Due at class time, Friday, 11/5/04. You may work in groups of up to three for this report.
Choose one of the following questions to investigate:
Does loud music affect memory?
Does having your eyes open or closed affect your ability stand on one foot?
Design an experiment to study your question. Your report should have two major sections: an experimental design and a discussion of your experiences while performing the experiment.
Write your experimental design in the form of a proposal, which should include the following:
A precise articulation of the question you will study.
A description of your experimental design. Use a matched pairs design (we will discuss this concept in class). Include a diagram of your design.
A clear identification of the response and the explanatory variables, including measurement units and how they will be measured.
A description of your subjects, how they will be selected, and how they will be assigned to treatments.
A description of your plans to ensure the safety (and freedom from embarrassment) for your subjects.
After you have written your study design, carry out your experiment. The second section of your report should describe your experience of performing the experiment, and should also address:
Were there any unexpected problems with the design? Did you overlook certain details?
If you had to rewrite the proposal, what would you change?
In general, note anything about the difference between proposing a study and the actual implementation.
Save your data; we will analyze it later. Use Carleton students for the experiment and keep the sample size to about a dozen or so.
Start early, and have fun.