writing up a lab report

What is the definition of a theory

A well substantiated explanation of an aspect of the natural world that can inciorpate laws of hypotheses and facts

What is the definition of a hypothesis

Scientific explanation of a set of observations

What are 2 key points of a hypothesis

Must be testable

Must be falsifiable

How do we conduct an experiment

• define a dependent variable

• Define an independent measure

• Set up a controlled experiment

• Account for bias/error

What are sources of bias before the experiment?

• flawed study

• Selection bias

• Experimenter bias

What are sources of bias during an experiment

• Miss classification of outcome

• Recall bias

• Performance bias

What are sources of bias post experiment

• publication bias

• Researcher bias

What are ways to control for bias?

• Blind the experimenter

• Randomise dosing

• Repeat the experiment many times (3x)

• Repeat in different labs but similar method

• Blind analysis

• Quantify experimental errors

What is the format of a scientific article

• abstract - summary of the purpose

• Introduction - context of your research

• Methods - what you did

• Results - data e.g. graphs/images

• Discussion - conclusions

• References - scientific article you have based your writing on e.g. Harvard style