not
reply to emails sent from non-USCA accounts (e.g., Hotmail, Yahoo). Also, because of federal law, no
grades or scores can be communicated by phone or email; you must come to the instructor’s office.
Class assignments and grades will be posted through Blackboard. The algorithm for grades used by
Blackboard may not be exactly the same as that used by the instructor and therefore the Blackboard
scores are merely a close approximation.
Classroom behavior
It is the instructor’s right to remove from the classroom any student who disrupts or disturbs the
proceeding of the class. Disruption of the class includes but is not limited to the use of any portable
electronic devices (e.g., cell phones, MP3 players, iPods) unless prior approval has been given to a
student or unless required for the course. Do NOT plan to wear headphones or earbuds at any time in
class. In extreme cases the faculty member can request assistance from University Police. If the student
who has been ejected causes similar disturbances in subsequent meetings of the class, he/she may be
denied admittance to the class for the remainder of the semester and assigned a grade of F.
A short note about PLAGIARISM
Any and all work turned in for credit is assumed to be your work and the product of your brain and your
brain alone. Every word and every sentence is your work. Work can be considered plagiarism even if it
is not exact copying. My advice is “don’t make me look” because when I get suspicious enough to look, I
usually find. For your information, it is plagiarism….
*if you fail to cite a reference after giving a factual statement;
*if you fail to use quotation marks (and I do not allow quoting in my assignments unless it is
unavoidable);
*if you turn in work with your name on it that someone else has produced;
*if you rephrase someone else’s work or merely change a few words;
*if you have the same order and form of sentences as the source material or someone else’s work;
*if you consistently mis-cite or mis-use cites in a way that suggests intentional avoidance of
detection;
*if you and a lab partner work together and turn in work that is substantially the same.
ALSO,
If a “draft” of a paper has any of the above problems, it is still plagiarism.
If I cannot tell who in a lab group produced a piece of work, no credit will be assigned to anyone in the
lab group. (This does not include “group” reports.)
If you give your work to someone else and they turn it in, I have the option of including you in the
plagiarism charge because you supported it.
If the references given are not accessible to the instructor, no credit will be given. Therefore, if you use
obscure or unusual references, it is your responsibility to turn in a copy with the assignment or
make it available to me.
If someone else writes or prepares an assignment for you, that’s another form of academic dishonesty.
Be aware that what was allowed in high school does not necessarily apply at USCA. If there is anything
about the above statements that are not clear, don’t wait until an assignment is due to find out more.
Many students believe that having no more than three consecutive words from an original source will
fool the electronic programs that detect plagiarism. I don’t use those programs; I read the papers that are
given in the reference list and compare them to the student’s work. If I find any of the problems listed
above, there will be no first warning. There is no latitude given because there is no excuse for plagiarism.
Therefore, if I find any work that is too similar to other work, either in the class or out of the class, please
understand that I have no options but to follow the rules as outlined in the USCA Faculty Manual. The
student(s) involved will be summoned to my office, the situation will be explained. There will be no
options for “redoing” the work. A zero will be given to the assignment, and a formal letters will be sent
to the student, the student’s department chair, and to the Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
to document the situation. As with all academic issues, there is an avenue for appeal (detailed in the
USCA Student Handbook), but it is not through me.
Tentative course outline
Week/Date
Topic
Exercise
Benchmarks
Reading
1. Jan 11
Intro/database/hypotheses
DC introduction
Ch 1, Gould, Ausubel
3. Jan 25
Hypothesis formation/falsifiability
Logon to Ancestry.com
Ch 2
4. Feb 1
Hypothesis formation: causation/correlation
Causation: correlation
Ch 2
5. Feb 8
Replication
Sample data set
6. Feb 15
Randomization
(Sample data collection)
Ch 3
7. Feb 22
Control
(Data collection)
Ch 4
8. Feb 29
Experimental design
(Data collection)
2. MLK Holiday
Mar 7
(Hypothesis)
(Title and outline)
Ch 3, O’Dowd
Ch 4
Spring Break
9. Mar 14
Measurements: Precision and Accuracy
(Data collection)
Ch 5
10. Mar 21
Measurements
(Powerpoint poster)
Ch 5
11. Mar 28
Subsampling and more
(Data organized)
Ch 6
12. Apr 4
Data analysis
(Data analysis)
13. Apr 11
Data presentation
(Graphs)
14. Apr 18
Final data analysis review
(Finish poster- Due Friday)
15. Apr 25
Poster presentation session