Research Methods for the Biosciences: Interactive Exercises

Table of Contents

1. CHAPTER 1: WHERE DO I BEGIN?
2. CHAPTER 2: EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
3. CHAPTER 3: WHAT TO DO WITH RAW DATA
   1. Exercise 1
   2. Exercise 2
4. CHAPTER 4: AN INTRODUCTION TO HYPOTHESIS TESTING
5. CHAPTER 5: HYPOTHESIS TESTING: DOES MY DATA FIT AN EXPECTED RATIO?
6. CHAPTER 6: HYPOTHESIS TESTING: ASSOCIATIONS AND RELATIONSHIPS
7. CHAPTER 7: HYPOTHESIS TESTING: DO MY SAMPLES COME FROM THE SAME POPULATION? PARAMETRIC DATA
8. CHAPTER 8: HYPOTHESIS TESTING: DO MY SAMPLES COME FROM THE SAME POPULATION? NON-PARAMETRIC DATA
9. CHAPTER 9: RESEARCH, THE LAW AND YOU
10. CHAPTER 10: REPORTING YOUR RESEARCH

CHAPTER 3: WHAT TO DO WITH RAW DATA

In this section we have included some additional examples for you to test out your understanding of the topics in this chapter. The areas each exercise covers are explained at the start of each question so that you can decide if this is a topic you would like to practice. Cross referencing to the book uses the numbers from the sections in the book. Cross referencing to material on these web pages is always indicated by a W.

Remember to always put an answer in the answer box before proceeding to the next part of the question! If the answer is a number you should enter the value up to 2 decimal places. The computer will check your answer. If it is not correct you will be able to check the calculation to see where you went wrong. For all calculations we provide the calculation in full and show how the calculation could be carried out using Excel, SPSS or Minitab.

If the answer is text then having entered your answer you will be able to link to our answer to see if you are correct.

Throughout these sections we have highlighted the words that appear in our glossary. This is provided as part of this web site to make it easy for you to check the meaning of these terms.

In the following interactive exercises we ask a series of questions about a particular undergraduate study. We then walk you through the steps you need to follow to answer each question. Where there are calculations you can check your answer, and see the calculation in full and see how to carry out these calculations using Excel, SPSS, and Minitab.

INTERACTIVE EXERCISE 1. EXAMPLE W7.1. The effect on reaction times of moderate alcohol intake in a cohort of 19 - 25 year olds.

The aim of this exercise is to develop your understanding of the use of the terms introduced in 3.1 and the topics covered in 8.2. This example relates to the interactive exercise 1 in Chapter 7 and Example W7.1.

INTERACTIVE EXERCISE 2. EXAMPLE W8.3. The inhibitory effect of oregano oil and selected antibiotics on certain bacteria.

This example was also used in interactive exercise 2 in Chapter 7. The aim of this exercise (exercise 2, Chapter 8) is to allow you to test your understanding of sections 4.1.2, 8.5 and 8.7.