RESEARCH METHODS & EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN (Plan out what to do during the 110 minutes you have to complete this project!) Scientific Questions • Rewrote questions! • ALL Questions contain comparisons. • NOW: Figure out how to answer these questions in 110minutes. Step 1: Measuring vs Manipulating • Figuring out what you are changing and what you are going to measure (and HOW!) • ALL Questions contain comparisons. – Contains: • One variable that you are manipulating (changing) • One variable that you are measuring (observing) Step 1: Measuring vs Manipulating • EXAMPLE: – “Do snails move more in low or high salinity water?” • What are you MANIPULTING or changing in your experiment? • What are you MEASURING or what effect are you going to look at? Step 1: Measuring vs Manipulating • EXAMPLE: – “Is there a greater abundance of seagulls on grass or concrete areas?” • What are you MANIPULTING or changing in your experiment? • What are you MEASURING (OBSERVING) or what effect are you going to look at? Step 1: Measuring vs Manipulating • EXAMPLE: – “Is there a greater abundance of seagulls on grass or concrete areas?” • What are you MANIPULTING or changing in your experiment? • What are you MEASURING (OBSERVING) or what effect are you going to look at? Step 2: What is the procedure for setting up this manipulating? • EXAMPLE: – “Do snails move more in low or high salinity water?” HIGH LOW Step 2: What is the procedure for setting up this manipulating? • EXAMPLE: – “Is there a greater abundance of seagulls on grass or concrete areas?” GRASS CONCRETE Step 3: What are we measuring and how are we measuring this? • EXAMPLE: HIGH – “Do snails move more in low or high salinity water?” LOW • Measuring MOVEMENT - How? Step 3: What are we measuring and how are we measuring this? GRASS • EXAMPLE: – “Is there a greater abundance of seagulls on grass or concrete areas?” • Measuring ABUNDANCE - How? CONCRETE Step 4: Decisions, decisions, decisions • How many replicates (repeat areas or organisms which your are observing/measuring)? • How many measurements are you going to perform? How often? Step 4: Decisions, decisions, decisions HIGH • How many snails? • How often are you going to measure LOW movement? How are you going to determine movement? Step 4: Decisions, decisions, decisions GRASS • How big are the areas you will survey? Should they be of equal size? • How many counts will you do? How will you count birds, so you only count them once? CONCRETE Step 5: BRIEF EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN 1) Obtain three containers. In each container, I will put three different salinities (one with higher than average, one with average salinity, and one with lower than average salinity water). I will measure the salinity to know exact numbers. 1) In each container I will place 3 snails and I will paint their shells with nail polish in order to tell the difference. Step 5: EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN 3) I will measure snail movement using a ruler for each snail every 15 minutes for 90 minutes (collecting 6 measurements for each snail). 4) I will average the distance traveled for all snails in the same water type. I will compare the high, normal, and low salinity snails to see if snails move faster in high or low salinity water. difference. TODAY…. 1) Go back to SAME GROUPS as last time. In each folder, 1 question is marked as the question you will concentrate and eventually research!!!! 2) Your groups questions is circles in purple ink. 1) In folder is a worksheet to be filled out completely! 1) Answer all the questions! 1) Next time I come in we will be refining these methods – THE MORE OF THE WORK YOU GET DONE TODAY THEN THE LESS YOU WILL HAVE TO DO LATER!!!!