Checklist
Data Tables
Graphs
Calculations
Analysis
Conclusion
Data Tables
- At least 5 increments for an independent variable
- Table has a clear title
- All units of IV and DV are given in column headings
- Uncertainties are given with the unit in column headings and match the number of decimal places
- Qualitative data (some observations) are noted
Graphs
- Graphs have a clear title (can use same title from data table)
- Data should be presented in a way that directly answers the research question
- All units of IV and DV are given on the axes
- Uncertainties are given with the unit in column headings
- Only the means are plotted
- Error bars are plotted (from standard deviation or min/max values)
Calculations
- mean is calculated
- standard deviation is calculated (if your data allows - a minimum of 5 repeats is required for a valid calculation)
- sample calculations are written out
Analysis
- Calculations or statistical test are appropriate to investigation, justified and answer research question
- Discuss any patterns or trends with reference to your analyzed data/graphs
- make sure you constantly support anything you write with numbers from your graph
- Explain the size of your standard deviations and link it to how significant your data is (If you calculated SD)
- Explain error bar source
Conclusion
- Your conclusion should only be one small paragraph
- Conclusion is based on and refers to the interpretation of processed and raw data
- Level of support (strong, weak, no support, inconclusive, etc) for teh hypothesis/research question is indentified, correct and justified
- possible impacts of qualitative discussed
- Refers to trends or patterns seen in data to support conclusions. uses data in conclusion statements
- The conclusion should discuss how well you can answer your research question with your data