Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

How do you set up the rows and columns for the spreadsheet data you collect on this project? When you identify a home team average is that a "home" column and then the stadium is identified as a separate column again to note other teams visiting averages? Or, do you just identify each stadium and then bold the batting average if the stat is a home field average?

Hello JayHoward!

The project description is a little unclear, but I think what you probably want to do is have a 'home' and 'road' column for each team. These categories are essentially 'familiar' and 'unfamiliar' dimensions; if a team is used to having a larger foul ground, then its plays may be better or worse in a stadium with a smaller foul ground, for example.

With this data, you could show an overall increase or decrease in performance between games on familiar and unfamiliar ground.

Hope this helped, and if you have any more questions, don't hesitate to ask!

Thanks for responding!! Sorry, since the project is a recommended project from this site so I didn't think to add the procedure instructions. Here they are:

"Experimental Procedure -Calculate the average for every team's home and road batting statistics (as well as their opponent's) over the time that they've been playing in a particular park. Since the average road park is nearly the same as the league's average park, the difference between home and road performance is the home park's effect on offense."

I guess my confusion came from if I am examining the actual stadium dimensions and their impact then don't the columns need to be labeled for each stadium being compared. But then how is home field represented. I think I imagine it laid out as follows. I have heading of HOME as the first column and then have multiple columns for all stadiums being compared under a separate heading of AWAY. If a stadium is the teams home stadium then the batting average is blank or NA under its applicable AWAY column. I can conduct stadium by stadium comparisons of averages as well as comparison of home vs away. I was thinking of focusing on stadiums renovated in the last 20 years. I can then back up the data comparisons with overlay photos of before and after the renovations.

Does that sound like a good plan of action?

Ah, I see- that makes sense. I must have misspelled something when I searched it, as I couldn't find it in the Project Guide, but it seems to be there now. Sorry for that confusion!

Your plan of action is good. I think that by comparing them in that way, you'll be able to get clear data. And it's a great idea to add photos! That will give judges a connection between the data and the applications.

Good luck!