1. SERP Lesson 6 Critique of Introduction First Drafts (Lots of red pen) Experiment Design

2. Common errors –Poor organization –No synthesis of information – Lack of detailed explanations –Including information irrelevant to your project, e.g., anhedral/dihedral –In-text citation format; vague citations Introduction First Drafts: General thoughts or difficulties encountered?

3. Common errors –Grammar, e.g., fragments, run-ons, subject-verb agreement, adjectives vs. adverbs (fly “slower”), affect/effect –Personification & informal language, e.g., a lot, etc., contractions, “real” airplanes –Tenses: Avoid conditional and future tense; present for background, past for experiment –Empty sentences/words, e.g., first, second –Transitions: make connections between sentences and paragraphs but still be informative Introduction First Drafts: General thoughts or difficulties encountered?

4. Recommendations (by paragraph) 1.Aerodynamics is (define); sentence tying in airplane flight; forces impact ability of an object to maintain flight. 2.Thrust and drag; how they interact; how they impact flight (commercial and paper planes) 3.Gravity and lift; how they interact and how they impact flight (commercial and paper) 4.Bernoulli’s principle; importance in explaining lift; airfoil design 5.Newton’s third law (also can incorporate at beginning of paragraph 2); more complete explanation of lift 6.Gap in the knowledge (may or may not require separate paragraph) 7.Purpose (1 sentence); methods (2 sentences); hypothesis and explanation (1-2)

5. Recommendations (continued) Add to these paragraphs as necessary for YOUR project. E.g., a project on wing design –Anhedral/dihedral, chord length –Airfoil design in commercial airplanes

6. Critique of Experimental Protocols: Common Errors Plagiarism (cite your sources!) Too many variables No clear experiment No clear measurement Wordiness –“Take a piece of paper…”

7. Review of Lab Notebook Procedures Introduction Materials list Description of folding protocol with diagrams (dimensions) Description of experimental conditions Description of launch procedure Data collection –Qualitative and quantitative

8. Past Tense Detailed description of procedures Locations if field studies done Type of statistical analysis used –NO RESULTS IN THIS SECTION!! Organize logically and CHRONOLOGICALLY!!! Avoid irrelevant information Materials and Methods

9. Data Collection Quantitative data –Consistent units of measurement Qualitative (Categorical) data –Coding with numbers –DETAILED descriptions of categories Columns for data categories Data analysis discussed next meeting

10. Now what? Discuss with me to get approval. –My ‘gap in the knowledge’ is … –My independent variable is … How are you varying it? –My dependant variable is … How are you measuring it? –I am controlling for everything else by … Experiment with at least 100 throws per condition –WORK TOGETHER (groups for next project)

11. Now what? Convert Procedure into a Materials and Methods Written in the past tense –Organize material logically –Use specific informative language –Omit unnecessary information

12. Homework for 3/29 Get approval for your experiment Edit introduction Type materials and methods section from protocol Class on March 22 nd NO class on March 29 th or April 5 th –But I will be available to meet individually by appointment

13. Homework for 4/19 Edit introduction and materials and methods Create a lab notebook entry for each experiment. Record procedure as it is done and data as it is collected. Follow instructions on syllabus for recording data in notebook. Record both qualitative and quantitative data!! Both the notebook and a typed draft of the paper will be collected