Final Internal Assessment Instructions

The Final Internal Assessment is due through turnitin.com on Thursday, March 8, 2018.  Please remove all identifying information before you submit it.  For those who haven't submitted a first draft, you need to do it by this Sunday, March 4th if you want me to read it and give comments.  Otherwise, you will just submit the final version. 

Here are some things I have noticed in the rough drafts so far that would be fairly easy to fix and would gain you some points:

1. Exploration:  Make sure that your research question is FOCUSED, not broad.  Show good awareness of factors that might influence the quality of the data.  Make sure that you address safety, ethical, or environmental issues.
2. Analysis:  Make sure that your data table is clearly labeled, and has units and uncertainty for each quantity that you measured.  Processed data should be clearly presented with a sample calculation for each type done.  Graphs should have uncertainty bars and actually help in the understanding of the data.  Many of you are including confusing and sometimes excessive graphs!  The impact of uncertainty on the analysis should be considered.
3. Evaluation:  A conclusion should be stated using the data as support.  Results should be compared to the accepted scientific context.  Strengths and weaknesses should be considered.  Realistic improvements and extensions to the investigation should be described/discussed.
4. Communication:  Make sure that you proofread...more than once.  Have someone else read it too if you are not good at catching your mistakes.  Make sure that the formatting lines up (like page breaks) before you submit to turnitin.com.