Research design ticket
Tue, Mar 2, 2027 · Week 7 · Biotechnology for Health (Biomedical Innovations)
Today's goal: Submit a research design ticket that critiques a study and proposes a sound physiology design.
What a finished product looks like
This is a model of the work you should turn in today. Use it to check your own: match the structure and the level of detail, do not copy it. Your data and wording should be your own.
Problem 2 research design ticket
Study I critiqued (summary provided in class): a study claimed that drinking coffee raises heart rate, based on measuring 4 people once after coffee, with no resting baseline.
Design flaws:
- No control or baseline: there is no before-coffee reading to compare against.
- Tiny sample: 4 people cannot represent a population reliably.
- Uncontrolled variables: activity and time of day were not held constant.
My improved design:
- Hypothesis: If a person drinks caffeinated coffee, then their heart rate will rise compared to a measured baseline.
- Variables: independent, caffeine versus no caffeine; dependent, heart rate; controlled, same people, same rest, same time of day.
- Planned measurements: resting heart rate, then heart rate 30 minutes after the drink, repeated for each person, with at least 12 participants.
Why this is better: it adds a baseline, controls variables, and uses a larger sample, so the conclusion would actually be interpretable.
Also due today: Submit the Problem 2 research design ticket to the Schoology weekly summative assignment.
WebXam problem for today's skill
One exam-style question that uses exactly what you practiced today. Try it before you reveal the answer, then read why each choice is right or wrong.
Tap an answer to see the full explanation. Nothing is recorded or graded.