The Daily Analysis
Disclaimer: The analyses described below are
intended to cover a broad range of introductory level experiment and
analytical types. Many of the designs were inspired by material found
on the internet. Where tables or other materials were used I have tried
to cite the original internet link and recognize the authors. However,
the experiments described below are intended only for teaching
purposes, so many have been simplified or modified to accomplish
teaching objectives. As a result, the described analyses are not
necessarily faithful to the original experiment. It should also be
noted that the analyses included were not evaluated nor were they
chosen because they are either particularly well done or poorly
done.
Instructions: Examine each of the design
descriptions below prior to coming to class and determine the answers
to the questions. On randomly selected dates a quiz will be given over
these designs. Randomly selected dates will be chosen with either real
or "digital" dice.
About The Daily Quiz on the Daily Analysis
First, is there really going to be a daily quiz every day? No, probably not. On the day before each class I will post the description of an experiment or research question. These will be available on the Internet. You will examine the questions and determine the answer. I do not mind if you discuss these questions with your friends under two conditions. One, discussion stops when you get to the classroom, and two, the discussion consists of more than "What is the answer to today's quiz." Talk it over and try to understand the questions, because similar questions will be on the exams.
Once in the classroom, at the beginning of class I
will roll a dice. If it comes up a 6, there will be a quiz. You will
have 5 minutes to write the
answer to the quiz and your name on a slip of paper and pass it to the
front of the room. As soon as I have everyone's answers I will discuss
the analysis.
Once a number on the dice is chosen, that number will not be counted again until a 6 comes up. For example, if I roll a 3 on the first day; no quiz. If I roll a 3 on the second day it will not count, I will roll again. If it then comes up a 5; no quiz. On the third day 3's and 5's will be skipped, etc. I do this because the first time I tried this we went weeks without a 6. Once a 6 is rolled, all numbers are back in contention.
If things go well we will have 5 or 6 quizzes during
the semester. I will drop your lowest quiz and grade on the basis of
the remaining quizzes. The percent correct will be scaled such that it
counts as 25 points of the 625 total for the class. If you miss a class
for a legitimate reason, a scientific meeting or field work, then have
your major professor email me and I will not count that quiz against
you.
Last Revision: Thursday, May 6, 2004
James P. Geaghan