IA Methodology Proposal

Internal Assessment Methodology Proposal

Estimated completion time: 1 hour. Do not rush this task. Invest some time now thinking about your methodology so you don’t have to spend time later redoing it and/or making major changes. Do a thorough, good job in the first place.

Before completing this task:

Be sure your project has been approved.
Be sure you have completed the background research for your topic.

To complete your methodology research, create a document in which you address the following tasks. The more thorough and detailed you are in your answers during this step, the easier the compilation of your final paper will be!

Problem Question: Write your problem question. It must clearly include a biological manipulated and/or responding variable and be focused on your very specific manipulated and responding variables.
Materials

Provide a list of materials required to conduct your investigation. Include supplies needed to set up the investigation, consumables (items that will be used up during the investigation), and tools and instruments used for measurement.
As relevant, include details such as concentration of solution, brand, and amounts (in metric units).
Highlight any materials you’ll need the school to supply.

Similar protocols or procedures

Write a paragraph that outlines the methods or techniques that have been used to investigate questions like this in the past. Explain what you will be doing the same as the other investigations and what you will be doing differently. Justify why this methodology is effective and appropriate to your research question.
Provide citation(s) for the methods, protocols, procedures, YouTube videos, lab reports and/or websites from which you are learning how to perform the techniques for your investigation.

Methods

The investigative method can be written as a narrative (written paragraphs) or as a step-by-step list.
You may write with or without the first person pronoun (“I will remove the seed”). Do not use the second person (“You will remove the seed”).
Be detailed and specific so that another person could replicate your procedure. The type of methodology you write will depend on the type of investigation you are doing.

Experimental Based Internal Assessment

Variable #1 (MV)	How will data for the variable be collected? What tools and techniques will be used? What are the units of measurement? How often will data be collected and recorded? What are the levels of the variable? How did you select these levels? In comparative experiments, you’ll need at least five levels of the MV. For example, if temperature is the manipulated variable, you’ll want to have five temperatures. In correlative studies, sample size must be appropriate for the investigation: typically, 5-15 is a very small sample, 15-30 is a small sample, 30+ is considered a large sample.
Variable #2 (RV)	How will quantitative data for the variable be collected? What tools and techniques will be used? What are the units of measurement? How often will data be collected and recorded? How will you ensure repeated measurements (trials) of the measurement? Keep in mind that in order to calculate a standard deviation, you’ll need at least 5 trials of data collection. For example, if enzyme reaction rate is the responding variable, you’ll need to measure the rate five times per temperature.
Controlled Variables	Which variables will need to be controlled? How will variables be controlled? What tools and techniques will be used to ensure that the variables were in fact controlled? What are the units of measurement?
Validity Measures	What validity measures will you use to ensure experimental measurements are valid and consistent? For example - the same scale, the same thermometer, washing glassware between trials.
Sampling	If sampling only a portion of a population, include the method for ensuring the sample was randomly selected.
Safety and Ethics	What safety and/or ethical issues must you consider? How will you keep yourself safe (gloves, hair, goggles)? If working outside, how will you minimize your impact? How will you attempt to minimize waste? How will waste be safely/ethically disposed? Are human consent forms required? How will you keep materials organized and labeled?

Database Based Internal Assessment

Database Selection	How were the database(s) selected? Provide the link to the data source you will be using. How do you know the data in the database is reliable?
Variable #1 (MV)	How will data for the variable be collected? How will you select which data from the database to include in your sample? How will you ensure the sample from the database is representative of the population you are investigating? How much data related to the variable will be collected? What are the units of measurement?
Variable #2 (RV)	What quantitative data for the variable be collected? What are the units of measurement? How will you pair RV data to the appropriate MV data?
Independent Analysis	Explain how you will be analyzing the data in a new or unique way.
Controlled Variables	What variables will you control? How will you control them? If you can not directly control variables, discuss what variables should be controlled.
Safety and Ethics	What safety and/or ethical issues are relevant to the collection, storing and sharing of the type of data within the database?

Simulation Based Internal Assessment

Simulation Selection	What simulation are you using? Provide the link to the simulation. How was the simulation selected? Why is the selected simulation a reliable model of the phenomena being investigated?
Variable #1 (MV)	How will data for the variable be collected? What are the levels of the variable? How did you select these levels? What parameters and ranges will you set within the simulations? Justify the selection of the parameters. What are the units of measurement?
Variable #2 (RV)	What quantitative data for the variable be collected? What are the units of measurement? How will you ensure repeated measurements (trials) of the measurement? Keep in mind that in order to calculate a standard deviation, you’ll need at least 5 trials of data collection. Note: the simulation must produce results that will vary between repetitions.
Controlled Variables	What variables will you control in the simulation? How will you control them? If you can not directly control variables, discuss what variables should be controlled.

Please note: you will most likely need to update your methods section several times as you work through your investigation. Consider this a document a “work in progress.”

Please set the share settings of your document to “anyone with the link can edit.

What’s Next?

The next task, as we baby-step our way through the Internal Assessment, will be to make a plan for collecting your data. .