What features of your topic are observable with repeatable observations? List at least 3

Observation Project

Addresses the following Course Outcomes:

• Distinguish between repeatable, quantifiable observations and subjective judgements about the natural world.
• Differentiate between personally collected data and information from third party sources.
• Formulate questions and predictions about cause-and-effect relationships in nature.
• Apply the scientific method to address questions about everyday occurrences in the natural world.
• Use critical, creative, and innovative thinking to devise hypothesis-driven experiments
• Use technology and scientific methodology to collect, analyze, and present data.
• Draw conclusions that are based on available data and evidence obtained in an experiment.

Overview

Have you ever wondered how scientific discoveries are made?   This project is where you find out.

We are going to work through all the stages of a scientific project from getting an idea all the way to presentation.  You’ll learn how science projects work by actually doing one.   You’ll hone your investigative skills to support your discovery process. These skills include observation, prediction, quantitative reasoning, and drawing conclusions based on evidence.   Other work in this class will help you to develop some of these skills before they are applied in your Observation Project.

You will develop this report in three stages:

In Stage 1 you will:

• Pick a topic related to observations you can make in the natural world or in your surroundings
• Do background research on your topic
• Identify features of your topic that are repeatable (someone else could make the same observation and get a similar result). At least one must be quantifiable (described with numbers, something you can measure or count).  Make predictions (formulate a hypothesis) about patterns or trends related to your topic
• Develop a plan to collect repeatable and quantifiable observations that will support or reject your hypothesis
• Produce a written report on your efforts on the items listed above

In Stage 2 you will:

• Refine your data collection plan
• Collect quantifiable and repeatable data using personal observations
• Document your data collection procedures so that other people can reliably repeat them
• Present your data in tabular and graphical formats
• Produce a written report on the above items from stages 1 and 2 including images and graphs

In Stage 3 you will:

• Draw logical conclusions from your data
• Discuss your data and explain why the data supports your hypothesis or causes you to reject your hypothesis
• Explain what you learned from your data and from the process of doing the experiment
• Prepare a written report that includes all the items from stages 1, 2, and 3
• Submit a draft of your final report for peer review (there is a separate grade for this item)
• Review the drafts of final reports from two different students seeking improvements they could make (there is a separate grade for this item)
• Modify your final report based on the peer reviews you receive from your fellow students
• Submit the finished version of your final report

Detailed Instructions

Stage 1

Consider what you want to observe for your observation project.  Almost anything in the natural world can be the basis of an observation project, including human behavior.  Take some time to actually watch what is happening around you and find something that really interests you.   There are a few constraints:

• The observations must be made by you Data obtained from books, the internet, or apps does not count.
• You must choose something where it is possible to make repeatable observations; that is, observations were you or someone else would get the same or similar data as you if the same observation approach is used.
• Avoid observations where you must make a judgement call.
• At least some of these data must be in the form of numbers – something that you can either measure or count. You must also choose something that you can do in the next month.
• Don’t choose something that requires a location you can’t get to, supplies you can’t get, or requires longer than a couple of weeks to collect the data.

To help you get started, here are some past project topics, memorable for being practical or impractical:

Great Topics

• Are there more birds at the bird feeder in the morning than in the afternoon?
• Which flavor of instant noodles boils over the fastest in the microwave?
• Which sort of seedling grows the fastest?
• Which days of the week and times of the day the most parking spaces open on my street?

Impractical Topics

• Does bread mold (or fruit rot) faster on the counter or in the fridge? This topic really doesn’t have any good quantifiable observations associated with it.
• Will this new diet work? Effects like “feeling better” aren’t repeatable observations and effects like losing weight take too long for this project.
• Reducing carbon dioxide emissions will cool the planet. There isn’t a good way to make a comparison here between different levels of emissions.   After all, there’s only one Earth.   Also, the effects take years to decades to observe, not 2 weeks.
• Sperm whales in the Antarctic prefer krill over all other foods. While you could make repeatable observations on this topic, you’d need a research ship in Antarctic waters, which isn’t something most people have access to.

Stage 1—Step 1:

Stage 1 emphasizes background research on your project topic.  This is the only part of the project where you will use a library or internet research.

Think about the following questions:

• If you are studying a process, where things change over time, how does the process work?
• How long does it take?
• If you are comparing one situation or environment to another, how are they different and what aspects of that environment affect your observations?
• What aspects of your topic are subject to repeatable observations? Which repeatable observations are quantifiable?
• How, exactly, might you make those observations?
• Will you need supplies, tools, or measurement devices? Do you have these items, or can you get them?

It’s likely that you will think about more than one topic and that your background research will help you sort out which one is going to work the best.    Keep in mind that even professional scientists often think about more than one project before picking one with good chances of success

Stage 1—Step 2:

Once you have settled on a topic or question and have decided that it is workable, consider a hypothesis related to that topic.  A hypothesis is a prediction about what repeatable observations will show.   Keep in mind that a hypothesis is a guess based on what you observed and there is not necessarily only one correct hypothesis related to your observations.   Make sure that your prediction (hypothesis) relates directly to the observations you plan to make.

Some examples of a solid hypothesis:

• There are more birds at the bird feeder at 6 AM each day than at 6 PM each day. (This is an observation that is easily counted. For example, the observer can count the number of birds at the bird feeder from 6:00-6:15 AM and again between 6:00-6:15 PM each day.)
• Chicken flavor noodles will boil over faster than shrimp or beef flavor when cooked in my microwave. (This hypothesis is acceptable because it states a clear expectation about how the data (in this case, time to boiling over point) compares for two or more conditions (in this case, noodle flavor) of the measurable feature (time to boiling over).
• At 5, 10, and 15 days after planting, sunflower seedlings will be taller than green bean seedlings. (This hypothesis is solid because it states expectations about how the measurable feature (growth) compares for two different conditions (type of seedling) at three different time points.)
• There will be more available parking spaces on my street at 10 AM on Tuesday than on any other day of the week. (This is a solid hypothesis because the observer will collect data about the number of available spaces at a very specific time of day (10 AM) every day of the week for at least three weeks to have an average of three data points for each day of the week.)

Some examples of an errant hypothesis:

• What’s the best time to try and park on my street? (There are a few concerns for this one. First, a hypothesis needs to be a statement. It should not be a question. Second, the hypothesis statement should include the features that you plan to measure (in this case, the number of parking spaces). Third, the term “best time” implies that data will be collected 24 hours for at least 7 days (a full week) which is not practical given that you will need to sleep and even, if the data is recorded, you would need to review video and make a count of 168 time periods each day for at least three different weeks. It is preferrable to narrow the observation window to a specific time of day every day for at least three different weeks.)
• Sunflower seedlings grow fast. (A hypothesis statement compares one or more conditions of a measurable feature of an observation. This statement does not include a comparison.)

Stage 1 Report

Your stage 1 report should include:

• A description of your topic or question and why you find it to be interesting. Why was this topic chosen?
• A summary of your background research. Cite your sources in APA citation format.
  • What features of your topic are observable with repeatable observations? List at least 3.
  • What features of your topic are measurable (described by numbers)?
  • Is there a cause-and-effect relationship between any features you wish to observe?
  • What factors could complicate your observations? For example, is the time of day of your observations important or could the temperature change what you observe?
  • What has been successfully tried in the past?
• A detailed description of what you plan to observe and how you plan to observe it. What tools, supplies, or locations are required for the planned observations?  Why are these observations repeatable?  Name at least one aspect of your planned observations that is quantifiable (described by a number)?
• At least one photo taken by the student of the process or phenomenon you plan to observe.
• Your hypothesis about your planned observations. Remember that a hypothesis is a statement, not a question, that should relate directly to your planned observations and include the measurable feature by name.
• Your report should be no more than 2 pages long, excluding graphics, photos, and references.

Grading Rubric, Stage 1

*These items are critical to successfully completing the rest of the project.  Failure to complete them adequately may result in a request for a revision, regardless of score on the assignment, because having a solid foundation for a workable project in stage 1 is necessary to successfully complete the other stages.  Your instructor is always available to help you choose and develop a topic.

Stage 2

In the second stage of the project, you will collect and analyze your data.   You may need to collect supplies and measurement tools or travel to particular locations.  You might need to spend a few minutes on several different days, or you might have a project you can do in one day.   Be sure to allow adequate time for the observations.

To make your observations repeatable, you will need to describe exactly what you did.   Describe any aspect of what you did or the environment that might be relevant.  Pictures can be very helpful in this process, so feel free to include lots of them, including a photo of you collecting your data.

Create a table listing your data.

Create a chart or graph that shows your data and highlights what you think are the important features of the data.

Stage 2 Report

Start with your stage 1 report to write your stage 2 report.   There are no penalties for copying extensively from your stage 1 report and this practice is encouraged.   In addition to all of the stage 1 items, your stage 2 report should include

• A detailed description of your data collection methods. This description should be sufficiently detailed so that someone else can read it and repeat exactly what you did and get the same results.    Your description must include at least one photo of you making observations.
• A table listing all your data. The table must have a title, column headings and measurement units where relevant.   Photos of your data notebook is not sufficient.   If it makes sense to do basic calculations with your data, such as calculating an average or a rate, include that also.
• A chart or graph of your data. The chart or graph must be of a type suitable for your data.   It must include a title, axis labels, and measurement units as appropriate.   The chart or graph should illustrate what you think is the most important aspect of your data and ideally make obvious whether your data supported your hypothesis or will cause you to reject your hypothesis.

The stage 2 report will typically be 4-6 pages, by may be longer if lots of photos and graphics are included.

Grading Rubric, Stage 2

Stage 3

In stage 3, you will compare your data to your hypothesis and explain why or how your data agrees with your hypothesis or not.  Does your data agree with or prove your hypothesis or reject it?

You will also explain what you learned doing this project.   What did you learn about your topic?   What did you learn about forming a good hypothesis that is testable using the scientific method?   What did you learn about data collection and describing data collection?   What did you learn about data analysis and presentation?

You will prepare a finished version of the stage 3 report for peer review.   After you receive peer reviews on your project, you will have an opportunity to edit your project and fix any problems identified by the reviewers, from typos to significant issues.  You are not required to agree with any of the reviewers about what is a problem nor to apply any fixes they suggest. You will only be graded on the final version that you submit to the Stage 3 folder.

The primary objective of the Peer Review assignment is another opportunity for you to demonstrate what you have learned. For the Peer Review, you are expected to provide helpful information to your classmates as part of your demonstration of what you learned by doing your own Observation Project.

Stage 3 Report

As for stage 2, you are strongly encouraged to copy any of or all the material from the stage 1 and stage 2 reports.   However, some editing of this material may be required to produce a single flowing narrative that sums up your entire project.   If someone read only the final version of the project, what would you want it to look like?

Your stage 3 report must include

• All the items from stages 1 and 2.
• A discussion of how your data supports or agrees with your hypothesis or how you reject your hypothesis based on your data. Clearly state whether you accept or reject your hypothesis in light of your data.   Completely explain your reasoning.
• Describe your take-away lessons from this project. Focus on what you learned about:
  • Your chosen observation topic
  • Forming and testing a hypothesis statement
  • How to collect data in an repeatable/objective manne
  • Data analysis
  • Presenting data graphically
  • Interpreting data

The stage 3 report will typically be 5-7 pages but might be longer if many photos or graphics are used to illustrate your topic, methods, or conclusions.

Grading Rubric, Stage 3

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