SCI4405 | Research Practice And Ethics | Research

Question 1 (2 marks):

Google ‘bad graph’. Select any of the numerous examples that will be shown in the search results and explain three things you think make it a bad graph. Include a picture of the graph in your answer (include a reference url).

Question 2 (3 marks):

In no more than 150 words, explain the differences between research based on an experimental design, a quasi-experimental design and an observational study.

Question 3 (3 marks):

Read the Motulsky et.al. (2014) journal article provided on the StudyDesk and in 200 words or less describe your understanding of p-hacking and why it is considered a bad approach to research. Do NOT copy sections of text directly out of the Motulsky paper – your answer MUST be in your own words.

Question 4 (2 marks):

Read the Broman & Woo (2017) journal article provided on the StudyDesk.

Some data collected and entered into a spreadsheet is shown below. Identify four potential problems with this data entry.

Mouse	heart rate bpm	sex	age
001	420	m	1.5
002	650	f	3
003	700	f	2
004	380	m	1.8
005	710	m	9999
006	512	f	NA

                                                                                                                 

                                                           

 Question 5 (2 marks):

Join the objects below with arrows showing relevant relationships, identify the relationships and then provide a definition of the 4 terms named in the objects.

Sample		Statistics

Population		Parameters

Question 6 (2 marks)

The average length of mouse tails was measured to see if there was a difference in tail length between black and white mice. Based on a t-test a highly significant difference was found (p<0.001)

Using the additional information below, comment on how you would interpret this ‘significant’ result.

White Mice		Black Mice
Mean	7.5cm	Mean	7.7cm
Standard	1.8cm	Standard	1.7cm
deviation		deviation
N	800	N	1,250

Question 7 (3 marks):

Read the Ioannidis et.al. (2005) journal article provided on the StudyDesk and in 200 words or less describe your understanding of ‘effect-size’ and how it can affect research results. Include in your answer some discussion of the relationship between effect-size and sample-size on the research outcomes. Do NOT copy sections of text directly out of the Ioannidis paper – your answer MUST be in your own words.

Question 8 (3 marks):

Complete the table below by indicating the appropriate graph type for each variable type:

Quantitative                                Categorical

Single Variables

Complete the table below by indicating the appropriate graph type for each combination of variables:

Quantitative                                Categorical

Categorical

Quantitative