Experimental Design B/C

[robotman]

Discussion for Experimental Design B/C.

Resources:
Experimental Design Wiki
2009 Thread
2010 Thread
2011 Thread
2012 Thread
2013 Thread
2014 Thread
2015 Thread
Experimental Design Test Exchange 2016

[Entomology]

First year of Experimental design! Can anyone give me some pointers?

[Panda Weasley]

First year of Experimental design! Can anyone give me some pointers?

First off: Yay!

I did ExpDes for 3 years in B, and the biggest piece of advice I can give you is practice with your partner(s) often. You would be surprised how much of a difference it makes to know the people you are competing with and know each others strengths. Know who is good at what so that if you get pressed for time during the competition you can split up the work and trust it will be done accurately and well. This is also true with any event.
My other piece of advice it know the rubric. Don't just know what is on it, know how much each item is worth and what the event leaders want. That way if need be you can skip parts that aren't worth as many points and focus on the sections that are worth lots of points. It's never good to skip things, but if it comes down to it skip the statement of problem, not the graph.
If you need any help feel free to PM me.

[samlan16]

First year of Experimental design! Can anyone give me some pointers?

My best advice would be to work with your partners every week by doing a practice exam. Try to vary the themes in order to prepare yourself for a wide range of possible materials given. Also, assign everyone specific parts of the report to write so you all know exactly what to do every time.

[mvxesque]

First year of Experimental design! Can anyone give me some pointers?

Along with the great advice from the posters above, devote some time to knowing a whole range of science concepts! you don't need to know as much depth about one specific field as some other events, but the limits for expd topics are pretty wide so be prepared for everything and be flexible! ^_^
I personally found 3 member teams so much less stressful, but some schools have 2 member expd teams who have also done super well.
Memorize the rubric, practice, correct, and practice again!
Best of luck to you in all of your events! ^_____^

[Fluorine]

First year of Experimental design! Can anyone give me some pointers?

Along with the great advice from the posters above, devote some time to knowing a whole range of science concepts! you don't need to know as much depth about one specific field as some other events, but the limits for expd topics are pretty wide so be prepared for everything and be flexible! ^_^
I personally found 3 member teams so much less stressful, but some schools have 2 member expd teams who have also done super well.
Memorize the rubric, practice, correct, and practice again!
Best of luck to you in all of your events! ^_____^

Having teams who have expansive knowledge basis on different topics helps a ton. I have seen tests cover basic physics, psych or chem topics. Personally our team has run two people for a while and we place top 5 usually at any competition. With two people the timing is a bit harder, so definitely practice to get the timing down. For example when my partner is writing the procedures I do the experiment and compile the data. Ideally everyone should be working on at least some part of the report. Also, it helps if you have people who can write and explain scientific concepts well. A well written simple experiment can easily beat a poorly written complex experiment. As mvxesque said above memorize the rubric too. I usually do this the day before competition, so it is fresh in my mind. This helps a ton especially if the ES gives only an outline instead of a rubric ( I have seen both). Lastly, always be flexible. This can be a hard thing to learn, but practicing will help. Being able to construct graphs, tables or a well-written applications without a perfect experiment can be tricky. But again make it work. I think the combination of these things challenges make Exp. Design an awesome event! Good luck with your events!

[MP Fan]

The rubric published on soinc.org states that Graphs are worth 12 points, but the Experimental Design Checklist in the rules book states that Graphs are worth 10 points. Which is it? 10 or 12?

[Panda Weasley]

The rubric published on soinc.org states that Graphs are worth 12 points, but the Experimental Design Checklist in the rules book states that Graphs are worth 10 points. Which is it? 10 or 12?

Are the rules state specific? Sometimes states will change things in events. I would go by what is in the rules (10) since that is what the event leaders will most likely be using at the regional and state competitions. Either way it doesn't affect you as a competitor too much as long as you do a good job on your graph.

[Skink]

The rules manual always wins. The materials posted on the National site are not extensions thereof; there's a disclaimer to that effect somewhere. Note that the ten is bolded, which means it's a change new to the 2016 season. I'm sure the rubric on the National site will be updated in time.

[samlan16]

The rules manual always wins. The materials posted on the National site are not extensions thereof; there's a disclaimer to that effect somewhere. Note that the ten is bolded, which means it's a change new to the 2016 season. I'm sure the rubric on the National site will be updated in time.

The rubric MP is referring to is from the 2014 season. A new one should be posted soon to reflect updates.