Research Terms

Define an Abstract

• a brief overview of the investigation
• summarizes the important parts of your experiment and is a discussion of what the data, patterns, and relationships mean 
•  a numbered, step-by-step set of directions written to conduct an investigation and to identify what data will be collected 
• making sense of observations and data collected during an experiment using appropriate measures of central tendency (mean, median, mode, range) and by looking at patterns and relationships between the independent variable and the dependent variable

Define Data Analysis 

• a brief overview of the investigation
• summarizes the important parts of your experiment and is a discussion of what the data, patterns, and relationships mean 
•  a numbered, step-by-step set of directions written to conduct an investigation and to identify what data will be collected 
• making sense of observations and data collected during an experiment using appropriate measures of central tendency (mean, median, mode, range) and by looking at patterns and relationships between the independent variable and the dependent variable

Define Procedure

• a brief overview of the investigation
• summarizes the important parts of your experiment and is a discussion of what the data, patterns, and relationships mean 
•  a numbered, step-by-step set of directions written to conduct an investigation and to identify what data will be collected 
• making sense of observations and data collected during an experiment using appropriate measures of central tendency (mean, median, mode, range) and by looking at patterns and relationships between the independent variable and the dependent variable

Define Conclusion 

• a brief overview of the investigation
• summarizes the important parts of your experiment and is a discussion of what the data, patterns, and relationships mean 
•  a numbered, step-by-step set of directions written to conduct an investigation and to identify what data will be collected 
• making sense of observations and data collected during an experiment using appropriate measures of central tendency (mean, median, mode, range) and by looking at patterns and relationships between the independent variable and the dependent variable

What is a hypothesis?

• an educated guess stating what you believe will be the result of your experiement
• a random guess
• a statement of the outcome of your experiment
• step by step directions for your experiment

The independent variable is the ONE thing you _____.

• change on purpose
• control or keep constant
• measure

The variable that is being measured or observed is called the _______________. Hint: this is the variable that is the result or effect 

• independent variable
• dependent variable
• control variable

An experiment is performed on plants to see how different liquids affect plant growth. Each plant in the experiment is given a different liquid: water, apple juice, or milk. What variables should be kept constant/controlled? 

• type of plant, flower pot,  soil, and amount of sunlight
• water, apple juice, milk
• only the amount of sunlight
• type of plant only

Why do we want to test one variable at a time?

• Because it is hard to setup a data table with more
• To know what is causing the changes. This helps us understand cause and effect.
• It is what has always been done

What is a constant/control in an experiment?

• Things that do not change in an  experiment.  It's the variable that stays the same.  
• It's the variables that the scientist changes in the experiment
• It's the variables that are being measured in an experiment