Key Area 3 - Reporting & Critical Evaluation of Biological Research Flashcards
Background Information
What should scientific reports contain?
Scientific reports should contain an
explanatory title, an abstract including aims
and findings, an introduction explaining the
purpose and context of the study including
the use of several sources, supporting
statements, citations, and references.
Background information should be clear,
relevant and unambiguous. A title should
provide a succinct explanation of the study.
An abstract should outline the aims and
findings of the study.
What must an aim link together?
An aim must link the independent and
dependent variables.
Explain what an introduction should provide
The introduction should provide any
information required to support: choices of
method, results, and discussion. An
introduction should explain why the study has been carried out and place the study in the context of existing understanding. Key points should be summarised and supporting and contradictory information identified. Several sources should be selected to support statements, and citations and references should be in a standard form. Decisions regarding basic selection of study methods and organisms should be covered, as should the aims and hypotheses.
Reporting & Evaluating Experimental
Design
What should a method contain and why?
A method section should contain sufficient
information to allow another investigator to repeat the work.
What should an experimental design address and test?
Experimental design should address the
intended aim and test the hypothesis.
In the experimental design, what should be evaluated?
The validity and reliability of the experimental design should be evaluated. An experimental design that does not address the intended aim or test the hypothesis is invalid.
Treatment effects should be compared with what?
Treatment effects should be compared to
controls.
What should be taken
into account or standardised across
treatments?
Any confounding variables should be taken
into account or standardised across
treatments.
When may the validity of an experiment be
compromised?
The validity of an experiment may be
compromised when factors other than the
independent variable influence the value of
the dependent variable.
Explain the effect of selection bias and sample size on representative sampling.
Selection bias is the selection of a sample in
a non-random way, so that the sample is not representative of the whole population.
Selection bias may have prevented a
representative sample being selected.
Sample size may not be sufficient to decide
without bias whether the change to the
independent variable has caused an effect in the dependent variable.
Data analysis
How should data be presented?
In results, data should be presented in a
clear, logical manner suitable for analysis.
Consideration should be given to the validity of outliers and anomalous results.
What is a statistically significant result?
A statistically significant result is one that is
unlikely to be due to chance alone.
Error bars indicate the variability of data
around a mean.
If the treatment mean differs from the control mean sufficiently for their error bars not to overlap, this indicates that the difference may be significant.
What are statistical tests used to determine?
Statistical tests are used to determine
whether the differences between the means are likely or unlikely to have occurred by chance.
Evaluating Results & Conclusions
What should conclusions refer to?
Conclusions should refer to the aim, the
results and the hypothesis.
The validity and reliability of the experimental design should be taken into account.
Consideration should be given as to whether the results can be attributed to correlation or causation.
What should evaluations of conclusions refer to?
Evaluation of conclusions should also refer to existing knowledge and the results of other investigations.
Meaningful scientific discussion would
include consideration of findings in the
context of existing knowledge and the results of other investigations. Scientific writing should reveal an awareness of the
contribution of scientific research to increasing scientific knowledge, and to the
social, economic and industrial life of the
community.
