Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

I have a problem. I am doing my science project on the impact of stress on behaviors and performance. I created two different test versions - a stressful one replete with comments like, "Hurry up!" You're running out of time!" etc. etc. and a relaxed one, with a much less aggressive tone, and more encouraging phrases. I went to the coffee shop and tested eight people each, but the data got all messed up, because most people were either unaffected by the attempt to stress them out, and one even found it funny (all kinds of people go in there!) and some people might've faked their answers, because they don't know me and don't trust me. I tried remaking the tests and going out to the coffee shop again, but didn't do that, since that would probably just be another stupid idea and fail again. I wanted the results to show that stress is detrimental to behavior and lowers performance, but that didn't quite happen. My father keeps on saying, "Change the topic! Change the topic! Change the topic!" but I figure that it is too late to change the topic, since the whole darn thing is due Jan. 9! I even wrote this about it:

Oh, I should be so amused,
But instead, well, I'm just so confused!
With the due date creeping closer and closer,
I feel like I'll be less and less of a boaster

When this whole darn project goes through a debacle*
And I fail, face flat, to escape the shackles
Of the smog that this perplexing question provides,
'Cause this frustrating mystery surely presides

Over my troubled mind,
Trying to find
The answer to that flaming question,
And will I ever rank best in

Anything when I'm so bewildered?
I know that just one loss won't render me pilfered
Of another chance, no denying:
But I guess I'll just have to keep trying.

Eric

*pronounce "de BACK kol" not "de BACH kol"

Hi, and welcome to the forums!
This seems like a really interesting project to pursue.
Nice poem by the way.

By "going to the coffee shop," do you mean you asked random people to participate?
If so, you may want to consider having a more controlled group, or a larger sample size.
By doing this, it would decrease the randomness or the bias that you have mentioned.

For example, you could ask people that you know at school, and that would give you people who you know so they may give you more accurate results, as well as having a test group that is all the same age/about the same number of people of both genders.

Hopes this helps!
blueswim

Hey Blueswim,
I had that idea, but there's something I'm not so sure about. I was originally planning to just get people in my school one by one until I reached ten samples, but my Mom said that if I was doing a topic this big, I would need at least 200 data samples, but i don't have TIME for 200 data samples (the project is due Jan. 9)! She recommended that I ask for class time with certain teachers to test people, but I really don't want to intrude on that. I think I drastically underestimated how BIG this topic is. I friend Kally is doing a social sciences topic like this, and she plans to get 90 samples. Sigh..... Well, anyway, if I fail the stupid science fair you can blame it on my incompetence... I wonder why we do this.... I don't want to do extremely badly. Do you have any suggestions for me? (It would be great if you had some.) No wonder why they call you the experts and people like me the bad scientists. Sigh.......

Eric

Hi,
Due to your deadline being so soon, it would probably be best to at least test with a few (maybe ten?) people in each group. I don't know what your assignment is for the science fair, but I expect that you'll have a conclusion/discussion section. There, you could talk about your shortcomings and possibly about the coffee shop experience. Don't feel too badly about the experiment; it's part of science to experience things like this.

I'm a new expert by the way, and still doing science fairs.

blueswim