Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hi drago76,

Excellent! You've done so much work.

Your scenario sounds great. I'm really looking forward to your results. It is detailed, but I remember in a previous post that you wanted to divide the questions by easy, medium and hard. Most of your question are asking for an answer of a minute part of the scene.

So you are having 30 people take the survey: 15 from 4th period and 15 from 5 period? If so, are you going to have one class take it right after the scene and another class take it a day later?

The Scientific Method: have you not created your hypothesis yet? With the powerpoint you found, it's time to formulate it! Construct your hypothesis before you do your experiment. IT IS ESSENTIAL. Either you think that taking the test at different time will or will not affec
t the accuracy of the human subjects' memories.

Also remember, before your conclusion is data analysis. In data analysis you are looking at your raw data and just analyze it. For example, your 4th period class had a better average score than your 5th period class. In your data analysis, you would state: 4th period's average score was higher than 5th period. You include charts and graphs here too.

In your conclusion, you relate your data analysis to your hypothesis. For example, "Because 4th period's test scores were better than 5th period's, my hypothesis was proven. The accuracy of the eye-witness written testimony was better when taken right after the scene...." You also include some faults in your experiment that could have lead to your results. For example, in your conclusion you could state that the survey questions were subjective to the person, not everybody has the same memory capabilities or a long attention span.

The powerpoint presentation is GREAT! This will help you.

Arousal Level
- High levels = reduced accuracy
- Kasin et al. (2001)
==98% of experts think this is true
==60% think it is reliable enough to testify Question What does that mean?

From my understanding, when aroused, you are stimulated by something. If high levels of stimulation (like a pressured situation in which you have to react quickly) are there, the accuracy of your account is reduced. "Kasin et al. (2001)" is a citation. There is no bibliography slide so you would not be able to see the book name. This is where the person who create the presentation got this information from. From the book (or other source) that "Kasin et al." wrote they stated that 98% of experts say this is true. The last subheading (60%) might mean that although 98% of experts think that high level=reduced accuracy, they still believe the account is accurate enough to testify in court.

I hope this helps,
Sareena

Hi Sareena,

I remember in a previous post that you wanted to divide the questions by easy, medium and hard. Most of your question are asking for an answer of a minute part of the scene.

Yeah, well I remember you saying that they are subjective, so I think that just listing the questions would be simpler.

So you are having 30 people take the survey: 15 from 4th period and 15 from 5 period? If so, are you going to have one class take it right after the scene and another class take it a day later?

That's right.

I think my hypothesis should be (and correct me for my mistakes): I hypothesis that time delay is a major factor in the accuracy of eyewitness testimony. I'll continue tomorrow I have to go now.

Hi Sareena,

This is what I have so far. Please correct me for any mistakes.
Purpose: The purpose of our science project is to determine whether time delay affects human accuracy. [Is this long enough? I don't know what else to add]

I think my hypothesis should be (and correct me for my mistakes):
We hypothesize that time delay is a major factor in the accuracy of eyewitness testimony. With longer time delay, we think that people would not provide as much of a detailed description then people with short time delay (Did I explain this part right?) [Is this a good hypothesis and am I missing anything or have any spelling errors?]

Procedure:
Day before day one
Gather material up materials such as creating the surveys and planning the scene.

Day one
Gather up 15 human test subjects from two different 8th grade classes. Group the first class to make group 1 and the second class to make group 2. Then perform the scene once for them to see. After performing the scene to the human test subjects, send group 2 back to their classes. After group 2 is sent back, pass out surveys to group 1 and have them complete the questions given with the time limit of ten minutes. Collect the surveys after each one of them have finished and send group 1 back to their classes

Day two
Gather up group 2 again and hand them the survey to complete within ten minutes. Collect them after they are done and send them back to their classes.

Grade group 1's and group 2's surveys based on accurracy and details. Then find the average scores of the two groups and plot them on a graph.

Materials:
(30) human test subject *required 8th grade
camera
(30) survey papers
actor to act out scene
Purpose: The purpose of our science project is to determine whether time delay affects human accuracy. [Is this long enough? I don't know what else to add]

I'll put more later when I have more information. I still need background research information and observation [?] I think.

Also, I was wondering.. When my partner does the scene do I take pictures of the step-by-step things that my partner does? (ex. take a picture when he comes in, take another when he puts newspaper in book, another when he looks and watch, another when he drops book?) And for my data, do I average out the grades of the 4th period and the 5th period and put it into a bar graph? I don't know which way to show my data.

I still don't know what to do about pictures.

Thanks,
drago76

Hi drago76,

This sounds great so far. Let me go step by step:

Purpose: Your purpose is great!

Hypothesis: A hypothesis is what you think. So why do you need to put 'we think' in your hypothesis. Simply state it:

We hypothesize that time delay is a major factor in the accuracy of AN eyewitness testimony. With A longer time delay, THE HUMAN SUBJECTS will not provide as much a of detailed description THAN HUMAN SUBJECTS with a SHORTER time delay.

Research: This is where your research part comes in. YOUR HYPOTHESIS IS FORMULATED BASED ON YOUR RESEARCH> so show research that supports your hypothesis.

Procedure:

WHAT YOU ARE MISSING: CONTROL, and INDEPENDENT AND DEPENDENT VARIABLES

DAY BEFORE DAY ONE - I do not think this is necessary.

DAY ONE:
"Gather up 15 human test subjects from two different 8th grade classes" - it sounds like you are only using 15. Rewrite the sentence so it is more clear that you are taking 15 subjects from 4th period and another 15 subjects from 5th period.

I WOULD HIGHLY SUGGEST YOU NUMBER YOUR PROCEDURES. IT IS MUCH MORE CONCISE AND UNDERSTANDABLE.

DAY TWO:
"Grade group 1 and group 2's surveys based on accuracy and details" Do any of your questions require a detailed response? Remember, details are subjective. You are trying to see if they notice details in the scene, but do you want your subjects to write in detail? (for ex. 3 or 4 sentences per answer?) That would mean leaving your questions very open....which I would go against. Make your questions sharp and to the point. If you leave them open, then the answers would be subjective.

Note: Observation and Purpose are the same.

I think it is important to take pictures. But then again, if the subjects you are testing are likely to be distracted while your taking pictures during the scenario, you might reconsider. They definitely enhance your poster board. Or you could make it clear to pay attention to the scene and not the camera.

Hope this helps,
Sareena

Hi Sareena,

Thanks for replying right away. I'll just rewrite/update my information

Purpose: *COMPLETED* The purpose of our science project is to determine whether time delay affects human accuracy.

Hypothesis: *COMPLETED?* We hypothezize that time delay is a major factor in the accuracy of an eyewitness testimony. With a longer time delay, the human subjects will not provide as much a of detailed description than human subjects with a shorter time delay.

Research: Soon to come.. hopefull tomorrow

Procedure: What do you mean control, independent and dependent variables? Do I have to add them in there and where do I find them? Or do I already have them when I finish typing them with the tips you gave me?Also how do I number them? Like this?

DAY ONE
1. Gather up 15 human test subjects from 4th Period and another 15 human test subjects from 5th Period.
2. The 15 students from 4th Period is named Group 1 and the 15 students from 5th Period named Group 2. [I don't like the sentence I think it's too confusing.. or is it ok? How can I change it to make it more understandable]
3. [Do I tell them what I do in the scene here or somewhere else and if so where? Do I even have to tell them what I do in the scene?]
3. Perform the staged scene in a classroom.
4. Send Group 2 back to their classes
5. Pass out surveys to Group 1 and have them complete the questions given within ten minutes.
6. Collect the surveys and grade the scores based on accuracy.

DAY TWO
1. Gather up Group 2 and pass out the same survey that Group 1 took within ten minutes.
2. Collect the surveys and grade the scores based on accuracy.
3. Compare Group 1 and Group 2's scores and put the information on a graph.

Materials: Is it good enough? Because you didn't make any comments on it.
(30) human test subject *required 8th grade
camera
(30) survey papers
actor to act out scene

I think it is important to take pictures. But then again, if the subjects you are testing are likely to be distracted while your taking pictures during the scenario, you might reconsider. They definitely enhance your poster board. Or you could make it clear to pay attention to the scene and not the camera.

Yeah but what if I have a non-flash camera. Also the main thing that I want to know is if i have to take a picture of EVERYTHING that the actor does or should I just take a couple of pictures? I'm going to combine group 1 and 2 in a classroom so that we don't have to do the scene 2 times.

Thanks a lot,
drago76

Hi drago76,

Purpose: Completed
Hypothesis: Kind of funky here. "With a longer time delay, the human subjects will not provide as much OF A detailed description than THE human subjects with a shorter time delay."

This is weird because "detailed description" is subjective. I would suggest inserting "survey" and "accuracy" in your hypothesis. That's what you are testing, so that is what you are hypothesizing.

Ex. We hypothesize that because the time delay is shorter for group 1 than group 2, group 1 will answer the survey more accurately than group 2.

THIS IS JUST AN EXAMPLE...You are welcome to use my ideas, but formulate your own hypothesis.

Research...Great

Procedure:

CONTROL, INDEPENDENT and DEPENDENT VARIABLES- in every science project you are trying to test something. With what you are trying to test, your environment has to be controlled. For example:

For your controls: See what you are controlling (Both groups are seeing the same scene. Both groups are in the same classroom at the same time...etc. Think about everything you are trying to control in your experiment to make it as accurate as possible.

For your variables: _________ depends on ____________. What depends on what? You are trying to test whether TIME DELAY has an effect on THE ACCURACY OF YOUR SURVEY. Now think about this: what is your independent variable? Dependent? WHAT (dependent) depends on WHAT (independent)?

DAY ONE
1. "gather..." the use of gather sounds weird. I would suggest: Randomly select 30 human subjects - 15 human subjects from 4th period class and another 15 human subjects from 5th period class.
2. It sounds fine
3. DEFINITELY DESCRIBE THE SCENARIO

Materials: It seems fine

Camera: What do you think you should do? I would not suggest you take pictures of everything the actor does. But if you do, have him act out the scene alone w/out anyone watching and just take pictures so the distraction factor won't be there.

drago76, you are a smart kid! You have the capabilities to think outside the box. It's important for you to do that. I am guiding you through your project and I am very happy to see you doing well through this forum. But remember, the whole process of doing a science fair project is to think creatively!

Please feel free to ask any questions if you need the help.

I hope this helps,
Sareena

Hi Sareena,

Thank you very much. Without you I wouldn't know if my project would come out right.

Purpose: Completed. The purpose of our science project is to determine whether time delay affects human accuracy.

Introduction: [I think i need to do an instruction and explain about jurors and time delay.. or is that supposed to be for research?]
Hypothesis: I couldnt think of a better one than yours.
We hypothesize that because the time delay is shorter for Group 1 then Group 2, Group 1 will answer the survey more accurately than Group 2.

Procedure:

DAY ONE
1. Randomly select 30 human subjects - 15 human subjects from 4th period class and another 15 human subjects from 5th period class.
2. The 15 students from 4th Period is named Group 1 and the 15 students from 5th Period named Group 2.
*NEW*3. Have them all sit at desks in a classroom facing the chalkboard.
4. The actor is dressed in brightly-colored clothing and sent to the classroom to act out a scene in front of all the students. ***The actor walks in and says, "What's for lunch?" then goes to the teacher's desk. There he finds a yellow book and a newspaper. He then folds the newspaper and puts it inside the book. After that, he tucks the book under his right arm and heads toward the door. He looks at his watch, then at the classroom clock. He pushes open the door, drops the book, picks it up, and then leaves.*** ***Do I need to put the scene in STEP 4 or can I type it and put it NEXT (like to the right or below) the procedure on my board?***
5. Take pictures of the actor and the students during the scene.
6. After the scene, send Group 2 back to their classes.
*NEW*7. Pass out surveys regarding the appearance and actions of the actor to Group 1 and have them complete the questions within ten minutes.
8. Collect the surveys and grade the scores based on accuracy.

DAY TWO
1. Pass out survey to Group 2 and have them complete it within ten minutes.
2. Collect the surveys and grade the scores based on accuracy.
*NEW*3. Compare Group 1 and Group 2's scores and put the information in a graph to form the conclusion.

Materials: *COMPLETED*

****NEW**** MEANS THAT I HAVE CHANGED A BIT AND WAS WONDERING IF IT MADE SENSE OR NEEDS ANY CHANGING.

Research: Coming a few hours later... just wanted to get this out of the way first.

Hi Sareena,

Oh and about the dependent/independent variables.. I found out that they're put on a graph and that independent variable goes on the x-axis and the dependent variable on the y-axis.
Independent Variable: Uhh... Group 1 and Group 2?
Dependent Variable: Average score of the groups.

I don't know if this is what you're asking of me...

Thanks,
drago76

Hi Sareena,

I'm going to change my purpose because I need to include in there something about eyewitness testimony so here's my new purpose

The purpose of this project is to determine whether eyewitness reports are reliable enough to be used as evidence in criminal convictions, by examining whether time delay in recollection time affect the accuracy of reporting.

I feel that this needs a little change.. can you edit it?

I'm looking for research this very moment.

Thanks,
drago76

Hi drago76,

Purpose: GREAT....but what do you mean by "examining whether time delay in RECOLLECTION TIME affect the accuracy of reporting"? I don't understand what you mean by recollection time. Do you mean, what they recollect of the event or scene?

Introduction: I think this isn't necessary. Just put your research before your hypothesis. The research is basically your introduction to your project.

Hypothesis: Well, if you must

Procedures: Whatever you feel comfortable with. If you want to put for instance. STEP 4: Act out scene (see below) you can do that too. Whatever you feel will make your presentation more organized.

NOTE*** make sure you make it clear that you are passing out the SAME SURVEY to both groups.

DAY TWO
Step 3. Compare group 1's and group 2's scores (do you mean average?)

Variables:
I can see you are a little confused. You got the part of the x-axis and y-axis correct. But think about what you stated as your ind. and dep. variables:

Does the Average score of the groups DEPEND on Group 1 or Group 2? What are you trying to test in your experiment? Look at your purpose and hypothesis. You want to see whether time delay has an effect on the accuracy of an eyewitness testimony. Really think drago, think about what you are trying to test and then you will figure out the ind. and dep. variables.

Look at this webpage for help: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/mentorin ... bles.shtml


Research: great.

Hope this helps,
Sareena

Hi Sareena,

Purpose: GREAT....but what do you mean by "examining whether time delay in RECOLLECTION TIME affect the accuracy of reporting"? I don't understand what you mean by recollection time. Do you mean, what they recollect of the event or scene?

Yes, that's exactly what I mean. How can I change it to make it make sense? I didn't get to type my research yet because I had to go to church. I'll do it right now and finish in probably 30 min to an hour.

Does the Average score of the groups DEPEND on Group 1 or Group 2? What are you trying to test in your experiment? Look at your purpose and hypothesis. You want to see whether time delay has an effect on the accuracy of an eyewitness testimony. Really think drago, think about what you are trying to test and then you will figure out the ind. and dep. variables.

Hmm... still a little bit confused.. but I plan to have Group 1 and Group 2 on the x-axis and the y-axis has the average accuracy percentage from 0% to 100%. But I don't know where time delay would fit in the graph...

Confused a little,
drago76

Hmm.. from the website that you gave me.. most examples include time. So I guess the independent variable is DAY ONE and DAY TWO.
Dependent Variable: Group 1 and Group 2's average scores?

I need help and I really want to finish this by today because I'll have school on weekdays and I have to do my experiment.

-drago

I think those two variables wouldn't work because I wouldn't have space for the test scores.

Here's my research that I copied and pasted (I forgot can I do that or have to do it in my own words?). Came from http://psy.ucsd.edu/~hflowe/eyepsych.htm

Eyewitness accounts provide crucial evidence that may lead to the identification and arrest of a criminal suspect. Eyewitness testimony also plays an important role in the trial process. The verdicts returned by juries, it has been argued, are heavily influenced by eyewitness identification. Although most laboratory studies and real world data indicate that eyewitnesses are most often correct in their identifications, mistaken identification does happen and has tragic consequences. Psychological investigations are beggining to reveal the factors that can influence eyewitness accuracy.

As a result of human information processing limitations, a person may be mistakenly identified as a criminal suspect by an eyewitness. The crime location may have been too dark, or the encounter may have been too brief for the eyewitness to accurately perceive the perpetrator. In addition, people tend to overestimate the duration of brief events, while they underestimate the duration of prolonged events (Penrod, Loftus, & Winkler, 1982). Other psychological research has demonstrated that the presence of a weapon also reduces the accuracy of eyewitness accounts (Loftus, Loftus, & Messo, 1987). This "weapons focus effect" appears to be the result of the observer's attention being directed toward the weapon, thereby diverting attention away from situational aspects and the perpetrator (Kramer, Buckhout, & Eugenio, 1990).

In addition to perceptual errors, eyewitness accuracy may be reduced by errors that occur within the memory process. Memory can be divided into three stages: encoding, storage, and retrieval. Errors may occurs at any of these stages. The acquisition of information is referred to as encoding by cognitive psychologists. According to the Yerkes-Dodson principle, information is encoded best when a person is moderately aroused. At this level of arousal, a person's attention is focused and information is acquired well. Extreme arousal, or stress, however, causes information to be lost or encoded inaccurately.

At the second stage of memory, storage, acquired stimulus information is stored. However, both interference and decay can reduce the accuracy of stored information. Decay refers to the loss of stimulus information due to the passage of time. The amount of time that has lapsed between the witnessing of the crime and the subsequent questioning of the eyewitness can determine the amount of information that the eyewitness recalls (Lipton, 1977). Secondly, interference, which refers to the loss of old stimulus information due to interference caused by new stimulus information, can also reduce the accuracy of eyewitness accounts. Gorenstein and Ellsworth (1980) found that after viewing mugshots, the accuracy of eyewitnesses' ability to recognize faces viewed before the mugshots was reduced. Moreover, questions that eyewitnesses are asked after the crime have been found to interfere with information that eyewitnesses acquired during the crime. In one study, subjects were shown a film of an automobile accident and then asked a series of follow-up questions about the accident (Loftus, 1979). A misleading follow-up question contained information about a barn, which was actually not present in the film. One week later, 17% of subjects erroneously reported seeing a barn in the film. In effect, the misleading question incorporated new and inaccurate stimulus information in the memory store.

Retrieval, the final stage in the memory process, involves the recall of information from the memory store. Yet, recall may be influenced by the types of questions that eyewitnesses are asked. One study found that language can influence the retrieval of stimulus information (Loftus & Palmer, 1974). In this study, subjects were shown a film of an automobile accident and then asked a series of follow-up questions. Participants who were asked how fast the cars were going when the cars "smashed", reported an average speed of 40.8 mph. However, participants who were asked how fast the cars were going when the cars "contacted" reported an average speed of 31.8 mph. Suggestive questioning procedures, therefore, should be eliminated as much as possible to minimize their effect on eyewitness accuracy. Another retrieval phenomenon, known as unconscious transference, refers to the generation of memory that is related to an incident, but, is not relevant to the issue being considered. For example, a bank teller who has been robbed, may mistakenly identify a one of his regular customers as a suspect. This phenomenon was demonstrated by Robert Buckhout (1974) when he staged a mock assault in front of 141 unsuspecting college students. Seven weeks later, these students were asked to pick the perpetrator from a group of 6 photographs. Of the 60% who did not correctly identify the assailant, 2/3 incorrectly chose an innocent bystander who was at the crime scene.

-drago76

drago76,

Right...

Independent Variable: Time delay
Dependent Variable: Eye witness testimony

Does EYE WITNESS TESTIMONY depend on TIME DELAY?

Why don't you think they would work? You need to have it on your board.

See? It was right there in your purpose. You were right about the graphs of group 1 and group 2. They would be bar graphs though.

You HAVE to put the research part IN YOUR OWN WORDS. It is tedious, but necessary. For citing your references, this might help:

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/mentorin ... _lit.shtml

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/mentorin ... blio.shtml

These two sites might help you.

Hope this helps,
Sareena

Hi Sareena,

Oh.. I see... so my title for the x-axis (independent) would be Time Delay and there would be DAY ONE and DAY TWO only there right? Also for y-axis (dependent) I would have the title Eye Witness Testimony and on th e y-axis I should have listed the percents of the grades?

Here's a picture in case you don't understand what I'm talking about. I'm not sure if it's right though. Please correct me because I'm not sure what to have on my x and y axis. Look at my graph and you'll know what I mean.



Thanks,
drago76

Hi drago,

It looks like your graph was created on paint. Do you have excel? I would suggest you create your graphs on excel or if you do not have excel draw it by hand.

These variables are there just for identification. In reality you are trying to see what how each group is going to perform comparitively. Your graphs will show the groups. The variable identification is to make sure you understand what you are testing.

For you x-axis, I would just put Group 1 Group 2. You already established that group 2 is taking the test a day after group 1. For your y-axis, your label should be an average score (%). You have 10 survey questions. Is each question worth 1 point? If so, then your scale would be 10, 20, 30, 40...all the way to 100...which means 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%...so on and so forth.

Do you understand the difference between identifying your variables and what you show on your graph?

Hope this helps,
Sareena

Hi Sareena,

I don't have excel, but I think my partner has it (I think). Now that I drew that picture.. it made more sense. We're going to try the scene today (Monday) so we could finish our project as soon as we finish our experiment. He'll wear a dark red (he doesnt have bright so we'll just have to go with that) and well... I'll tell you how it goes.

Thanks,
drago76

drago76 wrote: I don't have excel, but I think my partner has it (I think). Now that I drew that picture.. it made more sense. We're going to try the scene today (Monday) so we could finish our project as soon as we finish our experiment.

Hi Sareena,

This is 'drago76' 's partner. Yes i do have excel and im planing that ill be the one doing all the graphs and the data stuff. Thanks for helping us on our project, it was really great. My last 2 years of science fair was a disaster because of my parnters that weren't cooperating. But i bet that this years will be great.

I really hope we finish it in time

Hi drago76 and DeathsAng3l,

I'm glad you have everything sorted out and that I could be of some help to both of you.

I'm sure your project will turn out well! You both have worked really hard. Just remember that it is ok to disprove your hypothesis. Most people start a science project with the mentality that they have to prove their hypothesis or else. It doesn't have to be that way.

Is it possible for both of you to construct the graphs and data analysis?

I'm sorry to hear that your last two science projects did not go so well DeathsAng3l. Cooperation is key to any successful project.

Feel free to ask anymore questions!!

Sincerely,
Sareena

Hi Sareena,

Yes it is possible for both of us to contruct the graphs and data analysis. 'Drago76' is going to come over to my house to work on the science fair project.


-deathsang3l

Hi Sareena,

**UPDATE**
We did the scene... my partner was running around the classroom during the whole thing.. and did all the scenes but WAY TOO FAST. When he went in to say something, he mumbled and no one heard him. We got about 5 pictures. We decided to just get the whole Period 5 and divide it by half, so we have to change our procedure. I looked at the surveys and I noticed a lot of wrong answers (I think I only looked at about 3 surveys, since my partner has them all). I hope we can fix this... Tomorrow we'll send survey's to Group 2.

Worried just a weeny itsy tiny bit,
drago76

Purpose: GREAT....but what do you mean by "examining whether time delay in RECOLLECTION TIME affect the accuracy of reporting"? I don't understand what you mean by recollection time. Do you mean, what they recollect of the event or scene?

Oh yea, That's what I mean. Can you edit it to make it make sense? Since you didn't know what I was talking about on my purpose maybe it needs to be edited.

-drago

Well, I changed my purpose.. just a bit. Here it is.

The purpose of this project is to determine whether eyewitness reports are reliable enough to be used as evidence in criminal convictions by examining whether the time delay in recollection time affects the accuracy of reporting.

-drago

drago,

Well, I can't remember what your initial purpose was, but from what I remember, this sounds basically the same. You are still confusing me with the recollection time. Well, since I know what you know about what you mean by recollection time, you can alter it.

You know that recollection time = what a person recollects of an event or situation. Think about it.

As for your experiment:
In an experiment, you can't expect everything to go as planned. If it doesn't, it doesn't. If it does, great! Since deathang3l sped up and mumbled the sentence, you need to include that in your conclusion.

Remember, in your conclusion, discuss what happened in the experiment. What went right, what went wrong, what could you improve, and a follow up question for further experimentation.

If you really think about it, what deathang3l did could have happened in a real situation. An observer couldn't understand or remember everything due to the pace of the event. You might also want to include that in your conclusion as something that was not in your control: the ability for people to remember things or hear things really well.

So don't be worried! Remember: it's the process that counts...how well you followed the scientific method. You are doing a great job.

Sincerely,
Sareena

Hi Sareena,

Thanks. So I guess it's okay

Well for the survey I had two questions on.. "What did he say when he came in" and "What did he say when he left?". I asked everyone and no one heard a thing so do I eliminate those questions or just leave them and get a lower percentage score?

You might also want to include that in your conclusion as something that was not in your control: the ability for people to remember things or hear things really well.

Are you referring to my partner or the people taking the survey?

-drago

Drago,

Yes, it's definitely ok...both of you will do great.

Hmm...that question is tough. If you think that it is necessary, than eliminate it. Since it looks like NO ONE heard what your partner said, I would eliminate it. But do what YOU FEEL IS RIGHT!

What I meant was the audience...the observer in a situation or event. We all don't have perfect vision or hearing capabilities. Everything is relative to the person. Now being that is so, that brings alot of uncontrolled variables in a real life situation. In a trial, two witnesses that observed the same (let's say) murder...one witness might have heard the defendant say: I'm going to kill you...and the other may not have because she was hard of hearing.

So try to include this all in your conclusion. Your thoughts about the entire trial and real life situations THAT RELATE TO WHAT YOU DID.

Hope this helps,
Sareena

Hi Sareena,

I feel like I'll eliminate them. I only did the trial once, I hope that's good enough. (I remember you wanted me to do it at least 2-3 times) I understand what to put in my conclusion now. My purpose.. still don't know if it's good.. changed it a bit again at the end starting with "factor".

The purpose of this project is to determine whether eyewitness reports are reliable enough to be used as evidence in criminal convictions by examining whether time delay is a factor that affects how well a person recollects an event/situation.

Thanks,
drago76

Hi Sareena,

Here's my hypothesis, etc.

Hypothesis: We hypothesize that because the time delay is shorter for Group 1 than Group 2, Group 1 will answer the survey more accurately than Group 2.

Purpose: The purpose of this project is to determine whether eyewitness reports are reliable enough to be used as evidence in criminal convictions by examining whether time delay is a factor that affects

Procedure:

DAY ONE
1. Select 30 human subjects from 5th period class.
2. Divide the subjects into two groups – Group 1 and Group 2.
3. Have them all sit at desks in a classroom facing the chalkboard.
4. Act out scene (see below)
5. Take pictures of the actor and the students during the scene.
6. After the scene, send Group 2 outside.
7. Pass out surveys regarding the appearance and actions of the actor to Group 1 and have them complete the questions within ten minutes.
8. Collect the surveys and grade the scores based on accuracy.

DAY TWO
1. Pass out same survey to Group 2 and have them complete it within ten minutes.
2. Collect the surveys and grade the scores based on accuracy.
3. Compare Group 1 and Group 2’s average scores and put the information on a bar graph.

Materials:
(30) Human test subjects (*required 8th grade)
Camera
(30) Survey papers
Actor to act out scene

Data: Not done yet


Conclusion: Not done yet.

Research: Eyewitness accounts provide important evidence that may help identify a criminal suspect or arrest an innocent being. Eyewitness identification heavily influences the verdicts by juries. Eyewitness accuracy may be reduced by errors that occur within the memory process.
There are three stages of memory: encoding, storage, and retrieval. The first stage, encoding, is when information is first acquired. According to the Yerkes-Dodson principle, information is best acquired when a person has a moderate level of stress. With extreme stress, information can be lost or inaccurate.
The second stage of memory, called storage, is when the information is stored. Interference and decay can reduce the accuracy of the stored information. Decay happens due the passage of time, or time delay? The amount of time that passed between the witnessing of the crime and the questioning of the eyewitness can determine the amount of information that the eyewitness recalls. Interference occurs when new information is stored and causes the old information to get hidden or lost. When eyewitnesses are asked questions about the crime but has nothing to do with it, it is misleading and gets stored into storage, causing the eyewitnesses’ memory to be inaccurate.
The last stage of memory, retrieval, involves the recall of information from storage. The types of questions asked to the eyewitnesses may help the eyewitnesses recall the important details from the event.

Oh and is my research long enough?
-drago76

Hi drago,

Ok, eliminate it then. You will definitely have higher scores. Yes, it is important to do more than one trial...but, in this situation, will an eye witness testimony relive a situation 3 or 4 times (besides their dreams)? So I'm sure what you've done is great!

Your purpose is MUCH BETTER. Excellent!!

If you have any questions on constructing your graphs, or doing data analysis or conclusion or anything else feel free to ask!

Hope this helps,
Sareena