RESEARCH METHODS & EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

1. RESEARCH METHODS & EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN (Plan out what to do during the 110 minutes you have to complete this project!)

2. Scientific Questions • Rewrote questions! • ALL Questions contain comparisons. • NOW: Figure out how to answer these questions in 110minutes.

3. 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)

4. 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?

5. 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?

6. 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?

7. Step 2: What is the procedure for setting up this manipulating? • EXAMPLE: • “Do snails move more in low or high salinity water?” HIGH LOW

8. 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

9. Step 3: What are we measuring and how are we measuring this? • EXAMPLE: • “Do snails move more in low or high salinity water?” LOW HIGH • Measuring MOVEMENT • - How?

10. Step 3: What are we measuring and how are we measuring this? • EXAMPLE: • “Is there a greater abundance of seagulls on grass or concrete areas?” GRASS CONCRETE • Measuring ABUNDANCE • - How?

11. 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?

12. Step 4: Decisions, decisions, decisions • How many snails? • How often are you going to measure movement? How are you going to determine movement? HIGH LOW

13. Step 4: Decisions, decisions, decisions • How big are the areas you will survey? Should they be of equal size? GRASS CONCRETE • How many counts will you do? How will you count birds, so you only count them once?

14. Step 5: BRIEF EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN • 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. • In each container I will place 3 snails and I will paint their shells with nail polish in order to tell the difference.

15. Step 5: EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN • I will measure snail movement using a ruler for each snail every 15 minutes for 90 minutes (collecting 6 measurements for each snail). • 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.

16. TODAY…. • Go back to SAME GROUPS as last time. In each folder, 1 question is marked as the question you will concentrate and eventually research!!!! • Your groups questions is circles in purple ink. • In folder is a worksheet to be filled out completely! • Answer all the questions! • 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!!!!