Group Project: Scientific Method

For this project you will be asked to make use of what you have learned about the scientific method. Your group will be asked to design and conduct an experiment that will test a hypothesis that you develop. The experimental design should be one of the two basic ones we have used this semester: test for differences between two groups, or test for a relationship between two variables.

**Groups are formed early in the semester to give you plenty of time to work on your project. Please exchange contact information and keep in touch with your group. If students drop the class and your group loses members it is your responsibility to find a new group or continue to work on your project with a reduced group size. Regardless of final group size, your project is still due on the assigned due date.

Rules for the project:

1. It really should be an experiment; don't bother doing something you are familiar with and for which the outcome would be obvious.

2. Your hypothesis, experimental design, and methodology must be approved by your instructor

3. Though you may work together, each student must submit a report will which include:

a. Introduction about the rationale for your hypothesis. In other words, based on what you already know about the subject, why is your hypothesis reasonable? You should include background material on your topic so the reader understands why this project is appropriate. You also need to include a clear statement of the research question and null hypothesis.

c. Methods of data collection and statistical test that you intend to use to analyze your data. Use past tense to describe what you did and include enough detail so anyone can repeat your project.

d. Results inclue descriptive statistics, graphs (if appropriate), and outcome of statistical tests. Do NOT simply refer to SPSS printouts, write out each of your results

e. Discussion: interpretation of results in light of what you have subsequently read about the general subject. (In reality, scientists spend a good deal of time reading about their research topic before, during, and after conducting their experiments.) Check out textbooks, the Internet, and other sources of information.

f. References (URL, book, article, etc.)

g. The names of the other students in your group

Each section of your report should have the appropriate heading and everything should be written in paragraph form, do NOT simply list your results or methods.

The report is worth a maximum of 50 points. You will be expected to give a MS PowerPoint presentation of your project during class.