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Hi! I'm a 7th grader and I decided to work on the topic "Testing the accuracy of eyewitness testimony".
The purpose of this project is to determine whether eyewitness reports are reliable enough to be used as substantial evidence in criminal convictions, by examining whether different objects, and delay in recollection time affect the accuracy reporting.
This is tested by two people wear different color T-shirts and interacts with several groups of people and the observations.
The control is the students without bright/dark color T-shirts.
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The experimental procedure of my project will be like two people (one dress in bright-color T-shirt and one will dress in dark) will go to a classroom (there's half a class) and steal something from the classroom. And then the teacher will pass some surveys to them and ask them to give her back on the next day. Then they leave and the rest of the half class comes and repeat the procedure but the survey is turn it right after the event. And then those surveys will have three groups one of them are asking about the dark person, one of them are asking about the bright person and one of them will ask both. Then I'll collect the survey and see how many details do they observe.
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So now is the problem part, what hypothesis should I state? what kind of information should I find? Also for the survey, what should I write on the survey? Thank you.
Sincerely,
Alvin
Testing the accuracy of eyewitness testimony
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Sareena Avadhany
- Former Expert
- Posts: 163
- Joined: Fri Oct 21, 2005 10:15 pm
Hi alvinko,
This is a great project. I recently helped a student who had a similar project to yours but with different procedures.
The first thing you need to do is list what you are trying to test. Your description of your procedures look a little complicated, and it looked like you were trying to test too many things at once.
Control: I am a little confused about this one. What do you mean 'the students w/o bright/dark t-shirts?
Variables: ___________ is dependent on ___________
(WHAT?) - Dependent is dependent on (WHAT?) - Independent. You are trying to see whether time delay has an effect on the accuracy of the outcome of your survey, right?
This is the confusing part: For the 2nd half of the class that comes in, you are dividing them into 3 groups and each group has to answer questions about the dark person, bright person and both people. This sounds like a whole different project that you can pursue. I would suggest that you focus your project on either time delay, or the three groups. That way, when you're doing your data analysis, you would not be analyzing too much data.
Your hypothesis: Your hypothesis is an educated guess that can be proved to be true or false.
Your "educated guess" means that you've done research on your topic. How much have you done? If not, the first step I would suggest you take is to read the "Testing the Accuracy of Eyewitness Testimony." This is another topic in the life sciences section, a couple topics down from this post. It will have about 7 pages of information for you to look at. Please take advantage of it as it has copious amounts of valuable information relative to your project.
Trials: doing trials will definitely increase the accuracy of your yielded data. 5 trials for 7th graders and 5 trials for 8th graders means that there will be 20 different groups taking your survey. Remember, you don't want to have too much data with you. For example, when I did my science project (I was testing an acid on the growth of pinto beans) I had 60 pinto beans for each batch, and I had 4 batches. That is 240 plants I was measuring twice a week. I was so overwhelmed with the data I had that I spent hours trying to properly organize it.
You're also bringing in the fact that you're testing two grades. Age might be a huge factor in determining whether their testimony is accurate or not. For instance, a 70 year old lady who didn't have her glasses at the time of the murder might not give as accurate a description of the murder than another lady who witnessed it but is 30 years younger. Try to control as many factors as you possibly can.
This is alot of information to deal with. Please ask anymore questions if you're confused or if I didn't explain something properly.
I hope this helps,
Sareena
This is a great project. I recently helped a student who had a similar project to yours but with different procedures.
The first thing you need to do is list what you are trying to test. Your description of your procedures look a little complicated, and it looked like you were trying to test too many things at once.
Control: I am a little confused about this one. What do you mean 'the students w/o bright/dark t-shirts?
Variables: ___________ is dependent on ___________
(WHAT?) - Dependent is dependent on (WHAT?) - Independent. You are trying to see whether time delay has an effect on the accuracy of the outcome of your survey, right?
This is the confusing part: For the 2nd half of the class that comes in, you are dividing them into 3 groups and each group has to answer questions about the dark person, bright person and both people. This sounds like a whole different project that you can pursue. I would suggest that you focus your project on either time delay, or the three groups. That way, when you're doing your data analysis, you would not be analyzing too much data.
Your hypothesis: Your hypothesis is an educated guess that can be proved to be true or false.
Your "educated guess" means that you've done research on your topic. How much have you done? If not, the first step I would suggest you take is to read the "Testing the Accuracy of Eyewitness Testimony." This is another topic in the life sciences section, a couple topics down from this post. It will have about 7 pages of information for you to look at. Please take advantage of it as it has copious amounts of valuable information relative to your project.
Trials: doing trials will definitely increase the accuracy of your yielded data. 5 trials for 7th graders and 5 trials for 8th graders means that there will be 20 different groups taking your survey. Remember, you don't want to have too much data with you. For example, when I did my science project (I was testing an acid on the growth of pinto beans) I had 60 pinto beans for each batch, and I had 4 batches. That is 240 plants I was measuring twice a week. I was so overwhelmed with the data I had that I spent hours trying to properly organize it.
You're also bringing in the fact that you're testing two grades. Age might be a huge factor in determining whether their testimony is accurate or not. For instance, a 70 year old lady who didn't have her glasses at the time of the murder might not give as accurate a description of the murder than another lady who witnessed it but is 30 years younger. Try to control as many factors as you possibly can.
This is alot of information to deal with. Please ask anymore questions if you're confused or if I didn't explain something properly.
I hope this helps,
Sareena
-
alvinko
- Posts: 4
- Joined: Wed May 31, 2006 5:51 am
Hi Sareena,
Sorry for late posting because in these days I was in a field trip of Washington DC and cannot reply >< OK Now I've filled in a pre-summer packet and gave it to my 7th grade science teacher. (She's a great and wonderful teacher, she knew my problem and she will help me for the things I don't know.) She suggested me to do a background research about these certain things after I gave her the packet and your suggestion:
1) What is eyewitness testimony?
2) Is eyewitness reports reliable for criminal convictions?
3) Does these abilities may vary of the people's age?
4) How to prevent the wrong information of eyewitness reports?
And I reduce the amount of trials from 10 classes to 6 (3 8th grade and 3 7th grade) Although there's still a big amount of people, but I think I can handle it =]
Also for the control: My teacher gave me a sentence to fill of this section:
My control of this experiment is the part of experiment with no _________.
I don't know how can my control fit in this sentence.
So I'll do the research first? or the hypothesis? Because we will have 2 1/2 month for research and there's a long time!
Variables: I still not very understand? What should I write? Or I'll fill that later until my teacher give me a summer packet for more suggestions and infomation?
Thanks,
Alvin
Sorry for late posting because in these days I was in a field trip of Washington DC and cannot reply >< OK Now I've filled in a pre-summer packet and gave it to my 7th grade science teacher. (She's a great and wonderful teacher, she knew my problem and she will help me for the things I don't know.) She suggested me to do a background research about these certain things after I gave her the packet and your suggestion:
1) What is eyewitness testimony?
2) Is eyewitness reports reliable for criminal convictions?
3) Does these abilities may vary of the people's age?
4) How to prevent the wrong information of eyewitness reports?
And I reduce the amount of trials from 10 classes to 6 (3 8th grade and 3 7th grade) Although there's still a big amount of people, but I think I can handle it =]
Also for the control: My teacher gave me a sentence to fill of this section:
My control of this experiment is the part of experiment with no _________.
I don't know how can my control fit in this sentence.
So I'll do the research first? or the hypothesis? Because we will have 2 1/2 month for research and there's a long time!
Variables: I still not very understand? What should I write? Or I'll fill that later until my teacher give me a summer packet for more suggestions and infomation?
Thanks,
Alvin
-
Sareena Avadhany
- Former Expert
- Posts: 163
- Joined: Fri Oct 21, 2005 10:15 pm
Hi Alvin,
I hope you enjoyed your field trip to Washington D.C. Your background research is definitely very important. You just posed a question/purpose: The purpose of this project is to determine whether eyewitness reports are reliable enough to be used as substantial evidence in criminal convictions, by examining whether different objects, and delay in recollection time affect the accuracy reporting.
Then the next part is formulating an educated guess that can be proved or falsified. This is your hypothesis. But how can you make an educated guess when you don't know enough background on your question? So in answer to your question, research definitely goes before your hypothesis. That doesn't mean to say that once you have collected and analyzed enough resources to formulate a hypothesis should you stop referring to books. Anytime you are confused or just want more support during the entire process always go back to your resources.
I'm glad that you decided to reduce the number of trials you are conducting. The purpose, however is asking two things: whether different objects -1-affect accuracy of reporting and whether time delay-2-affect the accuracy of your reporting. I would suggest you only test one.
Controls: Everything outside of what you want to test is what you want to control. You do not want to test if different ages or grades affect the accuracy of the report, therefore you need to control that. This means that you need to only test one age group or one grade. You do not want to see if the environment affects the accuracy, so all the subjects need to observe the scenario in the same environment.
I don't know what your teacher means by "My control of this experiment is the part of experiment with no ______" but I am guessing variables. It seems you are confused about what variables are. This website might clarify things that seem foggy to you:
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/mentorin ... bles.shtml
I hope this answers all your questions. Please ask any more and update me on your project!
Sincerely,
Sareena
I hope you enjoyed your field trip to Washington D.C. Your background research is definitely very important. You just posed a question/purpose: The purpose of this project is to determine whether eyewitness reports are reliable enough to be used as substantial evidence in criminal convictions, by examining whether different objects, and delay in recollection time affect the accuracy reporting.
Then the next part is formulating an educated guess that can be proved or falsified. This is your hypothesis. But how can you make an educated guess when you don't know enough background on your question? So in answer to your question, research definitely goes before your hypothesis. That doesn't mean to say that once you have collected and analyzed enough resources to formulate a hypothesis should you stop referring to books. Anytime you are confused or just want more support during the entire process always go back to your resources.
I'm glad that you decided to reduce the number of trials you are conducting. The purpose, however is asking two things: whether different objects -1-affect accuracy of reporting and whether time delay-2-affect the accuracy of your reporting. I would suggest you only test one.
Controls: Everything outside of what you want to test is what you want to control. You do not want to test if different ages or grades affect the accuracy of the report, therefore you need to control that. This means that you need to only test one age group or one grade. You do not want to see if the environment affects the accuracy, so all the subjects need to observe the scenario in the same environment.
I don't know what your teacher means by "My control of this experiment is the part of experiment with no ______" but I am guessing variables. It seems you are confused about what variables are. This website might clarify things that seem foggy to you:
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/mentorin ... bles.shtml
I hope this answers all your questions. Please ask any more and update me on your project!
Sincerely,
Sareena
-
alvinko
- Posts: 4
- Joined: Wed May 31, 2006 5:51 am
Hi Sareena,
I decided to only work on the different object (Dark, Bright-color students) and age because the time delay one may be a little more difficult than this one. Also one of my class is doing a simillar project and they are testing the time delay. I want my project is more unique and informative. Does 2 things still too much?
Also for the age, I think I can make the difference of age become more obvious(Like 3 3rd grade classes and 3 7th grade classes)
I want to do the hypothesis later because I want to do a well research first. Probably I'll finish my research in August. Is there any museums/places that I can research in Chicago, Illinois? Because I think go to some actual places may be better for research.
For the variables, I copied the table in the website you provided and try to use my data to fit in there.
Thanks,
Alvin
I decided to only work on the different object (Dark, Bright-color students) and age because the time delay one may be a little more difficult than this one. Also one of my class is doing a simillar project and they are testing the time delay. I want my project is more unique and informative. Does 2 things still too much?
Also for the age, I think I can make the difference of age become more obvious(Like 3 3rd grade classes and 3 7th grade classes)
I want to do the hypothesis later because I want to do a well research first. Probably I'll finish my research in August. Is there any museums/places that I can research in Chicago, Illinois? Because I think go to some actual places may be better for research.
For the variables, I copied the table in the website you provided and try to use my data to fit in there.
And one more thing, should I wait the summer packet from school for more detailed informations before I start my research?Question: How different color objects affect the accuracy of eyewitness reports?
Independent Variable: Eyewitness testimony [The average score of the survey(?)]
Dependent Variables:
Group 1 [people who got survey that focus on the bright color one]
Group 2 [people who got survey that focus on the dark color one]
Group 3 [People who got survey that focus on both groups of people...(Is that necessary?)
Controlled Variables: the table keep on saying the concept of "Same (amount of thing/time period)"... So is it right if I put "Same period of time to show up[stealing]?"
Thanks,
Alvin
-
Sareena Avadhany
- Former Expert
- Posts: 163
- Joined: Fri Oct 21, 2005 10:15 pm
Hi Alvin,
I'm glad that you are excited to start your project.
I really think that you should only focus on one objection here. If you would like to do two, then do two experiments. As for now, though, I strongly suggest you only choose one. If you would like to choose age, then go with that choice.
The best place for finding information is just to talk to people who would know. If your family is friends with people who work with people (like lawyers, or psychologists) or people who have studied human behavior, ask them! Make sure you create a list of questions before you talk to them. It always looks better to come prepared.
For instance: If you would like to interview a lawyer for your research and you've scheduled it a week from now, what are the things you are to do? Well first, read! You know your objective - to see how a factor affects the accuracy of an eyewitness testimony. It is very important to know about your topic before you ask questions. Then when you do ask, your questions would allow the person you are interviewing to answer better than if you knew nothing about your topic at all.
If you are confused, please tell me.
I think you have misunderstood what I meant about the variables you are testing. Variables are similar to coordinate points on a graph. Have you done plotting on graphs yet? If not, please tell me, but I will continue if you do. Let's say you have an equation: y=x+1. Now what is the first thing you do? You plug in values for x to find values for y, right? So if you make x=1, y=2. So that basically means that whatever value of y you get is dependent on what x you plug in.
It is the same case when you are using variables in science. Your dependent variable is y, and your independent variable is x. The accuarcy of your eye-witness testimony is dependent on age. If you don't understand, I'd be more than glad to explain it again.
Hope this helps!
Sareena
I'm glad that you are excited to start your project.
I really think that you should only focus on one objection here. If you would like to do two, then do two experiments. As for now, though, I strongly suggest you only choose one. If you would like to choose age, then go with that choice.
The best place for finding information is just to talk to people who would know. If your family is friends with people who work with people (like lawyers, or psychologists) or people who have studied human behavior, ask them! Make sure you create a list of questions before you talk to them. It always looks better to come prepared.
For instance: If you would like to interview a lawyer for your research and you've scheduled it a week from now, what are the things you are to do? Well first, read! You know your objective - to see how a factor affects the accuracy of an eyewitness testimony. It is very important to know about your topic before you ask questions. Then when you do ask, your questions would allow the person you are interviewing to answer better than if you knew nothing about your topic at all.
If you are confused, please tell me.
I think you have misunderstood what I meant about the variables you are testing. Variables are similar to coordinate points on a graph. Have you done plotting on graphs yet? If not, please tell me, but I will continue if you do. Let's say you have an equation: y=x+1. Now what is the first thing you do? You plug in values for x to find values for y, right? So if you make x=1, y=2. So that basically means that whatever value of y you get is dependent on what x you plug in.
It is the same case when you are using variables in science. Your dependent variable is y, and your independent variable is x. The accuarcy of your eye-witness testimony is dependent on age. If you don't understand, I'd be more than glad to explain it again.
Hope this helps!
Sareena