Note: Make sure you provide all the parts requested, state your assumptions, and justify all the answers.

Task:

You'll need to do and describe *all* of these steps:

1. Develop the hypotheses you are testing about user performance and preference/belief with respect to the variable (it helps to think of extreme situations first); 3pts

** You need to have an initial hypothesis (be honest!)
   Give the rationale for your hypothesis.
   Did you try some estimated data points to produce it? 

2. Describe/graph that hypothesis; 6pts

** Make it clear exactly what your hypothesis is.
   Graphs are probably best. 

3. Identify the type of users you'll test and why; 3pts


4. Determine the design of your experiment; 3pts

** i.e., what was the process used to carry out the experiment? 
         how was consistency maintained?

5. Determine the tool(s) that you'll use for data analysis & its presentation; 2pts

** i.e., what's the stats package and graphing tool.

6. Develop the reading tasks that your users will perform during each experiment; 6pts

** how many reading tasks per subject?
   how was consistency maintained?
   how was text selected?
   how much text in each task? 
   was the user kept in mind?
   how did you attempt to avoid learning?

7. Specify the test situation (i.e., the variations in the pages); 6pts

** what variations to actually make.
   We MUST see rationale. 

8. Determine how many users you'll need to test; 3pts

** why that number?

9. Select the actual users you'll test; 3pts

** how controlled?
   who was eliminated and why?

10. Prepare the test situation; 6pts

** the pages of text actually used (web?)
   design decisions? 

11. Do a trial run on 1-2 people to check your test situation & procedure, and make modifications if necessary; 3pts

** how did that go? any problems & corrections needed?

12. For the real experiment, administer a short pre-test questionnaire for each user to gather relevant data; 3pts

** what was found out and why?

13. Have each user sign & date a consent form agreeing to take part in the experiment, and provide an email address at which they can be contacted; 3pts

** This must be done.
   I'll accept "reasonable" electronic evidence.

14. Describe the experimental procedure to each user in a consistent way; 3pts

** how was consistency maintained?

15. Run each user through the tasks and collect data; 6pts

** how controlled? 
   how was speed determined? 
   how was comprehension determined? 

16. Do an initial analysis of your speed and comprehension data by providing descriptive statistics; 3pts

** do stats look right? interesting? 

17. Using all your data, produce graphs for your performance metrics; 3pts

** graphed properly?
   both metrics?

18. Calculate the Correlation between each metric and your variable, and determine whether it is "significant" at the .05 level (alpha=.05); 6pts

** done properly?
   significance?

19. Do a Simple Linear Regression Analysis for your data and plot the results; 3pts

** graphed properly?
   include evidence for calculation

20. Diagram the preference/belief results; 6pts

** diagramed well?
   - actual speed against which they thought was fastest.
   - their preference against comprehension.

21. Evaluate all the results, producing conclusions: explicitly compare what you found with your hypotheses. Does the user know what's good for them? 6pts

** was it meaningful? 
   good? strange?
   enough data? 
   were hypotheses confirmed?

22. Assess the possible causes of errors in the data from your experiment; 4pts

** If anyone claims that there aren't any errors, then they're wrong!
   But what errors and why?