Flaws in Experimental Design?

[TK31228]

For a science experiment, I am supposed to be discussing the flaws in the experimental design and how it could've been improved. What are "flaws" in an experimental design? I am thinking that one flaw could be on how the procedure was created and changed over time since this happened to my experiment. Not too sure though. The experiment was to get volunteers to take peppermint and find their reaction times for different tests. It would be great if someone could provide some examples of flaws. Thanks in advance!

[NehaK6]

Hi TK31228,

Cool project! I found this website on what to watch out for with experimental design, and what could be causing flaws if you happen to not be doing them (http://archive.bio.ed.ac.uk/jdeacon/sta ... ress2.html). Some other examples of flawed experimental design I found included not reading through prior literature/similar research beforehand, not propagating error, not being able to point out weaknesses in your own study, etc. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/a ... 581000112X). With the flaw you predicted, as long as the change in the procedure didn’t affect your experiment, I don’t think it would be considered a flaw, but maybe check out the other examples in the websites provided to see you if you can find a “better” flaw.

Hope this helps!
Neha

[TK31228]

Thank you so much NehaK6!

[NehaK6]

No problem!