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Assignments

References

Writing a paper: style at a glance (This resource may not render correctly in a screen reader.PDF)

Writing a scientific paper (PDF)

Giving a short: guideline for slides (PDF)

Transition Words - Words that you should use for linking ideas

A good selection of Web Resources

Description of Assignments

Issue Spotter Exercises

We will do a few "issue spotter" exercises in class whenever relevant. These exercises consist of a critic of an experimental design and the results. Issue spotters will be distributed in class and you can work on them in groups. They will count towards "participation" grade.

CogLab Assignments

You choose 4 CogLab experiments among the 5 CogLab experiments that we propose. These are short (5 to 15 min) experiments.

  • Perform 4 CogLab experiments (2-3 pages each)
  • 1 Science newspaper article on your project

The CogLab procedure consists of running the experiment on a Mac or PC and saving the data in html or excel. After receiving the group data, do a statistical analysis and write a 2-3 page report. If you are a CogLab presenter, prepare a 10 min. talk. The summary consists of a 2-3 page word document that includes:

  • A title describing the CogLab research topic
  • A short abstract (~150 words maximum)
  • Introduction
  • Hypothesis
  • Experimental method
  • Result: Add a table or a graph
  • Statistical analysis
  • Interpretation of your result
  • Conclusion
  • References

CogLab 2: Issue Spotter assignment 1 with answer key (PDF)

CogLab 3: Issue Spotter assignment 2 with answer key (PDF)

CogLab 3: Issue Spotter assignment 3: Prototypes (PDF)

Written Assignments

  • Paper 1 (~ 2500 words)—A literature review based on about 10 articles. The review is related to your project topic and helps you define an original research question.
  • Paper 2 (~ 2500 words)—One experiment (Experiment 1), often single-factor design with controls. A report on Experiment 1 will constitute the basis of a research report.
  • Paper 3 (~ 4500 words)—One experiment (Experiment 2), often two-factors with controls (related to Project 2). Experiment 2 (and a summary of Experiment 1 when relevant) will constitute the basis of the final research paper.

Note: All research projects are done in groups of 1-3 students. All papers are written individually.

Oral Presentations

Oral presentations consist of class participation, 1 CogLab experiment and 3 talks.